Michigan Territory Lodges
warranted by the Grand Lodge of the State of New York
Transcribed & edited by R.’.W.’. Gary L. Heinmiller
Director, Onondaga & Oswego Masonic Districts Historical Societies (OMDHS)
www.omdhs.syracusemasons.com
July 2009
The early history of Freemasonry in Michigan provides a most interesting picture of the spread of the Craft into the
then wilderness of our country. In the Provincial period of the Craft the jurisdiction o f the then infant Grand Lodge
encompassed the area from New Hampshire to the yet to be formed Northwest Territory. A companion paper on
some of this early history, “Freemasonry in the Old Northwest Territory – 1768 to ca 1836,” was prepared by the
present writer for inclusion in 2009 Transactions of the American Lodge of Research.
At the forefront of the introduction of Freemasonry into the yet to be formed Michigan Territory appeared George
Harison, Provincial Grand Master of New York who, on 24 Apr 1764 warranted Lodge No. 1 at Detroit. Over the years
this Lodge was to see about 7 different warrants and 4 jurisdictions, to be followed by five other Lodges warranted by
the Grand Lodge of New York. The evolution of these Lodges follows a sometimes convoluted path of dates and
jurisdictions, which the present writer has endeavored to present below with some semblance of order and
authenticity. Some of the exact dates still remain somewhat shrouded in ‘mystery.’ Some of the records were simply
not made or have disappeared with the passing of time. There are no known records of the first Grand Lodge of
Michigan, other than may have been preserved in another jurisdiction. This Grand Lodge of Michigan ‘suspended
labor’ in 1829, which remarkable story is told in the pages below . . .
Nonetheless the story revealed is quite interesting and reveals some very poignant matters pertaining to Masonic
jurisdictional law and the early history of these rugged settlers of this wilderness. If you have further insights to share
regarding this present paper, please feel free the share them . . .
1
Lodges of Michigan
which fell under the Jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of New York
No.
Name
City
Warranted
Notes
62 3 Zion
Detroit
3 Sep 1806. Previously No. 1 under warrant, English Registry No. 448, 24 Apr
1764 and “No. 1 of Detroit,” issued by George Harison, Provincial GM of New York.
Worked until before 1794.The 1764 warrant was delivered to Zion Lodge by the GL of NY in 1897 for their archives.
Worked under GL of Quebec (Lower Canada) warrant dated 7 Sep 1794, as Zion No. 10. Lodge voted to ‘adjourn’ 12
Sep 1812 when the British captured the fort of Detroit; charter forfeited by GL NY ca 1814/1815;
Restored by GL NY ca 6 Mar 1816; assembled 9 Apr 1816 as Zion Lodge No. 62; Renumbered No. 3, 4 Jun 1819.
Jun 1826 GL of Michigan formed and Zion No. 3 became Zion No. 1, GL of Michigan.
Labor suspended ca Mar 1829 incident to the Morgan excitement.
Revived as No. 99, GL NY in 1844, along with Detroit (No. 100) and Oakland Lodges (No. 101].
Again became Zion No, 1, GL of Michigan ca Jun 1845. Sill extant as of 2009, with 396 members.
337
Detroit
Detroit
5 Sep 1821 Work suspended in 1829 by the GL of Michigan;
revived 9 Jul 1842; Oct 1842 charter granted by the GL of Michigan as Detroit Lodge No. 1, but the GL of Michigan
did not have the recognition of the GL of NY, so Detroit secured a warrant from the GL of NY in Jun 1844 as Detroit
No. 100. Warranted as No. 2, GL of Michigan, ca Jun 1845. Still extant as of 2009, with 332 members.
343
Oakland
Oakland Co. 7 Mar 1822 see also Oakland No. 101. aka Pontiac Lodge No. 8; also Oakland
No. 2, No. 3 and No. 101.
Work suspended in 1829 by the GL of Michigan; original charter burned in 1840; resumed work in 1841; granted
disposition 13 Feb 1841 as Pontiac Lodge No. 8, U.D.;
Revived as Oakland No. 101 by the GL of NY in Jun 1844.
Dissolved and warrant surrendered to the GL of Michigan on 20 Jul 1844;
Warranted as No. 3, 5 Jun 1845, per Transactions, GL of Michigan.
Forfeit as Oakland Lodge No. 3 in 1847; succeeded by Pontiac No. 21 on 12 Nov 1847, U.D., which is still extant as
of 2009, with 199 members.
374
Menomanie Green Bay
3 Dec 1824 ‘discontinued’ ca 1830; charter & warrant destroyed by fire in 1869
while in possession of Washington Lodge No. 21 of Green Bay. Green Bay was previously called “Astor” after John
Jacob Astor and the presence of the American Fur Company there. [aka Menominee]
375
Monroe
to exist .
Monroe
4 Dec 1824
laid down its working tools' in 1829; no record of its work is known
93
St. Joseph Valley Niles 10 Jun 1843 Renumbered No. 5, GL of Michigan on or about 17 Dec 1844;
warranted No. 4, GL of Michigan on 5 Jun 1845 (per Transactions and Lodge). Extant as of 2009, with 204 members.
Appendices
Territory of Michigan
Biographical Sketches:
General Lewis Cass
Leonard Weed
George W. Whistler
James Abbott, Jr., Esq.
General Alexander Macomb
John Mullett, GM 1844-45
Jeremiah Moors, GM 1849-50
William Hull
Judge Augustus Woodward
Masonic Temples in Michigan
Donation of Zion Lodge No. 1 to the University of Michigan
Selected References:
“Freemasonry in Michigan,” by Jefferson S. Conover, 33o, 1897.
http://books.google.com/books?id=P0NOAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=%22zion+lodge+no.+62%22&source=bl&ots=ynFkIzVro3&si
g=ak7RrNld3rkvUKL7nQK81GzGyTY&hl=en&ei=LHxcSrGCHpCy8ASIypXVDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1
“The History of Freemasonry in Canada, from Its Introduction in 1749,” by John Ross Robertson.
This history includes a very detailed account of Zion Lodge No. 10, during the period when Zion Lodge was under the jurisdiction of
the Grand Lodge of Canada (Quebec – Lower Canada). (7 Sep 1794 – 6 Jul 1807)
http://books.google.com/books?id=sxprqtyjLF0C&pg=PA235&lpg=PA235&dq=%22zion+lodge+no.+1%22&source=bl&ots=8UMH7eA9ly&sig
=lqDl68jx9D6PB89njxxsWrgq0aM&hl=en&ei=RjhfSu3dFo7CMP-I-b8C&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7
“History of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons ...,” by Henry Leonard Stillson, William James
Hughan, Fraternity Publishing Company, page 315.
http://books.google.com/books?id=EwdKAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA316&lpg=PA316&dq=%22zion+lodge+no.+1%22&source=bl&ots=3FwDtgFjL&sig=uqe4HgsoJnDsgTSzDjsixMJJhJ0&hl=en&ei=uudhSoWKEpPulAeOzfX9BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10
2
“Historical Sketch of Early Masonry in Michigan,” by Foster Pratt, M.D. 1883. 47 pages.
Included in this file are the GL of Michigan Transactions for the years 1826, 1827 and 1841-1859. A good research resource.
http://books.google.com/books?id=QGNLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA25&dq=%22John+Dodemead%22&lr=
“The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922,” Vol. II, by Clarence Monroe Burton, William Stocking, Gordon K. Miller. 1922.
http://books.google.com/books?id=5ZQUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA994&lpg=PA994&dq=%22john+askin,+jr.%22%22&source=bl&ots=lV7SY2e4jp
&sig=sLoO76Ei8kKsMgZW48faxui_Z24&hl=en&ei=XHt4SqykK5KxlAeNlsSZBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=snippet&q=
%22zion%22&f=false
“Early History of Michigan, with biographies of state officers, members of Congress, judges and legislators,” by Stephen D.
Bingham. 1888. 746 pages.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty&cc=micounty&idno=bad6021.0001.001&frm=frameset&view=image&seq=7
Related Compilations by the present compiler:
“Michigan Freemasonry - Biographical & Historical Notes,”
“Mary Ann Brevoort, daughter of Henry Bergaw Brevoort,”
“Rev. Bro. Eleazer Williams,”
“Zion Lodge No. 10,”
“21 Letters on the Fur Trade - 1833,”
“Bro. John Jacob Astor,”
34 pages.
06 pages.
11 pages.
41 pages.
32 pages.
11 pages.
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
EARLY MASONRY IN EUROPE. ITS INTRODUCTION INTO THE AMERICAN COLONIES.
ITS CONNECTION WITH THE MASONRY OF TO-DAY.
It is not the province of this work to attempt to prove or disprove any of the existing claims as to the exact origin of the
fraternity of Freemasons, yet, as a proper introduction to the history of this institution in Michigan, it is well to briefly
review a few points in its early recorded history, as well as its first introduction into America. It is not the design to
open a controversy with those who claim that Masonry dates back to the builders of the Egyptian pyramids, or to the
building of King Solomon's Temple. A historian, in writing upon this subject says:
"The mysteries of the Egyptians, passing through Moses to the Jewish people, afterwards disseminated among the Greeks and
Romans, were, among the latter, introduced in part into the College of Builders, instituted by Numa Pompelius in the year 715,
before our era." He further says: "Many of the corporations of builders who were with the Roman Legions in the countries bordering
on the Rhine were sent by the Emperor Claude, in the year 43, into the British Isles, to protect the Romans against the incursions of
the Scotts. Wherever the legions established intrenched camps, the Masonic Corporation erected cities, more or less important. It is
thus that York, called by the Romans, Eboracum and subsequently celebrated in the history of Freemasonry, became one of the first
that acquired importance and elevation to the rank of a Roman city."
The Roman possession of Britain transformed the inhabitants thereof, and many of the customs and practices of the
conquering nation were adopted by the people of that subjugated land. It is without doubt true, that the "Colleges of
Builders," introduced by the Romans, became, in England and Scotland, the "Societies of Freemasons" that existed
in those countries for a long time after the Roman invasion.
William J. Hughan, of England, one of the best known masonic writers in the world, in writing upon early
Freemasonry, says:
"Believing as we do that the present association of Freemasonry is an outgrowth of the Building Corporations and Guilds of the
Middle Ages, as also the lineal descendant and sole representative of the early Secret Masonic Sodalities, it appears to us that their
ancient laws and charges are specially worthy of preservation, study and reproduction." Again he says: "Grand Lodges are a
modern outgrowth of operative Freemasonry, the first of which was instituted in the metropolis of England, 0n the Festival of St.
John the Baptist, A. D., 1717, and was the vigorous offspring of four old Lodges, two of which exist to this day."
It has long been maintained by the most profound English students and writers upon Masonry, that the first Grand
Lodge of Freemasons was established at York, by a charter granted by King Athelstan to his brother, Prince Edwin, in
the year 926, and that this Prince became the first Grand Master out of York. The Grand Lodge then established
continued in operation for about eight hundred years.
3
York England, A. D. 926
One of the claims of the craft, in those ages, was the right of the requisite number of Masons, wherever they might
chance to be sojourning, to combine themselves together into a Lodge, adopt such by-laws as were suited to their
government, and, without any authority of warrant from a higher source, to practice the principles and disseminate the
benefits of Masonry according to their own judgment. After the establishment of the Grand Lodge of York, Grand
Lodges were formed in Scotland and Ireland, and they were in perfect accord with the one at York upon the matter of
the protection and well being of operative masons engaged in the practice of their craft. From the writings of a
prominent masonic author, we learn:
"Freemasonry, during the latter part of the seventeenth century, decreased to such an extent that in 1703, but four Lodges existed in
the city of London, and that throughout Great Britain at that time none other were known to the members, who, reduced to the
smallest number, attended the meetings of these. In fact, with the completion of St. Paul's Cathedral, the city of London was
considered rebuilt, and the occupation of the operative Masons seemed to have been brought to a close; while the Accepted
Masons, having obtained the object of their desire in the restoration of Monarchy, neglected the communion they had previously
kept up with the operative members of the institution. Hence we find, that in the year 1703, the Lodge of St. Paul, so named
because the Operative Masons engaged in the erection of the Cathedral, held their Lodge in a building situated in the church-yard
or grounds thereof—passed an important resolution, the object of which was to augment the members of the fraternity, and to give
to the masonic institution some of its former importance in public estimation, viz:
Resolved, That the privileges of Masonry shall no longer be confined to Operative Masons, but be free to men of all professions,
provided that they are regularly approved and initiated into the fraternity.
This important decision changed entirely the face of the society and transformed it into what we find it to-day; but many difficulties
had to be removed, and ma1n- years of probation had to be passed, before this form of its workings could be successfully adopted.
This was owing, first, to the want of union among the four Lodges; second, to the exceedingly disreputable character which, for
many years, had attached to the Society—it having degenerated from an influential and privileged institution to little better than a
pot-house companionship, with now and then a proud few who remembered its glories of other days; but, perhaps, above all, the
determined opposition of the Grand Master, Sir Christopher Wren, the architect of the New City of London, to the spirit of the
innovating resolution. This opposition he maintained until his death; so that it was not until after that event, which occurred in 1716,
that the four Lodges which still existed, more in name than in fact, felt themselves at liberty to assemble their membership with the
primary object of electing a new Grand Master, but more to detach themselves from all connection with the Lodge at York, that had
for fifty years enjoyed but a nominal existence, and to put into active operation the decision involved in the resolution of 1703."
In February, 1717, the four old Lodges mentioned in above extract met at the Apple Tree Tavern, in Charles Street
Convent Garden, London, with some other old Masons, and after duly considering the matter, resolved to resume the
quarterly communications of the officers of the Lodges; to hold an annual feast, and to choose a Grand Master from
among themselves.
Edward T. Shultz, masonic writer, in writing upon this matter, says:
"Before dinner, the oldest Master of a Lodge, presiding, proposed a list of proper candidates, when Anthony Sayer, gentleman, by a
majority of hands, was selected as Grand Master of Masons, and was forthwith invested with the badges of office by the oldest
Mason and installed; Mr. Jacob Samball, carpenter, and Captain Joseph Elliott, were selected as the Grand Wardens, and thus was
instituted the Grand Lodge of England.
Grand Master Sayer commanded the Masters and Wardens of Lodges to meet the Grand Officers every quarter in communication,
at the place appointed in his summons, and prohibited the craft thereafter from forming Subordinate Lodges under the "inherent"
4
claim, but required that such bodies should only be organized by a warrant duly issued by the Grand Lodge—as then and there
organized.
On the following assembly and feast, St. John's day, 1718, George Payne, Esq., was elected Grand Master of Masons, who also
recommended the strict observances of the quarterly communications, and desired the brethren to bring to the Grand Lodge any old
writings and records concerning Masons and Masonry, in order to show the usages of ancient times, and this year several old
copies of the Gothic Constitutions were produced and collated. The wish expressed at the Grand Feast for collecting old
manuscripts, appears to have been preparatory to the compiling and publishing a code of "Masonic Institutions" for the government
of the Grand Lodge, and which duty was assigned to Dr. James Anderson and the Rev. John Theophilus Desaguliers, both
gentlemen of learning and distinction.
Their work was submitted to committees at various sessions of the Grand Lodge, and after much discussion, many amendments
and additions, were finally approved and adopted by the Grand Lodge. So that at the annual assembly and feast at St. John's day,
1722, Doctor Anderson presented his "New Book of Constitutions" in print, the first Masonic work ever issued in that form.
The fraternity expressed their lasting obligations to Grand Master Payne for his zeal as Grand Master, in introducing brethren of
noble rank into the Society, who had done honor to the craft by their countenance and example. The number of Lodges began
rapidly to increase, and the Grand Lodge entered upon a brilliant career of success and usefulness. Her "provincial Grand Masters"
and "Book of Constitutions," soon floated through commerce to all parts where English speaking people resided in any considerable
numbers. And in the short space of twenty-five years, the Grand Lodge of England had spread the new Freemasonry in a manner
little less than miraculous, into nearly every portion of the civilized world."
It was not more than ten or twelve years after the re-organization of the fraternity in 1717, that it was introduced into
America. Brother Benjamin Franklin's paper, the "Pennsylvania Gazette" on December 8, 1730, published in
Philadelphia, contained notices concerning "the erection of several Lodges of Freemasons in the Province." On June
fifth of that year, the first recorded authority, emanating from the Grand Lodge, to plant the institution in America, was
contained in the Deputation making Daniel Cox, Esquire, Provincial Grand Master for the Provinces of New York,
New Jersey and Pennsylvania, in America. There is not the slightest doubt about the genuineness of this deputation.
It read as follows:
Sic Subscribitur.
(L. S.)
NORFOLK, G. M.
To all and every our Right Worshipful, Worshipful and loving Brethren now residing or who may hereafter reside in the Provinces of
New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, His Grace, THOMAS, Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal and Hereditary Marshal of England,
Earl of Arundel, Surrey, Norfolk and Norwich, Baron Mowbray, Howard Segrave, Brewse of Gower, Fitz Allen, Warren, Clan Oswald,
estre Maltravers, Greystock, Furnival Verdon, Lovelot, Strango of Blackmere, and Howard of Castle Rising, after the Princes of the
Royal Blood, first Duke Earl and Baron of England, Chief of the illustrious family of the Howards, Grand Master of the free and
accepted Masons of England, Sendeth Greeting:
Whereas application has been made unto us by our Right Worshipful and well beloved Brother, Daniel Cox, of New Jersey, Esqr.,
and by several other Brethren, free and accepted Masons, residing and about to reside in the said Provinces of New York, New
Jersey and Pennsylvania, that we would be pleased to nominate and appoint a Provincial Grand Master of the said Provinces: Now
know ye, that we have nominated, ordained, constituted and appointed, and do by these presents nominate, ordain, constitute and
appoint, our Right Worshipful and well beloved Brother, the said Daniel Cox, Provincial Grand Master of the said Provinces of New
York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with full Power and Authority to nominate and appoint his Deputy Grand Master and Grand
Wardens for the space of two years from the feast of St. John the Baptist now next ensuing, after which time it is our will and
pleasure, and we do hereby ordain that the Brethren who do now reside, or who may hereafter reside, in all or any of said Provinces
shall and they are hereby empowered every other year on the feast of St. John the Baptist to elect a Provincial Grand Master, who
shall have the power of nominating and appointing his Deputy Grand Master and Grand Wardens. And we do hereby empower our
said Provincial Grand Master and the Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master and Grand Wardens for the time being, for us and in our
place and stead to constitute the Brethren (free and accepted Masons) now residing or who shall hereafter reside in those parts, into
one or more regular Lodge or Lodges, as he shall think fit, and as often as occasion will require. He, the said Daniel Cox, and the
Provincial Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master and Grand Wardens for the time being taking special care that all and every
member of any Lodge or Lodges so to be constituted have or shall be made regular Masons, and that they do cause all and every
the Regulations contained in the printed Book of Constitutions, except so far as they have been altered by the Grand Lodge at their
Quarterly Meetings, to be kept and observed, and also all such other Rules and Instructions as shall from time to time be transmitted
to him or them by us, or Nath'l Blackerly, Esquire, our Deputy Grand Master, or the Grand Master or his Deputy for the time being,
and that he, the said Daniel Cox, our Provincial Grand Master of the said Provinces, and the Provincial Grand Master for the time
being, or his Deputy, do send to us or our Deputy Grand Master and to the Grand Master of England or his Deputy for the time
being annually an account in writing of the number of Lodges so constituted, with the names of the several members of each
particular Lodge, together with such other matters and things as he or they shall think fit to be communicated for the prosperity of
the Craft. And lastly, we will and require that our said Provincial Grand Master, and the Grand Master for the time being or his
deputy, do annually cause the Brethren to keep the feast of St. John the Evangelist, and dine together on that day, or (in case any
accident should happen to prevent their dining together on that day) on any other day near that time, as the Provincial Grand Master
for the time being shall judge most fit, as is done here, and at that time more particularly and at all Quarterly Communications he do
recommend a General Charity to be established for the Relief of poor Brethren of the said Province.
Given under our hand and seal of office at London, this fifth day of June, 1730, and of Masonry 5730."
5
It has been claimed that Brother Cox never exercised the authority conferred in this deputation, but there is evidence
that he did so in at least one case, and he doubtless did in others, the record of such action not being preserved. A
letter is in existence, that was written by Henry Bell, of Lancaster, Pa., to Doctor Cadwallader of Philadelphia, dated
November 17, 1754, in which the following words are used:
As you well know, I was one of the originators of the first Masonic Lodge in Philadelphia. A party of us used to meet at the Tun
Tavern in Water Street, and sometimes opened a Lodge there. Once in the fall of 1730, we formed a design of obtaining a Charter
for a regular Lodge, and made application to the Grand Lodge of England for one, but before receiving it, we heard that Daniel Cox,
of New Jersey, had been appointed by that Grand Lodge as Provincial Grand Master of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
We therefore applied to him, and our request was granted."
An old ledger used by "St. John's Lodge," Philadelphia, from 1731 to 1738, which has been preserved, contains
accounts which prove that Lodge to have been in existence in 1730.
The issue of Brother Franklin's paper for June 26, 1732, contains the following:
"Saturday last, (June 24th,) being St. John's day, the Grand Lodge of the Ancient and Honorable Society of FREE and ACCEPTED
MASONS was held at the Sun (Tun) Tavern in Water Street, when after a handsome entertainment, the Worshipful W. ALLEN,
Esquire, was unanimously chosen Grand Master of this Province for the year ensuing, who was pleased to appoint Mr. Wm. Pringle,
Deputy Grand Master; Wardens chosen for the ensuing year were THOMAS BOUDE and BENJAMIN FRANKLIN."
THE OLD TUN TAVERN. Philadelphia,
in which the First Lodge of Freemasons was organized in North America
April 30, 1733, a deputation was granted by Anthony, Lord Viscount Montague, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of
England, to Henry Price, of Boston, appointing him Provincial Grand Master of New England and Dominions and
Territories thereunto belonging. The following is a copy of that deputation:
MONTAGUE (L. S.) G. M.
To all and every Our Right Worshl Worshipful and Loving Brethren now Residing or who may hereafter Reside in New England,
The Rt. Honble and Rt. Worshl Anthony Lord Viscount Montague, Grand Master of the Free and Accepted Masons of England,
Sendeth Greeting:
Whereas application has been made unto us by our Rt. Worshl and well Beloved Brother Mr. Henry Price in behalf of himself and
several other Brethren now Residing in New England aforesaid Free and Accepted Masons, that we would be pleased to nominate
and appoint a Provincial Grand Master of Free and Accepted Masons in New England aforesaid.
NOW KNOW YE That we have Nominated, Ordained, Constituted and appointed and do by these Presents Nominate, Ordain,
Constitute, and appoint Our said Worshl and well Beloved Brother Mr. Henry Price, Provincial Grand Master of New England
aforesaid and Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging with full power and authority to nominate and appoint his Deputy
Grand Master and Grand Wardens, and we do also hereby empower the said Mr. Henry Price for us and in Our place and Stead, to
Constitute the Brethren (Free and Accepted Masons) now Residing or shall hereafter reside in these parts, into one or more regular
Lodge or Lodges, as he shall think fit, and often as occasion shall require. He the said Mr. Henry Price, taking especial care that all
and every member of any Ledge or Lodges so to be Constituted have been or shall be made Regular Masons, and that they do
cause all and every the Regulations Contained in the Printed Book of Constitutions (except so far as they have been altered by the
Grand Lodge at their (Quarterly meetings) to be kept and observed, and also all such other Rules and Instructions as shall from time
to time be transmitted to him by us or by Thomas Batson Esquire, Our Deputy Grand Master, or the Grand Master or his Deputy for
the time being, and that He the said Mr. Henry Price or his Deputy do send to us or Our Deputy Grand Master and to the Grand
Master of England or his Deputy for the time being Annually, an acct in writing of the number of Lodges so Constituted with the
names of the several Members of each Particular Lodge, together with such other matters and things as he or they shall think fit to
Communicate for the Prosperity of the Craft.
6
And Lastly we will and Require that our said Provincial Grand Master of New England do Annually cause the Brethren to keep the
feast of St. John the Evangelist, and Dine together on that Day, or (in case any accident should happen to prevent their Dining
together on that Day) on any other day near that time as he shall judge most fit as is done here and that at all Quarterly
Communications, he do recommend a General Charity to be Established for the Relief of Poor Brethren in these parts.
Given under our Hand and Seal of Office at London the Thirtieth Day of April 1733, and of Masonry 5733.
By the Grand Master's Command,
Thos. Batson, D. G. M.
G. Rooke, S. G. W.
J. Smythe, J. G. W.
HENRY PRICE.
Henry Price was born in London, England, in the year 1697 and came to America about the
year 1723, being then about twenty-six years of age. No trace of him appears in Boston prior
to 1732, in which year he brought a suit in the Inferior Court of Common Pleas in Boston, and
he is described in the writ as "Henry Price of Boston, etc., Taylor." From this it is evident that
he must have been established in business there as earl}' as 1730 or 1731. In 1733,
Governor Jonathan Bilcher appointed him Cornet in his troop of Guards, with the rank of
Major, and from that time he was known as Major Price.
Price carried on his business for some time at the sign of the Brazen Head, on Cornhill.
In 1736 he formed a partnership with one Francis Beteilhe, who was a shopkeeper, while
Price carried on the tailoring department. This co-partnership continued until 1740. About
1739 it appears that Price gave up the tailoring, for after this he and his partner are described
as shopkeepers. In 1741 he assumed sole control of the business, and carried it on for some time at the corner of
Pond and Newberry streets, now Bedford and Washington streets. This was then in the south part of Boston. Price
possessed a large lot of land on the southerly side of what is now Bedford street, upon which were a brick store and a
dwelling-house, while part of the premises was improved as a garden.
In 1740 he purchased, for £1,000, a lot of land with buildings thereon, situated "at the lower end of the Broad street,
wherein the Exchange or Town House stands, leading down to the Governor's Dock."
At the time he purchased, there was a wooden building upon it. In the spring of 1744 he commenced a brick building,
which was completed during the summer, and before November; and upon his application, the selectmen gave him
permission to erect a sign post in King street, opposite his store. He removed here with his family, occupying the
upper part as a dwelling-house, and the lower part as a store. This was the usual manner of occupying buildings used
for stores in those days. The firm business not only included the mechanical labor of tailoring, but also the business
of what is now known as a merchant tailor, and, in addition, the sale of cloths, silks, ribbons and similar articles of
merchandise. This business, as a merchant or shopkeeper, he carried on alone from 1741 to 1750, when he retired.
It does not appear that after this he was engaged in any occupation, and from the great amount of real estate which
he possessed it is improbable that he was.
In the fall of 1737 he was married to Miss Townsend, who died in the summer of 1751, and May 25, 1752, he was
again married to Mary Tilden, of Boston. She died in 1759 or 1760, and on "September ye 17, 1771," he was again
married to Lydia Randall.
His estate at Townsend was large, embracing several farms, with buildings, mills, mill privileges, mechanical shops,
wood-lots and hundreds of acres. Here he lived quietly, and enjoyed his increasing years. Age prevented his taking
any part in the contest with Great Britain, which broke out into Revolution in 1775. He was of course interested in its
progress. In a conveyance, made May 14, 1779, he adds after the date and year, the following: "and third year of the
independence of the United States of America." This is the only evidence which has come to hand, showing his
sentiments upon the conflict then impending. His active sympathies were undoubtedly with the straggling colonies, as
at that time no man would have acknowledge independence, if his feelings had been friendly to the Crown.
About the 14th of May, 1780, while using an axe in splitting rails, it glanced and struck him in the abdomen, inflicting a
severe and fatal wound. The most serious consequences were apprehended. His last will and testament were
prepared immediately, and executed on the 15th. This document gives a clear idea of his business character. It was
made when Major Price was upwards of eighty years of age, while suffering from pain, in view of an early dissolution,
and it exhibits the clearness of his intellect and the admirable business traits which had enabled him to amass a large
fortune. It especially shows what his religious character was; the possession of three pews in meeting houses not of
his faith and of his church evince the strong sympathy he had for religious instruction, and the aid he afforded for its
support.
Major Price languished until the 20th of May, when he died at his homestead at Townsend, aged eighty-three years.
He left an estate of great value, but which was afterwards much reduced by lawsuits, insecurity of his titles to real
estate, and by the general depression resulting from the war of the Revolution upon all property in the New States.
7
The last words of the inscription on his tombstone are, “An honest man, the noblest work of God."
In the next two or three years following the appointment of Brother Price as Grand Master, considerable
correspondence passed between him and Brother Benjamin Franklin, Grand Master in Pennsylvania, from which it
appears a strong friendship was formed between these two distinguished brothers. The following is a facsimile of the
autograph attached to one of the letters that Brother Franklin wrote at this time.
Grand Master Price organized the St. John’s Grand Lodge at Boston, and granted warrants for instituting Lodges in
the different colonies, and from that time, the spread of Masonry was rapid in this country.
We have given the two earliest deputations of Masonic authority in this country. There is yet one more which should
be of interest to the fraternity in Michigan for whom this work is prepared, as it forms the connecting link which joins
Michigan Masonry of to-day with the Masonry of colonial times, and through that connection, with the Grand Lodge of
England. On June 9th, 1753, a deputation was granted by John Proby, Baron of Carysford, in the Kingdom of
Ireland, Grand Master of England, appointing George Harison, Esquire, to be Provincial Grand Master of the
Province of New York. This deputation appears on another page at a later place in this work. December 26th, of that
year, he was installed and proclaimed by his predecessor, Brother Francis Geolet. The New York Mercury of
December 31, 1753, contains the following notice of this event:
"On Thursday last at a Grand Lodge of the Ancient and Worshipful Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, a Commission from the
Honorable John Proby, Baron of Carysfort, in the Kingdom of Ireland, Grand Master of England, appointed George Harison,
Esquire, to be Provincial Grand Master, was solemnly published, we hear, to the universal satisfaction of all the brethren present,
after which, it being the festival of St. John the Evangelist, service at Trinity Church. The order in which they proceeded was as
follows: First, walked the Sword Bearer, carrying a drawn sword; then four Stewards, with white maces, followed by the Treasurer
and Secretary, who bore each a crimson damask cushion, on which lay a gilt bible, and the Book of Constitutions; after these came
the Grand Warden and the Wardens; then came the Grand Master himself, bearing a truncheon and other badges of his office,
followed by the rest of the Brotherhood, according to their respective ranks—Masters, Fellow Crafts, and Prentices, to about the
number of fifty, all clothed with their jewels, aprons, white gloves and stockings. The whole ceremony was concluded with the
utmost decorum, under a discharge of guns from some vessels in the harbor, and made a genteel appearance. We hear they
afterwards conferred a generous donation of fifteen pounds from the public stock of the Society, to be expended in clothing the poor
children belonging to our Chanty school; and made a handsome private contribution for the relief of indigent prisoners. In the
evening, by the particular request of the brethren, a comedy, called 'The Conscious Lovers,' was presented at the Theatre in
Nassau Street to a very crowded audience. Several pieces of vocal music, in praise of the Fraternity were performed between the
Acts. An Epilogue, suitable to the occasion, was pronounced by Mrs. Hallam, with all the graces of gesture, and proprietry of
elocution, and met with universal and loud applause."
Grand Master Harison officiated for eighteen consecutive years, and during that time issued warrants for the
institution of many Lodges, and under his administration Masonry made rapid advance.
He established several new Lodges in the City of New York, others in Albany and Poughkeepsie, in that state,
several in Connecticut, as well as one in what was then on the extreme western frontier, the City of Detroit, and
from which has spring that noble army of nearly forty thousand who now worship at Masonic Altars in Michigan.
We are now nearing the time when Masonry in America was no longer to be confined to a few of the colonies near
the seaboard. It was to be a co-laborer with the white man in opening up, developing and civilizing the great west.
Previous to the year 1764, a few Lodges in the immediate vicinity of Boston, New York and Philadelphia constituted
the whole of organized Masonry in America. As civilization begins its unceasing march westward, we find
Freemasonry keeping full pace with it, and wherever a center of population begins to develop, we find Masonry
planting its banners and lending its helpful influence in elevating humanity, and cementing more closely the bond that
binds man to his fellow-man.
8
ZION LODGE, DETROIT.
FIRST ORGANIZATION—THE CANADA WARRANT.
THE STRUGGLES AND TRIUMPHS OF A CENTURY.
The site where Detroit stands was first visited by the French in 1610. In 1701 Detroit was founded by M.
DeLaCadillac, under the government of France, and remained under that government for fifty- nine years. In 1760,
the English troops having captured Canada, Major Rogers with his command took possession of Detroit, and the
English flag took the place of that of France. Campbell's History of Michigan says, "A large part of this force consisted
of several companies of the 60th, or Royal American Regiment, officered chiefly by American gentlemen from New
York and other Eastern colonies."
A treaty of peace between England and France was signed at Paris, February 10, 1763, and thereafter England
retained possession of the military posts in Michigan. May 6th of that year, the celebrated Indian chief Pontiac,
commanding the allied tribes, laid siege to Detroit and the garrison was closely beleaguered for six months. In the
following year, 1764, General Bradstreet arrived there and strengthened the post, and concluded a treaty of peace
with the Indians.
Some of the officers of the 60th Regiment, heretofore mentioned, being masons, they, with others residing there
became desirous of meeting together as such, and cultivating the social relations of the order.
Under warrant of the Provincial Grand Lodge of New York
27 Apr 1764 – before 1794
They petitioned Provincial Grand Master Harison, of New York, for a warrant to open at Detroit, a Lodge of
Master Masons.
The request was granted, and the following warrant was issued by him on the 27th day of April, A. D., 1764.
TO ALL AND EVERY OUR WORSHIPFUL AND LOVING BRETHREN:
Wee, GEORGE HARISON, Esq., Provincial Grand Master of the Most Ancient and Honourable Society of Free and Accepted
Masons in the Province of New York in America, send Greeting:
KNOW YE, that, reposing special Trust and Confidence in our Worshipful and well-beloved Brother Lieu JOHN CHRISTIE, of the
60th Regiment, Wee do hereby nominate, constitute and appoint him, the said John Christle, to be Master of a Lodge of Masons,
Number one, to be held at Detroit under whatever name the said Master and his officers shall please to distinguish it; and Wee do
also appoint Sampson Fleming, Senior Warden, and Josias Harper Junr Warden of the said Lodge by Virtue of the Power and
Authority vested in me by a deputation bearing date in London the ninth day of June, A. D,, One Thousand Seven Hundred and fiftythree, A.L.. Five Thousand Seven Hundred and fifty-three, from the Right Worshipful John Proby, Baron of Carysford, in the county
of Wicklow, in the Kingdom of Ireland, the then Grand Master of England, Appointing us Provincial Grand Master of New York. And
Wee do hereby authorize the said JOHN CHRISTIE to make Masons as also to do and execute all things Lawful in Masonry, he
taking especial care that the Members of his said Lodge do Observe and keep the Rules, Orders Regulations and Instructions
contained in our constitutions and their man By-laws, together with all such other Rules, Orders, Regulations and Instructions as
shall be given us, and paying out of the first money he shall receive for Initiation Fees to me at New York, Three pounds three
shilling Sterling by me applied to the use of the Grand Charity here or Elsewhere,
Given under Our Hand and Seal of Masonry at New York this
Twenty-seventh day of April, A. D. One Thousand Seven Hundred
and sixty-four, and in the year of Masonry Five Thousand Seven
Hundred and Sixty-four.
Witness, PETER MIDDLETON.
No. 448 of the Register of England and No. 1 of Detroit.
L. S.
9
Thus we see that a little more than thirty years after its organized introduction into America, Masonry was planted in
Michigan. This was a very early period in the history of this commonwealth; when the entire peninsulas now
constituting this beautiful state, were an unbroken wilderness. Civilization had planted its banders only in two or three
scattered places in this territory. Detroit, that beautiful city with its 300,000 inhabitants, its bustling activity, its wealth
and culture, was then simply a frontier military post and headquarters for Indian trading in the northwest.
Michigan, at this time, for military purposes, was a part of Canada, and Detroit was a British military post, far beyond
the frontier. All of what is now known as Western New York, Northern Ohio and Upper Canada, was then wilderness.
Along the Detroit River, on both sides, there were, according to the best authorities, some three or four hundred
French families, representing two thousand to twenty- five hundred inhabitants, but Detroit proper contained about
five hundred inhabitants, living in seventy to eighty log houses, all closely huddled together and surrounded by a
stockade about twenty-five feet high and twelve hundred in circumference.
The Ottawa, Pottawatamie and Wyandotte Indians occupied the banks of the Detroit River above and below, and
they were united, for offense and defense, under the dangerous leadership of the noted and powerful chieftain,
Pontiac. The white people were mainly French, with a few Scotch and English from Canada. Nearly all subsisted by
the fur trade.
It was in such soil and amid such environments that the seeds of masonry were first planted in Michigan.
Doctor Foster Pratt, in his sketch of early Masonry, says:
"Local historians mention the presence in Detroit of the "60th" or Royal American Regiment, or detachments of it, from 1760 to
1767—four years before and three years after the Lodge was formed—but do not state how much, if any, longer it remained
stationed there.
Judge Campbell's history says: "The officers of the 60th seemed to have been much better qualified to deal with the Indians than
some of their associates." "The officers of the 60th were generally well thought of in the country. * * * * * "Captain Donald Campbell
of the 60th was the first commandant."
It should be borne in mind that the "60th"-—men and officers—was American. Other troops and officers stationed here were
English. Naturally enough the American troops, as compared with others, understood the people better, had sympathies and
interests more in common with them, liked them better and for good reasons, were better liked by them in return. This friendly and
fraternal feeling between the "60th" and the people of Detroit becomes a factor of some importance in our Masonic History.
The circumstances attending the formation of Lodge No. 1 at Detroit, seem to indicate that its warrant was obtained through the
influence and agency of the officers of the "60th," who, being "New York Gentlemen," undoubtedly had masonic acquaintance and
influence in that city. The same circumstances also raise the question whether it was a "military" or "local" lodge?
"Military Lodges" were forbidden by English G. L. Regulations to admit or make masons of any but "military men of rank"— i. e.,
above the grade of privates. Residents of stations and others not in the army were excluded. This was, many times, a wise and
prudent rule, both in its military and masonic aspects; but its enforcement was not always necessary. This restriction was distinctly
expressed in all military warrants given by their Provincial Deputies. Indeed, there is abundant evidence that some "Military Lodges"
with English troops serving in the American colonies, prior to the Revolution, did not obey the rule. The sanction given by the
Provincial Deputies to this departure from a rule, rigidly enforced elsewhere, indicates that they were permitted, in this matter, as in
others, the exercise of a sound discretion.
The Worshipful Master named in the Detroit Warrant, is "Lieut. John Christie, of the 60th Regiment;" but the warrant contains no
other language that gives the lodge, or indicates that it had, a military character. Whether "Sampson Fleming. Senior Warden and
Josias Harper, Junior Warden" were soldiers or citizens is not indicated, and we do not now know. None but ''military men of rank"
being permitted, by English regulations, to be members or officers of a "Military Lodge," (if this was such a lodge), why should not
the "ranks" of the Wardens be stated in the warrant as well as that of the Worshipful Master? The inference seems to be that they
were residents in civil life, and not "military men."
Of the work of Zion Lodge under this warrant of 1674 (sic - 1764), no record remains, neither is it known at this day that the lodge
worked continuously up to the year 1794, at which time the present complete record of the lodge begins. History and tradition are
alike silent upon this matter. It is highly probable that the lodge ceased work sometime previous to that date.
Under the Grand Lodge Upper Canada at Quebec
7 Sep 1794 - 1806
In 1794, Michigan being held and claimed by England as a part of Upper Canada, what more natural than that the
masons of Detroit, desiring the privileges of a lodge, should apply to the Grand Lodge of Canada, then fully
organized, for authority under which to work. A number of zealous masons therefore petitioned the Grand Lodge of
Canada and on September 7th, A. D., 1794, the following warrant was issued by that Grand Lodge.
THOMAS AINSLIE, D. Grand Master.
THOMAS DODD, S. G. W.
JOHN LYNCH, J. G. W.
TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
10
We, the Right Worshipful THOMAS AINSLIE, Esq., Collector of his Majesty's Customs, Lieu tenant-Colonel of the British Militia of
the City of Quebec, etc., and Deputy Grand Master of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons,
(according to the old constitution granted by His Royal Highness Prince EDWIN at York, Anno Domini nine hundred twenty and six)
in Canada and Masonical jurisdiction thereunto belonging:
KNOW YE, By the authority in us vested, by His Royal Highness Prince EDWIN, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and
of the Most Illustrious Order of St. Patrick, Major General of His Majesty's Forces, etc., Grand Master in his absence, that we do
hereby authorize and empower our trusty and well beloved brethren, viz: The Worshipful JAMES DONALDSON, one of our
MASTER MASONS; the Worshipful EDWARD BYRN, his Senior Warden, and the Worshipful FINDLY CAMPBELL, his Junior
Warden, to form and hold a Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, aforesaid, at or in the City of Detroit, in Upper Canada, upon the
first Monday of every Calendar month, and on all seasonable times and lawful occasions; and in the said Lodge, (when duly
congregated, ) to admit and make Free Masons according to the most ancient and honorable custom of the Royal Craft in all ages
and nations throughout the known world.
And we do hereby further authorize and empower our said trusty and well beloved brethren, JAMES DONALDSON, EDWARD
BYRN AND FINDLY CAMPBELL, (with the consent of the members of their Lodge) to nominate, choose and install their
successors, to whom they shall deliver this Warrant, and invest them with their powers and dignities as Free Masons, etc., and such
successors shall in like manner nominate, choose and install their successors, etc., etc., etc. Such installations to be upon (or near)
every Saint John's day, during the continuance of this Lodge, forever: Providing the above named brethren and their successors
duly conform to the known and established Rules and Regulations of the Craft; paying due respect to us by whom these presents
are granted and to the R. W. Grand Lodge of Canada; conforming to the Laws and Regulations thereof, and preserving a regular
and yearly communication therewith; otherwise this warrant to be of no force or virtue.
Given under our hands and the seal of our Grand Lodge, in Quebec, this seventh day of September, in the year of our Lord one
thousand seven hundred and ninety-four, and in the year of Masonry five thousand seven hundred and ninety-four.
JAMES DAVIDSON, Grand Secretary.
(Note. — This Warrant is registered in the Grand Lodge, Volume I, Letter S.)
Under the authority contained in this warrant, the brethren met in the house of Brother James Donaldson and
organized Zion Lodge No. 10. Authentic and recorded history really commences on this date. The first record of this
lodge, and it is the first record of a1n Masonic Lodge in the west, is here presented in exact facsimile, reduced a little
in size.
11
Thus reads the earliest Masonic record in the northwest. From this time until the year 1821, the history of Zion Lodge
is the history of Masonry in Michigan. In view of this fact, many details are presented in the history of this lodge,
which might, were there many other lodges working at that time, have been omitted. They are given to show the
masonic zeal which animated the hearts of those pioneers in masonry, the difficulties under which they labored, and
to show the contrast between the facilities enjoyed by those early brethren and those of our own days.
The second meeting of this lodge was held on December 27th, 1794, and St. John's Day was celebrated, as shown
by the following record:
"The Worshipful Master called to order and opened a Master Masons Lodge when our W. Brother John Askwith was Hailed from
Modern to ancient Masonry. The Masters Lodge Cloased, and Opened as an Entered Apprentice Lodge under which the Brethren
Presant Dined Sumtuiosly together and spent The Evening according to Ancient Customs. The Lodge was cloased at 10 o'clock in
love and Harmony."
The first work done by Zion Lodge under this Canada Charter was on January 5, 1795, when Joseph Douglas, of the
Royal Artillery, received the first degree. Two petitions were received at that meeting, By-Laws were read, adopted
and signed, and Zion Lodge may be said to have fully entered upon its career of prosperity.
On the 6th of April of that year, the following action is recorded
"It was Agreed by the unamemously (sic) Consent of all the Brethren Present, to carry on Correspondence with the Grand Lodge of
Canada Annually on the 24th of June, being the Most Seasonable time of the year for that purpose."
The following action was also taken regarding petitions and balloting:
"It was agreed by the Members present, that every person Wishing to become a member of this Lodge shall be Regularly balloted
for, and if one black bean only be given against him, the Brother who gives it must give his reasons before the Lodge; and if two
black beans be given against him the two Brothers who gives against him, must give their Reasons in Private before the Master and
12
the two Wardens, who is allowed to Judge whether the Reasons given be sufficient or not, and that at a future opportunity, and if
three black beans be given against him, he is to be rejected."
The records shows names of absent brethren as well as those in attendance at the meetings of the Lodge, and
those absent must give acceptable excuses or pay a fine for non-attendance. Regularly every year, upon the
24th of June and 27th of December, feasts of the Saints John were observed and officers installed, and the brethren
"dined sumptuously together in celebrating all Grand Masters and absent Brethren.” At such celebration of June 24th,
1795, the records go on to show that,
During the time of Mirth, Brother Curry arrived from Mackinac in the Detroit Sloop, and spent the remainder of the Evening with us.
As Brother Donaldson has been at Extraordinary expense in providing a Dinner for the feast of St. John's the Baptist and as only
Nine out of the Seventeen Brothers attended to Partake of Said Feast, the Brothers present are of opinion that the sum of Two
pounds four Shillings York must be Taken out of the funds belonging to the Lodge, for the purpose of defraying said Feast, and that
a further regulation be made the next Monthly lodge Night for future feasts.
At the next meeting it was agreed by unanimous consent that all brethren should pay for their dinners on St.
John's Day whether absent or present.
Think of these semi-annual feasts, brethren of the present day, when several hundred of you at a time surround your
banquet tables and partake of feasts such as were unknown a hundred years ago. Let your thoughts for a moment
revert back to as small a number as nine observing every recurring St. Johns Day, and finding, amid their modest
surroundings, the same pleasures and enjoyments which you have to-day. It is worthy of note that no matter what
occurred to mar the pleasures of the evening's meeting, every record shows that "the lodge was closed at ten of the
clock in perfect love and harmony."
On the 4th of July, 1796, the lodge instructed "Brother Treasurer Donaldson to present to the Grand Lodge under
whom we are sanctioned a sum of two Guineas for the relief of indigent Brethren wherever found."
One week after that date, July 11,1796, General Wayne's army took possession of Detroit and the stars and stripes
floated over it for the first time. Zion Lodge, however, continued to work under the Canada warrant for ten years from
this time.
In this same year the county of Wayne was set apart. It extended from the Cuyahoga River, (where Cleveland now
stands) in Ohio, to the line now dividing Indiana and Illinois, and embraced all the subsequent Territory of Michigan,
which included the present states of Michigan and Wisconsin, with a part of Ohio and Indiana. Detroit was the county
seat.
On the 5th of December, 1796, the lodge decided that "the absence of Brother Ruland as Junior Warden, was
considered by the lodge as a breach of the By-Laws and accordingly sentenced to pay a fine of two shillings,
which rule should stand good in future toward all officers absenting themselves in like manner."
Members in those early days were somewhat derelict in the matter of paying dues, as well as those of the present
day, as, on July 3rd, 1797, appears this record: "The years proceedings being now due to be reported to the Grand
Lodge, it was considered whether the absent members should, for their arrearages, be accounted for at present by
the body, and unanimously agreed to furnish from the body the necessary supply to expedite that report and hold the
absent members answerable to this body."
Sept. 4th, 1797, Zion Lodge was asked to recommend certain brethren on the River Thames for a warrant from the
Grand Lodge of Upper Canada, but declined doing so, giving as reasons therefor, "Having no correspondence with
that body, could not further assist them than by applying to the Grand Lodge of Lower Canada from whom we have
our authority and recommend them for a dispensation under our warrant for a certain time, liable to be revoked by us
upon appearances of any bad usages and this upon a new request for that purpose." Evidently, Zion Lodge desired,
to a certain extent, to exercise the rights and prerogatives of a Grand Lodge.
Differences of opinion among members of the lodge, whether on questions of money or other matters of difference,
were almost invariably settled to the perfect satisfaction of both parties in the lodge. Such matters would be referred
to a committee, who would carefully investigate the same, and from their report there was seldom an appeal.
The initiation fees in those days were divided up for different purposes, as shown by the following entry: "The body
then proceeded to the initiation of James McDonnell, who, after being duly prepared, received the first degree of
masonry, paid the accustomed fees of two Guineas for installation, one dollar for use of the Grand Lodge and two
shillings to the Tyler."
What would the brethren of to-day think of a lodge action like the following, which is recorded Jan. 1st, 1798.
13
The jurisdiction of Zion Lodge was not confined to Michigan, but extended over into Canada, and on some occasions
action upon petitions was delayed because the passage of the river was dangerous. It was the practice of the
brethren at that time, when persons were proposed for initiation, to require their attendance at the next regular
meeting that they might be seen by the members before being balloted for. It was further the practice to require
visiting brethren to contribute their share of the evening's expenses, but in 1799 the lodge resolved unanimously that
"in future the expenses of all visiting brethren shall be paid out of the lodge box." From this time forward visitors were
admitted without being obliged to help pay the expenses of the lodge.
In August, 1799, with their annual returns to Grand Lodge, the lodge again presented two Guineas for the relief of
indigent brethren.
It is worthy of note that while this lodge regularly celebrated St. John's Day twice in each year, the records show that
on each occasion the accounts connected with each celebration were regularly settled before the meeting adjourned.
They also show that feasts for a great many years were held at B. Woodworth's Hotel, and that the prices were
generally $1.50 per person. They usually had an oration or a sermon and sometimes both.
Violators of civil and masonic law were sometimes summarily dealt with, as, notice the following extract from the
records of October 6th, 1800. "From the complaint being offered by several brethren against Isaac Moses,
absconded, who has defrauded them unbecoming a mason, he is unanimously expelled by the body and to be
reported to the Grand Lodge."
In April, 1801, the lodge was asked to recommend certain brethren at Walden for a dispensation for a lodge at that
place and the action on this request is recorded in these words:
Received the memorial from the brethren at Walden the purport of which is that they request we would assist them in obtaining the
warrant, also to bestow our benevolences out of our fund. Unanimously agreed to recommend them as worthy and deserving
Brothers but could not think of parting with money. Sent the Brethren at Walden copy of our resolve.
In 1801, it was "ordered on motion of Brother Scott and seconded by Brother Grover that a cocked hat be purchased
by the Brethren for the use of the lodge, to be worn by the Worshipful Master." Imagine the Worshipful Master in 1895
wearing a cocked hat!
The two items of business most frequently recorded, aside from work in the degrees, consists of revising By-Laws
and renting halls, these two being done almost annually.
In September, 1801, the lodge rented a new room for a place of meeting for the sum of $30 per annum, and for a
stove during the winter season, a further sum of $7.50. On one occasion the lodge resolved to meet at ten o'clock in
the morning of the 20th inst. in full dress, and go in procession to the new room where future meetings were to be
held.
Immediately upon occupying this new room, Brother Schieffelin was authorized to purchase certain books on
masonry for the use of the lodge, using his own judgment with respect to quality, number and price. This was the
starting point for a library for Zion Lodge.
At the close of the year 1801, "The committee directed to audit the Lodge accounts, now report on investigation, there
appears to be a balance in the Funds of Eighty-six pounds, Ten Shillings and Two Pence, New York Currency, and
outstanding debts to the amount of Twenty Seven Pounds, Fifteen shillings and Ten pence half penny." At this time
two guineas were again donated to the Grand Lodge.
14
In June, 1802, the records say "Brother Robert Abbott being elected Master, 7th inst., for the ensuing six months, but
his business calling him to the Indian Country and consequently not present to be installed, the present Master to be
continued pro tempore."
During a year or two preceding 1803, there was considerable complaint about the difficulty of getting correspondence
from the Grand Lodge of Lower Canada and at a meeting held on the second of May, 1803, the first action was taken
looking to a severance of relations with that Grand Lodge, and the following record is made of such action:
“'The Worshipful Master then read a letter received from the Grand Lodge, dated the 23rd February 1803, which was taken into
consideration, when it was agreed to make the returns due, and write to the Grand Lodge, praying to be discontinued, and a
recommendation to obtain a warrant from the Grand Lodge of New York, and that for this purpose the Lodge will apply by
Brother Schieffelin, who undertakes to procure the same."
On the fifth of September of the same year, the Lodge took further action looking to a transfer of its allegiance to the
Grand Lodge of New York, the record of which action is as follows:
"The Lodge taking into consideration the situation we are placed in not only as it respects our distance from the Grand Lodge of
Quebec but also our residing under another Government have thought proper upon mature consideration and reflection to make
application to the Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of New York to obtain a renewal of No. 1 of Detroit, formerly under their
sanction, or to obtain a new warrant from them and to obtain this request they have appointed their well beloved Brother John
Schieffelin to do and act for them therein, and likewise to pray that Brother Robert Abbott be Worshipful Master, John Dodemead,
Senior Warden, and David Davis, Junior Warden. And that Brother Charles Jewett be appointed to install said officers, That
Brothers William M. Scott, Abbott and Dodemead be a committee to draft a petition to the Grand Lodge and that the Secretary be
ordered to furnish Brother Schieffelin with a copy of this minute for his instruction."
The committee appointed for that purpose prepared the following petition:
TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL THE GRAND LODGE OF NEW YORK:
"The humble petition of the Brethren of Zion Lodge No. 10 of Detroit, Indiana Territory most respectfully sheweth. That your
petitioners have long and sensibly experienced the great inconveniency they have labored under, arising from their local situation,
far removed from any Grand Lodge of the United States, they have held their warrant under the sanction of the Grand Lodge of
Quebec, Lower Canada. But finding it inconvenient to hold a regular correspondence under a foreign government, and from sincere
attachment to the Government under which they exist, think it a duty encumbent on them to make Application to some lodge within
their own Territories, and for this purpose they have selected the Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of New York. The object of our
petition is, that the Worshipful Grand Brethren would upon mature consideration of our relative situation and circumstances, if they
think it meet and convenient revive a warrant No. i of this place, now lying dormant, and formerly under sanction of their lodge. But if
this cannot be accomplished, to grant a new warrant, and for this purpose confer with our beloved Brother Jonathan Schieffelin, who
is commissioned to obtain the same, as will appear by the extract from the minutes, And Your petitioners as in duty bound will ever
pray that the honour of the craft may flourish in your hands.''
Detroit 20fh September, 1803.
It was nearly four years, however, before Zion Lodge finally severed its relations with the Grand Lodge of Lower
Canada and again became a constituent of the Grand Lodge of New York. During these four years the Lodge
continued its work as before that time, with no particularly stirring events to mar its harmony. On May 10th, 1804, the
Lodge met in an emergent communication, and as recorded, "The Body then walked in procession carrying the
warrant, Jewels, Tools and implements to our newly rented hall in the house of Brother John Dodemead."
After getting located in this new hall, the Lodge adopted this amendment to its By-Laws, as a means to secure a
more regular attendance of its members:
"Any member, not in office, absenting himself from the Lodge the whole evening shall be fined the sum of two Dollars, or if absent
one hour 50 Cents; le Master for absenting himself from the Lodge the whole night shall be fined he sum of four dollars, or, at the
rate of one Dollar for each Hour that he may be absent after lodge hours; the Senior Warden Three Dollars or 70 Cents for each
hour, the Junior Warden two Dollars and 50 Cents, or 62 ½ Cents for each hour; the Secretary and treasurer as the Junior Warden
and the Senior and Junior Deacons as common members, excepting always the member absenting himself shall be able to offer
such reason as the lodge shall deem sufficient."
Here is a curious resolution that was passed in January 1805:
"As there was a considerable sum of money in the funds Dormant, that part of it should be drawn for the Importation of a quarter
Cask of Madura Wine, for the use of the Lodge, as the members had to pay an extravagant price for that article, when as by
importation it would come cheaper and be better, the money made use of for that purpose could and would be returned from time to
time by the members: The motion was seconded by the body, and the Secretary ordered to Draw upon the Treasurer for the
amount, and Import the same from Montreal the ensueing Spring."
The Territory of Michigan was created by an act of Congress passed January 11, 1805, to take effect June 30,
of that year, and William Hull was appointed Governor.
On June 11, of that year, the day before the arrival of the Governor and Judges, almost the entire town was
destroyed by fire. The old city was mostly contained within the stockade before mentioned, and comprised from one
15
hundred and fifty to two hundred buildings. Of this whole number, one small building near the river was the only one
not burned. Outside the stockade, however, quite a number of buildings had been erected, and these were
untouched by the fire, and among them places were found where the meetings of the Lodge could be held until better
accommodations were provided.
Zion Lodge shared in the general loss incident to this fire. It was preparing to celebrate the coming St. John's day in a
more conspicuous manner than before, and had issued invitations to Lodges 14 and 18, in Upper Canada to
participate with them in the exercises of the day. Of course the fire effectually prevented the proposed celebration.
The Lodge held a meeting at the house of a Mr. Lafontaine, on the day that had been fixed for the celebration, and
installed the officers for the next six months. It was then removed to the house of Brother Abraham and resumed its
work without the loss of a meeting. Its warrants and records were saved and thus it was enabled to continue meeting
without interruption. The furniture having all been lost, Brother Abraham was ordered "to take the trouble of procuring
for the use of our Lodge, a strong chest with three locks and keys, 4 benches with 3 of a large size to match, 2
pedestals, 3 large candlesticks, and a desk and pedestal for the Worshipful."
In November, 1805, another committee was appointed to renew the petition to the Grand Lodge of New York,
which was not favorably acted upon when presented before.
On the twenty-fourth day of June, 1806, when the Lodge had assembled as usual to observe the feast of St. John, it
was "unanimously resolved that this Lodge do sanction the application of the Royal Arch Masons of this Lodge to
obtain from the Grand Chapter at Albany a warrant for a chapter to be holden at Detroit." Here was the start of
Royal Arch Masonry in Michigan, further mention of which will be made later in this work.
Differences having arisen during this year, between Brothers McDougall and Smyth, over some accounts which they
seemed unable to adjust between themselves, it was brought into the Lodge for settlement, and the committee to
whom it was referred reported "that if any difference of account is now due by Brother Smyth to Brother McDougall for
Beef, the latter is obliged to take it out in eating and drinking." The records are silent as to whether or not Brother
McDougall ate up the balance of his account.
In May 1807, the Lodge had procured another new hall, and on the 30th of that month the members again "walked in
procession, accompanied with proper music, carrying the Warrant, Jewels, Tools and Implements to our newly rented
hall in the house of Brother John Palmer, where the worshipful delivered a very animated discourse appropriate to the
occasion. The Worshipful informed the Brothers that he had just received an invitation from His Excellency, Brother
Hull, requesting the favor of the officers and members of this Lodge and the Visiting brethren, after the labor is over,
to call and take refreshment with him, which was unanimously accepted of." General [William] Hull proved a true
friend of Masonry and frequently took occasion to participate with them in their exercises.
Warranted under the Grand Lodge of New York
3 Sep 1806 The time was now rapidly drawing near when the ardent wish of the brethren for a warrant from the Grand Lodge
of New York was to be gratified. The records of the Grand Lodge of New York, on Sept. 3, 1806, say, "A petition
from a number of brethren at Detroit, at present members of Zion Lodge, No. 1, under a warrant from the Grand
Lodge of Quebec, praying for a warrant from this Grand Lodge and surrendering their former warrant, was read and
granted."
This was in accordance with the repeated requests of Zion Lodge, but, owing to the delays incident to travel and
transportation in those days, this warrant did not reach Detroit until the following summer. At a meeting held on June
1, 1807, the warrant not yet having been received, the following record appears:
"On motion of Brother Scott, who suggests that as a new Warrant from New York is daily expected, having been left by Mathew
Elliott at Niagara and this being the evening for the election of officers for the ensuing six months, that the same brethren continue in
office.
Resolved, that they be and are hereby re-elected; to the exception of Brother John Conner who agrees to do the office of Tyler, and
Brother Comparet offers to perform the duties of Junior Deacon and Brother Smith those of Senior Warden, which is accepted by
the Worshipful Master and the rest of the brethren."
On the sixth of July, 1807, the long wished for warrant from New York having been received, the Lodge met
for the last time under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Lower Canada, and closed up its business with
that Body, and adopted the following:
"Resolved, That a committee be appointed to draft an extract from the minutes and report to the Grand Lodge, together with all dues
to the same, with our sincere acknowledgements for their brotherly love and affection toward us, and that Brother Scott, Brother
Robert Abbott, and Brother McDougall be the Committee to prepare and forward the same with the utmost promptitude and
diligence."
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Having given a facsimile of the first record of Zion Lodge under the Canada warrant, it is proper that the closing part
of the last record under that warrant be given in the same manner. This record will be found on the next page in
Brother McDougall's handwriting.
This record marks the close of the second division of Zion's history, the first being its work under the original warrant
of 1764, no written records of which remain. From this time, this Lodge assumes a new position, and is no longer
subordinate to a foreign Grand Body. Hereafter, she is, in all respects, an American Lodge, with affiliation entirely in
the Country in which she is located.
On the same day which terminated the allegiance of Zion Lodge to the Canada authority, the members thereof met
and organized under the New York warrant, and, marking as it does, the beginning of the third division of the history
of this Lodge, the records of this meeting under the new warrant are certainly entitled to a prominent place in the
history of this lodge. They read as follows:
17
18
19
Among the names recorded here as members of this lodge, are several who were men of importance at that day.
Brother George McDougall, for many years the efficient Secretary, was Chief Judge of the District Court; James
Abbott was a prominent merchant and was one of the Associate Justices of that Court; Dr. Wm. McD. Scott was a
prominent layman of the Episcopal Church and frequently read its service on the Sabbath; John Dodemead kept a
well known tavern and was a prominent man in that early day.
For the next few years Zion Lodge, instead of being number ten, as under the Canada warrant, was known as
number one, which number it retained until the war of 1812 caused it to suspend labor for a time.
It will be remembered, that in those early days, the lodges usually had their halls in some tavern where suitable
rooms could be had. This practice was followed by Zion Lodge, which at least a part of the time, met at the
Dodemead House, which was situated near the southeast corner of Jefferson Avenue and Shelby streets. It was kept
there as early as 1805, and was one of the best known taverns of its day. Possibly the influences surrounding such a
place of meeting might have been the cause of adopting the following as an additional article of their By-Laws, in
October, 1807:
"As soon as the Lodge is closed, or within one-half hour after, each Brother shall retire, and every Brother guilty of a breach of this
Article shall forfeit and pay to the Secretary for the use of the Lodge a fine of five Dollars, except in case of necessary detensions by
some unforeseen occurence or cause."
The loyalty of the members of Zion Lodge to the United States government is most fully attested by an extract from
the records of a meeting held on July 4th, 1808, which reads:
"This being the anniversary of our glorious independence, the Right Worshipful Master, after some suitable remarks on the
occasion, closed the Lodge as usual, in perfect love and harmony."
In May, 1809, the following By-Law was adopted:
"That from and after the first day of June 1809, every member of this Lodge, whether absent or present, (provided nevertheless that
he is within 20 English miles of the hall,) shall pay 67 ½ cents, each regular lodge night for refreshment and no more; and the
Deacons or Stewards are hereby required, and it shall be their duty to provide refreshment accordingly."
This remained a law until February, 1812, when it was changed so as to make the amount fifty cents, and visiting
brethren were required to pay the same as members, except on the occasion of their first visit.
Six years after its destruction by fire, Detroit presented the appearance shown in the accompanying engraving. The
original of this picture was drawn by George W. Whistler [see biographical sketch at the end of this present paper],
(who was the father of the famed artist James Abbott Whistler and a brother of Sarah Whistler - Mrs. James Abbott,)
while he was attending school there. [His father, Major John Whistler was a member Nova Caesarea Lodge No. 10
(now Harmony No. 2) of Cincinnati, OH.] The House of Captain Dodemead was the sixth one from the right. At this
time the population was about seven hundred.
DETROIT IN 1811.
The records show that the five years succeeding the organization under the New York warrant were free from
anything of extraordinary importance. Meetings were held with perfect regularity. Many of the foremost citizens of
Detroit became active members of the institution, and peace and prosperity seemed to prevail in this Lodge. General
William Hull [see biographical sketch at the end of this present work] was Governor of the Territory, and frequently
identified himself with the fraternity. At a meeting held on the tenth of August, 1812, it is recorded that "Lewis Cass,
20
from American Union Lodge, No. 1, Ohio," visited the Lodge. This was his first visit to a lodge in Michigan, where
fourteen years later he became Grand Master.
The events of this year—1812—were very trying to Zion Lodge and forced a cessation of its activity for nearly four
years. The war between England and this country, so severe along the American and Canadian borders, was felt in
all its severity at Detroit. On the sixteenth day of August, 1812, this Territory again passed under British control, and
the peace and harmony of the Lodge was greatly disturbed. At the regular meeting held on September 7th, 1812, the
following records were made:
"Since the last regular communication of this Lodge, the American flag having been lowered and that of his Britannic Majesty's
substituted, to wit, on the 16th day of August last, at noon, from which and from the political situation of the country generally it
appearing expedient that an early and more full Lodge should be held. On Motion of Brother A. B. Woodward, it is ordered
unanimously that when this Lodge is closed, it be closed until Wednesday next at seven o'clock p. m. and that Brother Secretary P.
T., and Brother Tyler P. T. be requested to inform every Member and Brother in the country thereof."
At the adjourned meeting five days later—September 12th—the following action is recorded,
"On motion, it is unanimously agreed that the Charter, Jewels and implements of the Lodge be deposited with Brother
Denoyer."
Then follows the close of the record, marking the end of this third period of Zion's history.
When the members voted, on September 12, 1812, to adjourn for one year, they little thought that nearly four years
would pass before Zion Lodge would hold another meeting. Such, however, proved to be the case. The war lasted a
longer time than was expected and did not cease until after the date to which the Lodge had adjourned. In October,
1813, the combined forces of the British and Indians were defeated by the U. S. Army, the great Indian Chief
Tecumseh was killed, and the American flag once more waved over Detroit. General Lewis Cass was appointed
Governor, and peace settled over this peninsula.
For some reason, unknown at the present day, Zion Lodge was permitted to remain dormant for more than two years
longer. Very early in the year 1816, a petition was sent to the Grand Lodge of New York for a renewal of the
Charter, which had been forfeited in consequence of no meetings having been held for more than one year.
This request was granted, and on April 9, 1816, Zion Lodge again assembled, took up its rusty tools and resumed
labor. The minutes of this meeting form the best historical sketch that can be written of this resumption of work, and
therefore are here given:
New York, 14th March 1816.
"To the Committee of Zion Lodge (Late No. 1) No. 62.
Brethren:
I duly received your communication for the Grand Lodge and laid it before them at their last meeting, and now enclose you their
proceedings thereon. Considering that Zion Lodge has worked for a number of years without paying any dues to the Grand Lodge,
their resolution will be deemed a liberal compromise of the dues to which they were entitled. They ought to be made regular once a
year and though I have several times received the returns of the naming of the members, they have never been accompanied with
the dues. I have it therefore in charge from the Grand Lodge to inform you that it will expect in future a punctual discharge of Zion
21
Lodge dues from the time they commence working under their warrant again, to which I beg the particular attention of the Lodge and
of yourselves.
The alteration of the number has been owing to an arrangement of the numbers of all the Lodges under the Jurisdiction of the Grand
Lodge since issuing of Zion warrant, and according to which it now stands on our Books No. 62: The Lodge will therefore hereafter
distinguish itself by that number.
I have the honor to be fraternally and respectfully,
JOHN WELLS, Grand Secretary.
James Abbott
Phillip Lecuyer, Committee
GRAND LODGE.
New York, 6th March, 5816.
A petition from a committee of Zion Lodge No. 1 of Detroit was read, stating that owing to the late war the Lodge had been obliged
to suspend its labour for so long a time as thereby to forfeit its charter, and praying that the same might be renewed. Whereupon it
was resolved that the said charter be renewed, and the said Lodge hereafter known by the name of Zion Lodge No. 62: Provided
however that the said Lodge do within six months pay to this Grand Lodge the sum of fifty dollars in lieu of all past dues to the time
of their beginning to work under the renewal of their warrant hereby granted: in default whereof the same shall be forfeited and
surrendered to this Grand Lodge.
Extract from the minutes.
John Wells,
Grand Secretary.
Whereupon on motion of Brother Secretary, Resolved, that the Lodge accept the conditions prescribed by the Grand Lodge of the
State of New York which have been this evening read. That in future Zion Lodge No. 1 be called and known by the name of
Zion Lodge No. 62. That the By-laws heretofore adopted by Zion Lodge No. 1 be adopted for the Government of Zion Lodge No.
62, provided nevertheless that so much of the 3rd article as requires that the officers of the Lodge should be elected on the regular
communication next preceding the festival of Saint John the Evangelist, be suspended and excepted and that the Lodge do proceed
to elect and install the officers of this Lodge on Monday the 15th April instant.
On motion of Brother Sibley, Resolved, that all the members of Zion Lodge No. 1 do subscribe the By-laws adopted for the
Government of Zion Lodge No. 62.
His Excellency Brother Cass, Brother Gratiot, Brother Sibley, Brother Bender, Brother Oliver Williams, Brother Robey and Brother
Gale applied to be admitted members of this Lodge. Were severally balloted for and unanimously admitted.
His E. Brother Cass, Brother Gratiot, Brother Sibley, Brother Bender, Brother Robey and Brother Oliver Williams paid the Secretary
two dollars and fifty cents each for their admittance to membership."
This meeting therefore marked two important events in the Lodge's history—the re-organization of the Lodge, and the
admission of the distinguished brother, Lewis Cass, Governor of Michigan, who afterwards became first
Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan.
Six days later the Lodge held an election of officers and Brother Cass was elected Worshipful Master and a
committee was appointed to apprise him of the event. He expressed himself as extremely thankful for the honor, but
that circumstances would oblige him to decline. Brother Sylvester Day was thereupon elected to that position.
Brother Cass, however, was a frequent attendant at Lodge meetings and participated in its business, helped to frame
a new Code of By-Laws for the Lodge immediately upon its re-habilitation, and, like ordinary members, he was
sometimes fined for non-attendance. On December 27, 1816, he delivered the address in connection with the feast of
St. John.
The Lodge desiring the most complete information of what was expected from it by the Grand Lodge of New York,
instructed the Secretary to write for copies of its laws and ordinances and especially to request information of the
duties and dues required of a Lodge situated as this is, beyond the possibility of all representation."
Although it is to be presumed that the various halls in which Zion Lodge had met in past years had been duly
dedicated, yet no record exists of such an event until September 10, 1816, when, the Lodge having again removed to
a new hall that had been prepared for it in the house of Brother Robey, it is recorded that after a procession had
marched from the hall last occupied, "accompanied with martial music," the hall was dedicated to Masonry according
to ancient custom.
The first authentic record of any regular instruction in Masonic work in Michigan is on February 3, 1817. At this time a
lecturer visited Zion Lodge and gave instruction to several of the officers and member. The records say:
''Brother Curtis having arrived for the purpose of giving Masonic Lectures to the Lodge, Resolved, unanimously, that Brothers Sr.
and Jr. Wardens, Brothers Secretary and Treasurer, Brothers Senior and Jr. Deacons and Stewards and Brother General
[Alexander] Macomb [see Biographical sketch at the end of this present work] be appointed to receive the necessary instructions
together with such other Brothers as may wish to attend: That they meet at such time and place as they think proper for that
purpose."
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In March, 1817, the Lodge again removed to Brother Woodworth's Hotel, at which place it held its meetings for a
considerable time thereafter. It was at this same house that the first Grand Lodge of Michigan was organized and
held several meetings. Immediately after becoming located in this hall it was
"Resolved, unanimously that all masons made by any Lodge heretofore held at Detroit, or were members thereof, and who are now
resident in this vicinity, and not in the habit of attending our communications be summoned to appear at our next regular Lodge, 5th
May and shew cause for such non-attendance."
As an evidence of its interest in the cause of education, the following action, taken at a meeting held September 15,
1817, is given:
"The Brethren were then informed that the object of this meeting was to take into consideration the propriety of subscribing, as a
Lodge, in aid of the University of Michigan: and of engaging a Hall in the buildings of the same.
On motion, resolved that the W. M. be authorized to subscribe, in behalf of this Lodge, two hundred and fifty dollars, in aid of the
University of Michigan, payable in sums of fifty dollars per annum. It was further resolved, on motion: that this Lodge will rent a Hall
from the University of Michigan at One hundred dollars per annum, to commence from the first occupation of the same, payable
quarterly: provided that the Hall be erected in two years,—And it was further Resolved, that the said sum of two hundred and fifty
dollars, subscribed as above, be paid out of the sum appropriated by the Lodge for refreshment, and that refreshment be dispensed
with until the sum is fully paid."
Truth compels the further statement, that it being claimed that that the conditions accompanying the subscription had
not been fulfilled, this subscription was afterwards repudiated when payment thereof was demanded.
December 14, 1819, the committee appointed to make arrangements for the celebrating of the coming St. John's
Day, were "instructed to make arrangements for a dinner on the approaching festival, that shall cost only one dollar
and fifty cents a head," Soon after this the Lodge "Resolved, that if any Brother enter the Lodge disguised with
Liquor, the Worshipful Master shall direct him to retire."
For a little more than three years the Lodge was known as number 62, but at the annual meeting of the Grand
Lodge of New York, on June 4, 1819, the lodges on its registry were re-numbered according to the dates of
their earliest warrants. Mt. Vernon Lodge, of the city of Albany, had, up to that time, been number three, but
investigation proved that the original warrant of Zion Lodge bore an earlier date than that one, and Zion therefore
became number three, which it retained until the organization of the Grand Lodge of Michigan seven years later.
It is to be noted as a matter of fact, that Zion Lodge was not prompt nor regular in the payment of its Grand Lodge
dues. She wished to be exempt from such payment, because, situated so far away, representation in Grand Lodge
was impracticable, if not impossible. This subject was the cause of frequent correspondence with that Grand Body. It
was only after repeated letters from that Grand Lodge upon the subject, that, on March 6, 1820,
"Brother Abbott on the part of the committee appointed on the 15th December reports that there is due to Grand Lodge the sum of
$32.25 up to the 9th of April 1819, which report was unanimously accepted of, and the Secretary is ordered to remit the amount per
next mail; and if there is not a sufficiency of money in the Treasury for that purpose, he and the Treasurer are authorized to effect a
loan in behalf of the Lodge for the deficit.
The next month a more complete report was presented upon this matter, as "The Secretary reported a complete Registry Return
and a Returns of Dues of Zion Lodge to the Grand Lodge embracing the period from the reinstatement of the Lodge in April 1816 to
December 27, 1819; by which it appears, there is due the Grand Lodge up to December 27, 1819—Seventy-nine dollars fifty cents.
Whereupon—
Resolved—That the returns as made out by the Secretary be transmitted to the Grand Lodge, with the amount of dues up to
December 27, 1818, and as much more as is consistent with the funds of Zion Lodge; and that the Secretary be authorized to effect
a negotiation, to obtain such money as will be current in the city of New York, on the most advantageous terms."
Again, on this subject, on August 7, of the same year, it was "Resolved, that the Worshipful Master and Wardens in behalf of Zion
Lodge No. 3 be, and they are hereby authorized and required, to draw up and send a Petition to the Grand Lodge of the State of
New York, respectfully requesting them to remit the yearly dues from Zion Lodge, in order that it may be enabled to make donation
to the worthy brethren who are or may be in want in the vicinity of this Lodge:— And that the W. M. and Wardens have discretionary
power to solicit a Grand Visitor from the Grand Lodge, or ask their decision on certain points in Masonry."
In December following, the Secretary was instructed to transmit to the Grand Secretary the Registry Return and
acknowledge the amount of dues, but advert to the petition which was made to the Grand Lodge August 11th, praying
that the dues be remitted.
About this time, Zion Lodge removed its place of meeting to another hall, which it used in conjunction with the Monroe
Chapter, R. A. M., which had been organized and was now sharing with the lodge, this field of labor. The Lodge paid
two-thirds and the Chapter one-third of the rent of the hall.
We are now arriving at a period in the history of Zion Lodge when it no longer occupied this masonic field alone. At a
meeting held August 17, 1821,
23
"There was presented a petition from sundry brother Masons in Detroit and its vicinity, praying that Zion Lodge would recommend
them to the confidence and good will of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, was read: — whereupon Resolved — That the
officers of this Lodge do recommend said petitioners to the G. Lodge as persons meriting and worthy of the object of their prayer."
The warrant asked for was granted the following month and Detroit Lodge, No. 337, entered the field and became a
co-laborer with old Zion. For twenty-seven years since its Canadian warrant was issued, and fifty-seven from its first
warrant, no other Lodge came to dispute its occupancy of this growing field. But the seeds planted during all these
years fell upon too good ground to be barren of results, and we now find brethren from various other places seeking
from Zion Lodge, the necessary recommendations for securing dispensations for new Lodges. And they never
applied in vain. Soon after recommending the petitioners for Detroit Lodge, viz: on Christmas day of the same year, a
petition to the Grand Lodge of the state of New York praying the grant of a charter was laid before the Lodge. The
recommendation was promptly given and Oakland Lodge was organized shortly thereafter, at Pontiac, and to assist
in the organization of the new Lodge, clothing, jewels, etc., were cheerfully loaned by Zion Lodge.
May 3, 1824, a petition was received from sundry brothers residing at Green Bay, requesting a recommendation from
the Lodge to enable them to obtain a charter, and it was "Resolved, that the officers of this Lodge sign said petition in
behalf of this Lodge."
This was Menomanie Lodge, situated in what is now Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Again, on July 5, 1824, they were asked to recommend still other brethren who desired Lodge privileges, and a
petition from Monroe was presented for recommendation to the Grand Lodge of New York, and this warrant was
granted in the following December.
There were now four Lodges working in the Territory of Michigan, and very naturally they began to be desirous of
having Grand Lodge connections nearer than distant New York. The subject of organizing a Grand Lodge in this
Territory began to be discussed among the members, and this discussion soon assumed tangible shape. At a
meeting of Zion Lodge held August 1, 1825, the Lodge first took action looking to that end. At this time it was
"Resolved, that Brothers Whitney, W. Master, and Reed be a committee to confer with a committee from Detroit Lodge, No. 337,
and the Masters and Wardens of the other Lodges in the Territory on the subject of forming a Grand Lodge and report at the next
regular communication And that the Secretary furnish a copy of the above resolution to each of the Secretaries of the respective
Lodges in that Territory."
Oakland Lodge was the first one to reply to this proposition and gave her hearty approval of such a course. No
further definite action appears to have been taken until January 2, 1826, when it was
"Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed from this Lodge whose duty it shall be to correspond with the other Lodges in
the Territory on the subject of forming a Grand Lodge of Michigan, and to call a convention for that purpose whenever they may
deem it expedient, in conjunction with the committee of Detroit Lodge appointed for the same purpose. Bros. H. J. Hunt, A. G.
Whitney and Wait were appointed said committee."
In May the concurrence of Monroe Lodge was received, and Brothers John Anderson, Harry Conant and Charles
Noble were named as a committee from that Lodge to co-operate with the others. Menomanie and Detroit Lodges
also favored the organization of a Grand Lodge, accordingly on June 23, 1826, a special meeting of Zion Lodge was
called, a part of the record of which is as follows:
"The W. M. opened a M. M. Lodge in due form and stated that the object of this meeting was to appoint three Delegates from this
Lodge to meet in Convention tomorrow, with Delegates from the other Lodges of the Territory, for the purpose of taking such
measures as may be deemed necessary toward the formation of a Grand Lodge. A communication from the W. M. of Menomanie
Lodge No. 374, together with copies of the minutes of said Lodge upon the same subject were read—
Resolved, That three delegates be now appointed on the part of this Lodge, to meet in convention as above, and the W. M., H. J.
Hunt, J. L. Whitney and A. E. Wing were appointed."
The following day, June 24, 1826, was a memorable one in the history of Michigan Masonry. On this day the
convention first met that organized the Grand Lodge and gave a new impetus to Masonry in this rapidly growing
Territory. The events connected with and following this meeting, are more fully noticed in another part of this work.
Zion Lodge held its usual St. John's Day celebration on that day, and then many of the members attended the
convention in which all were so vitally interested.
By this time the fraternity in Detroit felt convinced of the permanence of their Lodge, and that it was time to secure a
permanent place for holding their meetings and cease their frequent removals. On June 2, 1826, a meeting was held,
that, at first promised great results. It is recorded as follows:
"At a meeting of the Members of Zion Lodge, Detroit Lodge and Monroe Chapter, held at the Lodge room in the city of Detroit, on
the evening of the 2nd June A.D. 1826, for the purpose of consulting on the propriety of erecting a Masonic Hall in the city of Detroit.
A. G. Whitney was called to the chair and Felix Hinchman appointed Secretary.
24
The object of the meeting being stated, the committee appointed at a former meeting to confer with Gov. Cass on the subject of
obtaining permission to erect a Masonic Hall over the Council House in said city, made a favorable report of their conference.
Whereupon it was
Resolved, that it is expedient to erect a Masonic Hall over the Council House in the City of Detroit for the uses of said Lodges and
Chapter.
Resolved, that for the purpose of carrying into effect the object contemplated by the foregoing resolution, a committee of three be
appointed and authorized to solicit subscriptions from the Members of the Masonic Fraternity, to be applied to the purpose of
erecting said Hall, under the direction of the said Lodges and Chapter; and that the amount of the several subscriptions be refunded
hereafter by the said Lodges and Chapter. Whereupon, Charles Jackson, P. Lecuyer, and Henry J. Hunt were appointed said
committee.
Resolved, that the committee appointed by the resolution above, be authorized to call a meeting of the Brethren, when they deem it
expedient, for the purpose of furthering the above object.
Resolved, that a copy of the proceedings of the meeting be furnished by the Secretary to each of the said Lodges and Monroe
Chapter.
Signed,
F. Hinchman, Sec'y.
A. G. Whitney,
Chairman.
Council House at Detroit - 1768
OLD COUNCIL HOUSE AND MASONIC HALL.
A building committee was appointed and the work of building an additional story on the old Council House was
commenced without delay. This Council House was a fair-sized, one-story stone building, and the Detroit Masons
added another story which was lathed and plastered outside, making the building present a somewhat unique
appearance
Notwithstanding the zeal of these brethren and their determination to build for themselves what they hoped would be
a permanent home, their expectations were not to be realized, for before the building was occupied by them, though
almost entirely completed, the anti-masonic crusade laid its withering hand upon them, and masonic work in
Detroit ceased for many years.
25
To aid in carrying out the purposes named, Zion Lodge instructed its W. M., to draw on the Treasurer for the full
amount of all unappropriated moneys, to aid in the erection of said Masonic Hall.
In September, 1826, Zion Lodge sustained a great loss in the death of its Worshipful Master, Brother Henry J.
Hunt, who was buried by the Lodge on Sept. 17th, being only thirty-seven years of age. Brother Hunt was one of the
most active of the delegates that formed the Grand Lodge and was elected its first Grand Treasurer. He died in less
than two months after such election.
Although the Grand Lodge of Michigan was formed in June, 1826, and Zion Lodge was most fully identified
therewith, it was not until January 6, of the next year, that its allegiance was formally transferred from the
Grand Lodge of New York. The records of that meeting say:
"A letter of dispensation from the M. W. G. Master, accompanied with a communication from the Grand Secretary of the same
informing us of the organization of said G. Lodge and requiring our acknowledgement of the same, were received. Therefore,
Resolved that we do acknowledge the Jurisdiction over us of the G. Lodge of Michigan; and the Secretary is hereby directed to
communicate same to the said G. Lodge under the seal of this Lodge."
With the organization of the Michigan Grand Lodge, Zion Lodge became No. 1, and retained this number during
the existence of that Grand Lodge. In 1827 the active membership appears to have become very much reduced, and,
in compliance with a petition therefor, on December 3d of that year, this dispensation was read:
''Whereas it has been represented to me, Lewis Cass, Grand Master of Masons in Michigan, that owing to the removal by death or
otherwise of the members of Zion Lodge No. 1, the number of Members in said Lodge has become so reduced that it is
inconvenient to fill the offices, and whereas there are several Master Masons who are anxious of becoming members of the same.
Therefore be it known, that by virtue of the authority in me vested, I do grant to said Zion Lodge No. 1 for this evening only, the
power to propose and admit members without the necessity of keeping applications under advisement from the one
regular meeting to the next.
(L. S.)
In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my name and
private seal at Detroit this third day of December. A. L. 5827.
Signed
Lewis Cass.
Quite a number of members were admitted at that meeting through the permission granted.
The time was now near at hand when Masonry was to become practically extinct in Michigan for the space of eleven
years. The "Morgan excitement" in the state of New York had a most disastrous effect upon Masonry all over the
northern states. Especially was this the case in Michigan. The order was shaken to its very foundations. So intense
and bitter became the opposition to the Masonic institution, that it was deemed wise, by the prominent Masons of that
day, that all masonic labor be suspended until the intense excitement should abate. The Grand Lodge therefore met
and resolved to suspend labor, and requested all its subordinate Lodges to do likewise. That this announcement
came suddenly and unexpectedly upon the Lodges is proven by the fact that no mention of such an intention appears
in their records. Zion Lodge was holding its meetings with perfect regularity, and the record of the last meeting prior to
such suspension, has not a word in reference thereto. That record, in full, is as follows:
Detroit, March 23d, A. L. 5829.
At a regular communication of Zion Lodge No. 1 held this evening.
Present, Bro. H. Dean, W. M.
" O. Wait, S. W.
“ M. Moon, J. W.
“ Hurd, Sec'y.
(Performed the duty of J. D. also) Dean, Senior D.
Bro. Beach, Tyler.
The Master Mason's Lodge opened in due form when the minutes of the last regular read and accepted. On motion it was resolved
the building committee have further time to make report until our next regular communication. On motion it was resolved that Bro. A.
W. Dean have permission to withdraw his membership by complying with the by laws—on Motion the Lodge closed in harmony.
G. Hurd, Sec'y."
Only that, and nothing more. Following this brief record, the sun of Zion's prosperity was eclipsed for the next fifteen
years. We have traced her career under all the political changes through which the Territory has passed for sixty-five
years. The most prominent men in civil, political and military life, men whose names are preserved in the history of
our commonwealth, met around her altar and there received an inspiration to nobler deeds and higher purposes. Her
offices have been filled by men who bear an honorable record in history. Under the warrant of 1764, we have no
record of other names than that of Lieut. John Christie and his two wardens. From the time of the Canada warrant of
1794, to the cessation of activity in 1829, the following named brothers occupied the Worshipful Master's chair:
26
James Donaldson,
James May,
Hugh Heward,
James McDonnell,
Wm. McDowell Scott,
Robert Abbott,
John Dodemead,
Richard Smyth,
Christopher Tuttle,
James Abbott,
Sylvester Day,
Jonathan Eastman,
Gen. Alexander Macomb,
Andrew G. Whitney,
Austin E. Wing,
John L. Whiting,
Obed Wait,
Henry J. Hunt,
Elliott Gray,
John E. Schwarz and
Henry Dean.
From the date of the Canada warrant until work was suspended in 1821, the Lodge held five hundred and twenty-nine
meetings, regular and special, an average of fifteen meetings for each year. During this time she initiated one
hundred fifty-one, raised one hundred forty-seven, and admitted seventy-one.
When Zion Lodge laid down her working tools and closed her records with the brief entry recorded above, her
members little thought that fifteen years would pass by before they should again meet around their common altar.
Such, however, proved to be the case. This Lodge did not participate in the work of the second Grand Lodge nor did
it resume labor until that Grand Body was ready to dissolve and make way for another to be legally formed. When it
was necessary to aid in the organization of the present Grand Lodge, Zion was one of the first Lodges to take active
steps in that direction. On the recommendation of the Grand Lodge of New York, Zion Lodge, with the others
which had previously had charters from that Grand Lodge, applied for a renewal of her former warrant. This
was immediately granted and Zion Lodge now became No. 99 on the registry of the Grand Lodge of New
York. Regarding this, the records of New York Grand Lodge for 1844, contain this significant item:
"The applications for the revival of the three Lodges warranted by the Grand Lodge of New York in Michigan, were hailed
with great pleasure, and it was recommended that the charters for Detroit, Zion, and Oakland Lodges be furnished without
charge."
This warrant was received in Detroit without delay and a special dispensation was given to Brother John Mullet, Past
Master of Detroit Lodge and Grand Master of the then Grand Lodge, authorizing him to consecrate the Lodge and
install the officers. Accordingly Brother Mullet called a meeting of the members of that Lodge, and thirteen days after
Detroit Lodge had been consecrated and the officers installed by Brother John Barney, Brother Mullet performed a
similar service for Zion Lodge and again started it upon its career of usefulness.
During the three years preceding this time, Detroit Lodge was actively at work and many of the members of Zion had
been admitted as members of that Lodge and were active workers therein. With the revival of Zion Lodge many of
them returned to their old home. Among these was Brother John E. Schwarz, who was now installed Worshipful
Master of Zion.
The books, records and paraphernalia of Zion Lodge which had been cared for by Detroit Lodge for the past two or
three years were again put into active use.
At a meeting held August 21, 1844, the records say, "A communication was received from Detroit Lodge, No. 100, in relation to the
formation of a Grand Lodge, whereupon it was Resolved, That the W. M. with the Senior and Junior Wardens, do represent this
Lodge in the convention to be held 17th proximo, to prepare a constitution for the government of the contemplated Grand Lodge."
Brothers John E. Schwarz, Robert Forsyth and David Thompson represented Zion Lodge in this convention and
Brother Schwarz was appointed Secretary thereof, and at the election of officers, he was elected Junior Grand
Warden, being the first one to hold that position in the present Grand Lodge. He continued an active and influential
worker in that Lodge until his death, which occurred in February, 1858, when he was buried with masonic and
military honors, with a vast concourse of his fellow citizens attending to pay a last tribute to his memory.
The records for the next two years are lost, and the details of the work done during that time are not attainable, but
the fact that the Lodge was represented at each meeting of Grand Lodge proves that it was regularly at work. There
appears to have been a question raised as to the regularity of the election held at the close of the year 1844, as at
the meeting of Grand Lodge on January 8, 1845, the following action is recorded:
"On motion of the Rt. W. Bro. John E. Schwarz,
Resolved, That a select committee be appointed to inquire into the constitutional eligibility of the W. Master of Zion Lodge No. 1, and
that the said committee be instructed to report what action they deem it proper that the Grand Lodge adopt thereon.
Whereupon, the said committee made a report upon the matter referred to their consideration, and concluded by recommending the
adoption of the following resolution, which was considered and adopted:
Resolved, That this Grand Lodge do hereby authorize and instruct Zion Lodge, No. 1, to hold a new election of officers at its next
regular communication, previous notice being given to the members thereof,—an irregularity having occurred in the election of the
present officers of said Lodge."
It is not the purpose to follow Zion Lodge further in its detailed history. Her further history now becomes intermingled
with the general history of the institution in Michigan. We have followed her course from the time she was first
organized until she is now for the last time rehabilitated and refitted for work, and given her rightful place as
27
number one on the registry of Michigan. Since that time she has kept steadily onward in the work of disseminating
the pure principles of Freemasonry. For fifty years since her last resuscitation, she has stood at the front and done
grand work in diffusing masonic light and elevating humanity. She has seen this masonic field, so long occupied by
herself alone, grow and broaden, until now four hundred Lodges occupy that field, and the membership in the
jurisdiction, once contained within the limits of her own little rolls, now number more than thirty-six thousand,
scattered all over this commonwealth.
Since Zion Lodge resumed work in 1844, there have been nine- hundred sixty-three initiated, eight hundred thirty-five
raised, and one hundred eighty-five have been admitted from other Lodges. Two hundred have been dimitted and
one hundred forty-nine have died. The membership on January 1st, 1895, was five hundred thirty.
The following brothers have occupied the Master's chair since that time:
Alpheus S. Williams,
Wm. M. Lister,
H. N. Church,
D. C. Pettys,
Daniel Anderson,
Wm. Brodie,
Edward Batwell,
John C. Gorton,
Chas. M. Young,
H. A. Morrow,
G. B. Noble,
E. G. Allen,
Hugh Johnson,
Thomas McGregor,
Andrew J. Brow,
John Strachan,
Alexander Hosie,
John Lewis,
Fred W. Hawes,
F. B. Vaughn,
Alfred Rooks,
Richard Austin,
Jonathan Ormerod,
J. C. Burton,
Ross Brown,
James Purdie,
John H. Cartwright,
George H. Goudie,
Edward A. Waterfall,
Simeon Smith and
Julius A. Dresser.
---------
DETROIT LODGE.
THE SECOND MICHIGAN LODGE—ITS ORGANIZATION AND THE MEN WHO MADE IT—
ORIGINAL WARRANT AND OTHER HISTORIC DOCUMENTS—
ITS IMPORTANT PLACE IN MICHIGAN FREEMASONRY.
The initiatory steps toward the organization of this Lodge were taken on August 10, 1821, when a meeting of a
number of brothers was held at B. Woodworth's hotel to consider the matter of organizing a new Lodge. This hotel
was the place where many Masonic meetings were held in that early day. In Farmer's History of Detroit it is
mentioned as follows:
28
WOODWORTH'S STEAMBOAT HOTEL.
"The most noted caravansary was Wood worth's Steamboat Hotel. The landlord, familiarly known as "Uncle Ben," was a brother of
the author of 'The Old Oaken Bucket,' and one of the best known characters of the time. He came to Detroit in 1806, and was
keeping a hotel on the northwest corner of Woodbridge and Randolph streets. In 1818, he built a new house on the same site, and
opened it in March, 1819. The "long room" was in almost constant requisition for fairs and public meetings."
A committee was appointed to ascertain the cost of starting a Lodge and report at an adjourned meeting four days
later.
At this time eleven brothers were present, as follows: John Mullett, Jeremiah Moors, Marshall Chapin, Orson Bartlett,
Daniel B. Cole, Elihu Sikes, John Farrar, Charles Jackson, John Garrison, William B. Hunt and Jacob Eilert. The
committee reported that the cost of a warrant from the Grand Lodge of New York would be thirty-two dollars,
and it was resolved to petition that Grand Lodge for a Charter, and a committee was appointed to draft the petition.
After being duly recommended by Zion Lodge, this petition was sent to the Grand Secretary of New York,
accompanied with the following letter:
"To the M. W. G. S. of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York.
Enclosed is a petition of a number of Brethren, now residing in this city, who at present belong to no Lodge, and are therefore
anxious to form themselves into a new one; as by their Petition will more fully appear.
If you could have the goodness to present the petition to the Grand Lodge at the earliest practicable opportunity, you will confer a
great benefit on the Petitioners, who are anxious to form a new Lodge as soon as possible, for their own benefit, and that of
Masonry.
John Mullett
John Farrar
Jeremiah Moors
Detroit, Aug. 20, 1821."
The petition for the warrant was as follows:
To the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the State of New York. The petitioners hereof humbly sheweth, that they are ancient, free
and accepted Master Masons.
Having the prosperity of the Fraternity at heart, they are willing to exert their best endeavors to promote and diffuse the genuine
principles of Masonry.
For the Convenience of their respective dwellings, and for other good reasons they are desirous of forming a new Lodge in the City
of Detroit, to be named Detroit Lodge. In consequence of this desire, and the good of the Craft they pray for a Charter to empower
them to assemble as a legal Lodge, to discharge the duties of Masonry, in the several degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft,
and Master Mason, in a regular and Constitutional manner, according to the ancient form of the fraternity and the laws and
regulations of the Grand Lodge. That they have nominated and do recommend John Mullett first Master, John Farrar to be the
first Senior Warden, and Jeremiah Moors to be the first Junior Warden of said Lodge: that if the prayer of the petition should be
granted, they promise a strict conformity to all the Constitutional Laws, rules and regulations of the Grand Lodge.
29
Above list alphabetized, and hopefully spelled correctly:
Bartlett, Orson
Bronson, Henry O.
Chapin, Marshall
Coleman, Spencer [Atty]
Cole, Daniel B.
Cook, Levi
Eilert, Jacob
Farrar, John - SW
Garrison, John
Hunt, Burleigh
Jackson, Charles
McCarthy, Johnsy [Bakery]
Moors, Jeremiah - JW
Mullett, John - WM
Ruggles, Sanford
Sikes, Elihu (d. Aug 1822)
. . . plus other Brothers or attendees, Senator Zachariah Chandler, William B. Hunt and James W. King [Tyler].
Henry O. Bronson
http://oakland.genwebsite.net/documents/5CF88DE4A5F12C47CDFDFD3C387E914957F00C78.html
The first house opened in Royal Oak Township, Oakland Country, for the accommodation of wayfaring immigrants, land-seekers,
and other travelers of the early days was the log tavern of Henry O. Bronson, about half a mile north of the centre of the township.
In the fall of the year 1822 Henry O. Bronson came, and settled his family at the junction of the Paint creek road with the Niles road
and Ball's line, or the Crooks road; this being about three-fourths of a mile north of the present village of Royal Oak, and just to the
east of the cemetery. Here he erected a small log house, put in such supplies as in those days were considered indispensable, and
opened a public-house-the first in Royal Oak township-for the accommodation of land-hunters or immigrants, who by this time had
begun to make their appearance in considerable numbers. Bronson had not come to Royal Oak immediately on his arrival in
Michigan. He had come up by way of Mount Clemens and the Clinton river, and had made his first halt in the vicinity of Auburn. His
little log tavern, unpretentious as it was, became well known as a landmark and as a place of shelter and refreshment to those who,
in the few years succeeding 1822, were compelled to travel over the exceedingly bad road which lay between the Royal Oak and
the city of Detroit. His house was, however, closed as a tavern before the year 1828.
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mi/county/lapeer/gen/ch1/chandler18.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zachariah_Chandler
Zachariah Chandler (10 Dec 1813 – 1 Nov 1879) was Mayor of Detroit (1851–52), a fourterm US Senator from Michigan (1857–75, 1879), and Secretary of the Interior under
President Grant (1875–77). Chandler was born in Bedford, NH, the nephew of U.S.
Representative from Massachusetts, John Chandler, and of U.S. Representative from New
Hampshire, Thomas Chandler. He was the father-in-law of U.S. Representative and U.S.
Senator from Maine, Eugene Hale, the grandfather of U.S. Senator from Maine, Frederick
Hale, and the great-great-granduncle of U.S. Representative from Washington, Rod
Chandler.
After receiving an education in the common schools, Chandler taught school for one winter
while also managing the family farm. His father offered him a choice between a college
education or $1,000, which was a substantial amount of money at that time. Chandler took
the money, and in 1833 moved to Detroit, which was then the capital of Michigan Territory.
According to the Detroit Post, an extant newspaper, and publisher of an autobiography of
Chandler, "Mr. Chandler, was from his boyhood, was radical in his opposition to human
bondage, and for a time hoped that the Whig Party of the North could be used to effectually
resist the conspiracy of the slave power against the territories. His anti-slavery activity
preceded his appearance in politics [bold added for emphasis]. Detroit was an important
terminus of the “Underground Railroad,” that mysterious organization which so skillfully and
quickly transported colored fugitives from the Ohio [river] to Canadian soil, and Mr.
30
Chandler, while still absorbed in business, was a frequent and liberal contributor to the fund for its operating expenses.
He established a successful general merchandise store with his brother-in-law, and also engaged in land speculation and banking.
Through frugality and determination, he quickly became quite wealthy. In 1845, he was a part of the corporation that bought the
state-chartered Michigan State Bank. He became one of the first men in Detroit to earn $50,000 a year from his businesses.
John Shirigian believes Zachariah Chandler did not start earnestly in politics until his bid for Mayor in 1851, but because of his antislavery propensities Chandler must be said to have begun his ‘grassroots’ political work in the 1840s.
"At the time the labors of Election Day were not those of persuasion merely. Partisan feeling was bitter, and in the population of the
growing frontier city, there was a strong ruffianly element, which was Democratic in its sympathies. In close contests mobs
sometimes gathered about the voting places, and sought by jostling and occasional assaults to keep away from the ballot box the
more timid or fastidious of the [anti-slavery] Whigs. On these occasions Mr. Chandler was among the men of strong frames, sinewy
arms, and pugnacity of spirit, who furnished the Whig muscle to defeat this variety of “Loco-foco trick.” He and Alanson Shelley (now
a well-known Detroit merchant) were with a few others of like strength and stature, the [anti-slavery] Whig bodyguard who forced a
way for voters through the dense crowd, and interposed for the rescue of the threatened."
Chandler put out a call, in the Great Lake State for all radicals who were hot about the duplicitous actions of the National
Administration and Congress, to meet in Jackson, Michigan, on July 6 1854 for the express purpose of defeating the KansasNebraska and Fugitive Slave Acts. The phalanx of men that convened were inexorable about doing something concerning the
direction of the Government under FIllmore, Franklin Pierce, and to come, James Buchanan, all of whom made no qualms about
their stance on the “slavery question.” The central plank of these conveners was “to consider upon the measures which duty
demands us, as [denizens] of a Free State, to take in reference to the late acts of Congress on the subject of slavery, and its
anticipated further extension.” Commerce in human bondage was construed by these men as “a great moral, and social, and
political evil;” It was “Resolved, that, postponing and suspending all differences with regard to political economy or administrative
policy … we will act cordially and faithfully in unison” to fight the approval of slavery, and “we will cooperate and be known as
‘Republicans’ until the contest be terminated.” [Ibid.]
He was a member of the Whig party and demonstrated considerable resolve to ensure the freedom to vote. As a testament to
Chandler’s bravery and sacrifice during his Vigilance Committee days prior to his probing into the political realm. The Detroit Tribune
and Post record the following about the character of Chandler,
Zachariah Chandler at the National Statuary Hall. His statue could return to Michigan since
the state's Legislature voted in 2007 to replace it with a statue of Gerald Ford.
In 1851, Chandler's career in political office began when he defeated the popular General
John R. Williams in the election for Mayor of Detroit. While mayor, Chandler first
encountered Ulysses S. Grant, who was then a Lieutenant in the US Army. Grant sued
Chandler for not clearing the ice and snow in front of his home after he had slipped and
suffered a severe sprain. Chandler chose to defend himself in a trial by jury, and
aggressively confronted the Army officers, accusing them "If you soldiers would keep
sober, perhaps you would not fall on people's pavements and hurt your legs." Grant
ultimately won the case, but had also worsened his reputation for drinking heavily.
Chandler was fined only six cents and court costs of about $8. According to popular lore,
Chandler later had Grant ticketed for driving too fast in a carriage.
In 1852, he was the Whigs' candidate for governor, but lost the election to incumbent
Robert McClelland. He was active in leading anti-slavery Whigs into the formation of the
Republican Party in Jackson, Michigan in 1854. While dining at the National Hotel in
Washington, D.C. Zachariah Chandler was assaulted by Edward A. Hannegan and Daniel
Wolsey Voorhees because he, " denounced in very strong terms Copperheads in general
and especially those of the West. According to the newspaper account of the affair,
Voorhees, a fellow member of Congress, within earshot of Chandler’s comments “who was
sitting at another table in company with Hannegan, also of Indiana, arose from his seat,
approached Chandler in an excited manner demanding whether he referred to him, to
which Chandler replied, “Who are you, Sir, I don’t know you,” “I am Voorhees, of Indiana,”
suiting his action to the word, struck Chandler on the side of his face. The two closed, and
the Senator was rapidly getting the better of Voorhees, when Hannegan came to the
latter’s assistance with a heavy milk pitcher, snatched from the table, which he broke on
Chandler’s head. The contents of the pitcher splashed over the whole company. Chandler
was stunned by the blow, and had not fully recovered himself when Hannegan dealt him a
second blow with a chair. … Chandler’s head was slightly cut by the pitcher, and his shoulder and arm considerably bruised by the
chair. Though not able to close his hand, he has been out today attending to his usual duties."
He was a vigorous opponent of slavery and lent his assistance to the Underground Railroad. He was elected to the U.S. Senate as
a Republican in 1857, taking the seat that had been held by Lewis Cass. In July, 1861, Chandler, along with Wade, Trumbull and
James Grimes, witnessed the First Battle of Bull Run, which was a disaster for the Union forces. At one point, Chandler came close
to being captured by the Confederate Army.
Some historians claim that Zachariah Chandler is the real start of the Civil War because of his infamous "Blood Letter," which he
personally styled, "A Little Blood Letting," "This is not a question of compromise. It is a question of whether we have a government
or not. If we have a government then it is capable of making itself respected at home and abroad. If we have not a government, let
this miserable rope of sand which purports to be a government perish …General Washington reasoned not so when the Whiskey
31
rebellion broke out in Pennsylvania; he called out the posse comitatus and enforced the laws. General Jackson reasoned not so
when South Carolina in 1832 raised the black flag of rebellion; he said “by the Eternal, I will hang them;” and he would have done it.
…we are told six States have seceded, and the Union is broke up, and all we can is to send commissioners to treat with traitors with
arms in their hands; treat with men who have fired upon your flag; treat with men who have seized your custom-houses, who have
erected batteries upon your great navigable waters, and who now stand defying your authority …I will never live under a
government that has not the powers to enforce its laws … This thing has gone far enough. Sir, the Union is to stand; it will stand
when your great grand children and mine shall have grown gray---aye, when they shall have gone to their last account, and their
great grand children have grown gray … For the men who love this Union, who are prepared to march to the support of the Union,
who will stand up in defense of the old flag under which their fathers fought and gloriously triumphed, I have not only the most
profound respect, but to their demands I can scarce conceive anything that I would not yield. But, sir, when traitorous States come
here and say, unless you yield this or that established principle or right, we will dissolve the Union, I would answer in brief words,
“no concessions, no compromise; aye, give us strife unto blood before yielding to the demands of traitorous insolence."
Because the Constitution stipulated that all appropriations of the U.S. Government begin in the U.S. House, effectually, Congress
controlled the war machine of the Northern Industrial Complex. Chandler, and the rest of the Radical Republicans thought the
American military might-minus defectors-would overrun and out strategize the weaker south.
Not following the admonishment of George Washington in his Farewell Speech they formed an alliance within the Party. The battle
was within a day’s march of the Whitehouse. In two different carriages were; Chandler (R-MI), Wade (R-OH), Sergeant-At-Arms of
U.S. Senate, Brown, and Major Eaton of Detroit-in the Wolverine carriage; and in the Buckeye carriage, Representative Harrison
Gray Otis Blake (R-OH), Thomas Brown of Cleveland Ohio, Representative, James Remley Morris (R-OH) and Representative &
Historian, Albert Gallatin Riddle (R-OH). According to historian Alber G. Riddle, that event happened on this wise,
"Armed with Maynard Rifles and Navy Revolvers and expecting a great victory … Their Confidence was misplaced … it had become
evident that the Federal Army had been whipped. Men, horses, and wagons were swept back toward Washington. The rout was
complete, and nothing seemed capable of stopping the panic-stricken soldiers [from their disorganized retreat]. The sudden disaster
infuriated Wade. He loathed cowardice, and when he saw the soldiers running away from the enemy instead of standing up to the
Confederates, he sprang into action. Drawing up his carriage across the pike between a fenced-in farm and an impenetrable wood
one mile beyond Fairfax Courthouse, he jumped out, rifle in hand. “Boys, we’ll stop this damned run-away,” he shouted. Then
supported by his companions, he turned back the fugitives at rifle’s point."
Chandler was reelected in 1863 and again in 1869. During and after the Civil War, Chandler proved himself an energetic and deadly
foe to Democratic opponents. From the Senate floor in 1862 he tried to link the name of former President Franklin Pierce with that of
the seditious Knights of the Golden Circle, evidently as a means of putting the Democrats on the defensive in that year's fall midterm elections. As early as the fall of 1866, he was one of the most prominent Republicans to call for the impeachment of Andrew
Johnson, particularly after the latter's self-defeating "Swing Around the Circle" campaign.
He was appointed Secretary of the Interior by President Ulysses Grant in 1875 and served until 1877. The Interior Department
included the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which was rife with corruption. Chandler fought his predecessor Delano on political patronage
in the Department and as party boss, had no reformist tendencies. However, Chandler surprised many by moving quickly to uncover
fraud and dismiss corrupt people in the Interior Department. When the next administration came to power, Chandler's was one of
the few departments to receive compliments from the incoming staff.
Chandler, as Chairman of the Republican National Committee, managed Rutherford B. Hayes' successful 1876 campaign for the
presidency, though Hayes declined to keep Chandler as Secretary of the Interior. He became Chairman of the Michigan Republican
Party in 1878. In 1879, he was again elected to the Senate and served in the 45th and 46th Congresses from 22 Feb 1879, until his
death later that year. Being considered as a possible presidential candidate, Chandler went to Chicago to deliver a political speech
on 31 Oct 1879, and was found dead in his room on the following morning. He is interred at Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.
------http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6932026
Marshall Chapin, b. 27 Feb 1798, Bernardston, Franklin, MA; d. 26 Dec 1838, Detroit,
Wayne, MI. Mayor of Detroit, serving in 1831 and 1833. Also served as City Physician
and owned and operated the first drug store in Detroit in the area.
-----http://elmwoodhistoriccemetery.org/pages/chapin.html
Dr. Chapin was one of nine children. His parents were Caleb and Mary Chapin, and his
ancestors had lived in the Springfield and Connecticut River Valley for 200 years.
Caleb Chapin was a physician as well as a farmer.
The family moved to Caledonia, New York. Marshall was educated in the local schools.
He studied medicine at Geneva and as an aid to his uncle, Dr. Cyrenius Chapin, of
Buffalo, New York. He graduated at the age of twenty-one. In 1819 he established,
with the aid of his uncle, the first drug store in Detroit. Very soon after coming to Detroit
he became active in the political life of the city. He served as an Alderman at large in
1826 and 1827. He was mayor of Detroit in 1831 and 1833. In 1832 he was Chief
Engineer of the Fire Department.
During the first epidemic of cholera in Detroit in 1832 Dr. Chapin was appointed City
32
Physician. He received great praise for his work and devotion. Two years later when the plague hit again he was equally active and
efficient. He continued both his medical and pharmaceutical pursuits in the city. The drug store continued into the 1880’s. His
medical practice continued until his death. He was married in 1823 to Mary Crosby and they had four children. Dr. Chapin died of
heart disease on 26 Dec 1838.
“Cyclopedia of Michigan,” 1900. page 202.
http://books.google.com/books?id=0V85bp_2F4MC&pg=PA202&lpg=PA202&dq=%22Marshall+chapin%22+%22detroit%22&source
=bl&ots=xWSlTfn0_h&sig=KI-am2Gog6xQCdxhqEz566OgJU&hl=en&ei=3Y6zStbqNNTDlAeQz535Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5#v=onepage&q=%22Marshall%2
0chapin%22%20%22detroit%22&f=false
HON. MARSHALL CHAPIN, M. D., one of the early-time doctors of Detroit, a man who greatly endeared himself to the people for his
many noble qualities of heart and mind, more especially as expressed in his untiring ministrations to the stricken during the terrible
cholera epidemics of 1832 and 1834, when, day and night, with hardly any intermission of time for rest or food, he tended and
relieved the sick and the dying irrespective of their social or financial condition, was born at Bernardstown, MA, 27 Feb 1798, and
died 26 Dec 1838, aged 40, full of honors, though cut off at a comparatively early age, his delicate constitution having been
undermined by his excessive professional labors entailed upon him during the cholera scourges.
His ancestors, representatives of all that was best in American life, had been located in and about the Connecticut River Valley for
something like two hundred years. Marshall Chapin was one of a family of nine children born to Dr. Caleb and Mary Chapin. In
Marshall Chapin's youth his father's family removed to Caledonia, NY. Marshall, desiring to enter upon the profession of his father,
took a medical course at Geneva, NY, and later studied with his uncle, Dr. Cyrenius Chapin, at Buffalo, and graduated at the early
age of twenty-one years. In 1819, with the assistance of his uncle Cyrenius,
Marshall established what was the first drugstore in Detroit, being then a mere village with but a few hundred inhabitants. This
drugstore was the foundation of what was afterwards the large wholesale drug firm of T. H. Hinchman, and which, after the death of
T. H. Hinchman, became merged into the great firm of Williams, Davis, Brooks & Hinchman Sons—the Hinchman Sons being
grandsons of Dr. Chapin—which is one of the largest concerns of its kind in the United States, and is also known as "The Michigan
Drug Company." Marshall Chapin, though but twenty-one years of age when he settled in Detroit, was very soon given the care of
the soldiers stationed there, the military post comprising a great part of the town. He soon made the acquaintance of Governor
Cass, who had reason to admire the young man, and others following, he quickly ceased to be a stranger. In 1823, Dr. Chapin was
united in marriage to Miss Mary Crosby, and their offspring were Louisa, who became the wife of the late Theodore H. Hinchman;
Helen, who married Norton Strong; Charles, who died when a boy; and Marshall, who became a colonel in the Federal army during
the Civil War. In 1826, Dr. Marshall Chapin served in the village Council. In 1831 and in 1833, Dr. Marshall Chapin was mayor of
Detroit. His life was short, but his services to humanity were great, and when he passed away he was mourned by all who had
known him, and his memory was held in tender regard.
---Probably the oldest drug house in the West is that of T. H. Hinchman & Sons, of Detroit, Mich. The business was started in that city
in 1819 by Dr. Marshall Chapin, presumably as a branch of the firm of Chapin & Pratt, of Buffalo. In 1833 Dr. Chapin took as a
partner John Owen, of Detroit, the firm thus becoming Chapin & Owen. Theodore H. Hinchman went to Detroit to enter the employ
of that firm in 1836, was admitted as a partner in 1846, and in 1848 succeeded to the business. His brother, James A. Hinchman,
was admitted as a partner in 1852, and continued in business with him until 1860. In 1868, 1869, and 1871 the three sons of
Theodore H. Hinchman were admitted to partnership, since which latter date the style has been T. H. Hinchman & Sons. Mr.
Theodore H. Hinchman died May 12, 1895.
“Memorial and family history of Erie county, New York,” page 51.
http://books.google.com/books?id=Qs8CAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=%22caleb+chapin%22&source=bl&ots=mY2hv_zc5
u&sig=WsY_VFNo1TE1p2TLVBivqgUoe8g&hl=en&ei=fpOzSt6LOsrTlAeNfWSDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#v=onepage&q=%22caleb%20chapin%22&f=false
THE CHAPIN FAMILY. The Chapin lineage is Puritan. Samuel Chapin of Massachusetts Colony took the freeman's oath in Boston
in 1641 and removed to Springfield, Mass. Japhet Chapin, son of Samuel, was in the great Indian fight at Twiner's Falls on 19 May,
1676. Samuel Chapin (2d), son of Japhet, had a son, Caleb Chapin, who was killed in the French War. [Dr.] Caleb Chapin (2d), son
of [Capt.] Caleb, was an officer in the Revolutionary War. [Marshall Chapin was the son of Dr. Caleb Chapin]
DR. CYRENIUS CHAPIN, son of Capt. Caleb Chapin, was a man whose career fills a memorable chapter in the pioneer history of
Buffalo. Physician, soldier and frontiersman, Dr. Chapin was a typical American of that stern epoch when hardship and peril
developed the latent resources of character.
Cyrenius Chapin was born in Bernardston, MA, on 7 Feb 1769. He studied medicine with his brother, Dr. Caleb Chapin. He
practiced for several years at Windhall, VT, later removing to Sangerfield, Oneida, NY. In 1801 he came to Buffalo. In 1803 he went
to Fort Erie, but later returned with his family to Buffalo. Dr. Chapin's life was full of the hardships of the frontier physician, and he
went on horseback to his patients, making hundreds of perilous journeys through the wilderness. He founded the first drug store in
Buffalo, and often supplied gratuitously not only medicine but food to his needy patients. He wielded a great influence, and was
highly esteemed by the Indians, who were accustomed to speak of him as "The Great Medicine Man."
When the War of 1812 broke out, Dr. Chapin raised a company of volunteers and offered his services, both as officer and surgeon.
He was successively commissioned Captain, Major and Lieutenant-Colonel. He served with the American vanguard in the
occupation of Fort George in May 1813. In June he organized a body of mounted riflemen which he commanded in the fight at
Beaver Dams, Canada, on 24 Jun 1813, under Lieutenant-Colonel Boerstler, whose force was compelled to surrender. On July 12
Col. Chapin and his men were sent as prisoners toward Kingston, in two boats, under a heavy British guard. Col. Chapin had laid a
33
carefully concerted plan of escape, and when the boats were a few miles from their destination, the Americans, at a signal, rose,
overpowered the guards, steered for Fort Niagara, and after a night of rowing delivered their erstwhile captors to the commander of
the fort as prisoners of war. When the British attacked Buffalo in Dec 1813, Col. Chapin made a daring stand at Black Rock and
defended the place till he had only five men left. He then retreated to Buffalo, where lie found a dismounted six-pounder cannon.
Hastily mounting it on wagon-wheels, he gathered a few men and boys whom he drew up at Niagara street, where he fought the
British till his cannon was disabled. When further resistance was useless, he mounted a horse, tied a white handkerchief to his
sword, and riding to the enemy held them by parleying till the inhabitants of Buffalo had time to escape. He also obtained from the
British officer in command advantageous terms for the surrender of the village, but the plighted word of the foe was shamefully
violated. Col. Chapin was made a prisoner and taken to Montreal, where he was held nine months. On his return to Buffalo he was
appointed surgeon of the military hospital. When he retired from this office he removed to Geneva, NY, but returned to Buffalo in
1818, and here he continued to reside, practice his profession and take an active part in public affairs till the close of his life. On the
organization of the Erie County Medical Society in 1821, Dr. Chapin was made its first President. In 1836 the citizens of Buffalo
presented him a service of silver plate as a testimonial of their admiration of him as a citizen and soldier.
In 1793 Dr. Chapin married Sylvia Burnham, of Bernardston, MA. He died on 20 Feb 1838, and was buried with military honors. The
cemetery where his remains were laid to rest is now the site of the City and County Hall.
“Colver-Culver genealogy: descendants of Edward Colver of Boston, Dedham, . . .,” by Frederic Lathrop Colver, page 156.
http://books.google.com/books?id=lytGAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=%22caleb+chapin%22&source=bl&ots=48Z3B5OB
eR&sig=YM9f9Yh4VLvL9wGv_wNQmMQTriM&hl=en&ei=oZezSr5ggdGUB8qa4ZIP&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9#v
=onepage&q=%22caleb%20chapin%22&f=false
Ancestry of the Chapin Family:
Consider6 Chapin
b. 22 Aug 1766; d. in 1860; a well educated and of a highly poetic turn of mind. He married, ca 1786, Esther
Wallace, a thoroughly educated and talented woman, a descendant of William Wallace, the hero of Scottish Independence.
Captain Caleb5 Chapin b. 02 Jul 1736; d. 10 Nov 1815; m. Rebecca' Bascom, d/o Ezekiel Bascom (Thomas ', Thomas 2,
Thomas1), who came to Dorchester, Ma, ca 1634. Caleb Chapin served as a captain in Shay's Rebellion, and was a Minute Man in
the Revolutionary War. One of his sons, Doctor Cyrenus Chapin, was Lieutenant-Colonel of Volunteers in the War of 1812.
Caleb 4 Chapin
b. 29 May 1701; d. 1755; m. Catherine Dickinson of Hatfield, MA. He was a soldier in the French and Indian
War, and was killed in battle at Bloody Pond, near Lake George.
Samuel3 Chapin
b. 04 Jul 1665; d. 19 Oct 1729; m. Hannah Sheldon. While crossing the Connecticut River in a boat he was
fired upon by Indians in ambush and was wounded.
Japhat2 Chapin
b. 1642; d. 20 Feb 1712; m1. 22 Jul 1664, Abilena Cooley at Milford, CT, d/o Samuel Cooley. She died 17
Nov 1710, and is buried at Springfield, MA. He m2. Dorothy Root of Enfield, CT, 31 May 1711. He took part in the great fight with
the Indians at Turner's Falls, 19 May 1676. A memorandum, supposed to be in his own handwriting was found in an old account
book: " I went out volenteare against Ingens the 17th of May, 1676 and we engaged batel the 19th of May in the morning before
sunrise and made great spoil upon the enemy and came off the same day with the los of 37 men and the Captain Turner and came
home the 20th of May." In the fight with the Indians at Turner's Falls, 19 May 1676, he was a volunteer.
Deacon Samuel1 Chapin was the progenitor of a family, members of which are found in every State of the Union, "a family of
intelligence, influence and virtue." President William Howard Taft is a lineal descendant of Deacon Samuel Chapin. He m. Cicely
Penny.
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/p/o/p/Sandra-Popiel/FILE/0750text.txt
3. JAPHET CHAPIN, son of SAMUEL CHAPIN and CICELY PENNY. He was born 15 Oct 1642 in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and
died 20 Feb 1712 in Springfield, MA. He married 22 Jul 1664 ABILENAH2 COLEY (SAMUEL1) born 16 Jan 1644 in Milford, New
Haven, Connecticut, and died 17 Nov 1710 in Springfield, MA.
Children of ABILENAH COLEY and JAPHET CHAPIN are:
8.
i.
SAMUEL3 CHAPIN, b. 04 Jul 1665; d. 19 Oct 1729.
9.
ii.
SARAH CHAPIN, b. 16 Mar 1668; d. 1747.
10.
iii.
THOMAS CHAPIN, b. 10 May 1671; d. 27 Aug 1755.
11.
iv.
JOHN CHAPIN, b. 14 May 1674; d. 01 Jun 1759.
12.
v.
EBENEZER CHAPIN, b. 26 Jun 1677, Springfield; d. 13 Dec 1772, Enfield.
vi.
HANNAH CHAPIN, b. 21 Jun 1679; d. 07 Jul 1679.
vii.
HANNAH CHAPIN, b. 18 Jul 1680; m. JOHN SHELDON.
13.
viii.
DAVID CHAPIN, b. 16 Nov 1682; d. 16 Jul 1772.
ix.
JONATHAN CHAPIN, b. 20 Feb 1685; d. 10 Mar 1686.
14.
x.
JONATHAN CHAPIN, b. 23 Sep 1688; d. 23 Feb 1761.
8. SAMUEL3 CHAPIN (ABILENAH2 COLEY, SAMUEL1) was born 04 Jul 1665, and died 19 Oct 1729. He married HANNAH
SHELDON 24 Dec 1690.
Children of SAMUEL CHAPIN and HANNAH SHELDON are:
i.
HENRY4 CHAPIN, d. 15 Aug 1718.
ii.
HANNAH CHAPIN, b. 09 Jul 1692; m. JOHN MORGAN, 01 Jan 1723.
iii.
ABILENE CHAPIN, b. 27 Apr 1694; m. JOSEPH COLTON, 05 May 1715.
iv.
MARY CHAPIN, b. 05 Aug 1696; d. 19 Jul 1704.
19.
v.
SAMUEL CHAPIN, b. 22 May 1699; d. 1779.
20.
vi.
CALEB CHAPIN, b. 29 May 1701; d. 1755.
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vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
EXPERIENCE CHAPIN, b. 08 Jul 1703; m. DANIEL SMITH, 14 Dec 1726.
MARY CHAPIN, b. 12 May 1705; m. JOHN HORTON, 28 Dec 1727.
ELISHA CHAPIN, b. 06 Jul 1707; d. 11 Jul 1756.
LYDIA CHAPIN, b. 12 May 1709; m. TIMOTHY COOPER, Abt. 1733.
20. CALEB4 CHAPIN (SAMUEL3, ABILENAH2 COLEY, SAMUEL1) was born 29 May 1701, and died 1755. He married
CATHERINE DICKINSON 09 Dec 1726.
Children of CALEB CHAPIN and CATHERINE DICKINSON are:
i.
CATHERINE5 CHAPIN, b. 27 Oct 1727; d. 22 Oct 1734.
ii.
CALEB CHAPIN, b. 13 Nov 1729; d. 17 Sep 1735.
iii.
JOEL CHAPIN, b. 22 Apr 1732.
iv.
CATHERINE CHAPIN, b. 02 May 1734.
45.
v.
CALEB CHAPIN, b. 02 Jul 1736; d. 10 Mar 1815.
vi.
HEZEKIAH CHAPIN, b. 11 Nov 1738.
vii.
DANIEL CHAPIN, b. 30 Sep 1741.
viii.
HANNAH CHAPIN, b. 21 Sep 1744.
ix.
LUBNIEL CHAPIN, b. 1747; d. 1815.
x.
SELAH CHAPIN, b. 18 Aug 1750.
45. CALEB5 CHAPIN (CALEB4, SAMUEL3, ABILENAH2 COLEY, SAMUEL1) was born 02 Jul 1736, and died 10 Mar 1815. He
married REBECCA BASCOM.
Children of CALEB CHAPIN and REBECCA BASCOM are:
72.
i.
CALEB6 CHAPIN, b. 20 Aug 1759; d. 28 Nov 1838.
ii.
REBECCA CHAPIN, b. 26 Nov 1761; d. 12 May 1766.
iii.
ZALMENA CHAPIN, b. 03 Apr 1764; d. 20 May 1854.
iv.
CONSIDER CHAPIN, b. 26 Aug 1766; d. 1860.
v.
CYRENIUS CHAPIN, b. 07 Feb 1769.
72. CALEB6 CHAPIN (CALEB5, CALEB4, SAMUEL3, ABILENAH2 COLEY, SAMUEL1) was born 20 Aug 1759, and died 28 Nov
1838. He married MARY WRIGHT, daughter of JOSEPH WRIGHT. She was born 28 Jan 1765.
Children of CALEB CHAPIN and MARY WRIGHT are:
87.
i.
SAMUEL W7 CHAPIN, b. 25 Dec 1787; d. 04 Nov 1851.
ii.
SETH CHAPIN, b. 26 Jan 1790; d. 12 Nov 1826.
iii.
CALEB CHAPIN, b. 18 Aug 1792.
iv.
GORHAM CHAPIN, b. 16 Mar 1795.
v.
MARSHALL CHAPIN, b. 27 Feb 1798; d. 26 Dec 1838.
vi.
DANA CHAPIN, b. 22 Aug 1800.
vii.
HORATIO CHAPIN, b. 16 Jun 1803.
viii.
JOB W CHAPIN, b. 12 Aug 1805; d. 12 Jul 1808.
ix.
JUSTIN CHAPIN, b. 16 Sep 1808.
-------Attached to this petition was this recommendation of Zion Lodge:
"Detroit, August 17th A. L. 5821
Zion Lodge No. 3.
At a Lodge of emergency held this evening under the sanction of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York.
A petition was presented to said Lodge and a request made by said petitioners, for this Lodge to recommend them, the said
petitioners, to the confidence, and good will of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York.
Whereupon Resolved, That the officers of this Lodge do recommend said petitioners as persons meriting and worthy the object of
their prayer.
A true copy.
Attest.
Obed Wait, Secy. Z. L.
The Masters and Wardens of Zion Lodge No. 3, in pursuance of the above resolution, do cordially recommend the within
mentioned petitioners to the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, as brethren in all respects worthy to receive a Charter from said
Grand Lodge, and are of opinion that the interests of the Craft will be promoted thereby.
A. E. Wing, Master.
John L. Whiting, Sen. Warden.
C. S. Payne, J. W."
Six more adjourned meetings were held before the Charter was received, and all necessary preliminary
arrangements made for working when that document should arrive. A hall was rented, jewels, furniture, etc.,
procured, even including "candles" for use at the meetings.
35
On the fifth of September, 1821, the Grand Lodge of New York granted a warrant to these brothers under the
name and style of Detroit Lodge, No. 337, but it was not until the latter part of November that the Charter reached
the waiting brethren.
Brother Andrew J. Whitney, Past Master of Zion Lodge, was selected as the most proper person to constitute the new
Lodge and install its officers. For this purpose he was given a dispensation from the Grand Master of New York, of
which is given on the next page a facsimile.
December 26th, 1821 was the day set for this important event. Elaborate arrangements were made, invitations issued
to a large number of brethren, and in accordance with the authority contained in his dispensation, he issued the
following summons convening the brethren for the purpose named:
36
37
Such an important event in Detroit Masonry as the institution of a second Lodge in that city, to become a co-laborer
with old Zion Lodge which had occupied that field alone for forty-seven years, was calculated to awaken an intense
interest among the members of the fraternity. The work of that meeting is best described in the record thereof, which
was sent to the Grand Lodge of New York. It reads as follows:
"At a convention of Master Masons attending under a summons from Brother Andrew G. Whitney, by virtue of a Dispensation from
the Most Worshipful Daniel D. Tompkins, Vice President of the United States and Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York,
at the house of Brother Benjamin Wood worth, in the City of Detroit, in the Territory of Michigan, on the twenty-sixth day of
December, A. L. 5821, for the purpose of constituting a new Lodge by the name and style of ' 'Detroit Lodge, No. 337," and for the
purpose also of installing the officers of the said new Lodge; the following named brethren were present.
To Wit: [selected names in bold have biographical sketches compiled below] . . .
Lewis Cass
Austin E(li) Wing
Henry J(ackson) Hunt
William Anderson
Obed Wait
Abram Wendell
D'Ganno (de Garmo) Jones
Thomas Rowland
Abram Edwards
John Palmer
James Abbott
Robert Irwin
Jonas W. Colburn
James McCloskey
Thomas S. Knapp
J. B. Brandt
John Mountfort
George McDougall
Thomas Noxon
Thomas Johns
Joseph Jackson
Elisha Warren
John S. Davis
David Perrin
Robt. A(llen) Forsyth
Levi Willard
Henry B. Brevoort
John Burnham
Rev. Alanson W. Welton
John Anderson
Philip Lecuyer
William Brookfield
Isaac Lee
Richard Smyth
Spencer Coleman
Augustus B. Woodward
Joseph Campau
Oliver W. Miller
Gabriel Godfrey
George Alex. O'Keefe
Hotchkiss
Judah Church
John L(effingwell) Whiting
-------Joseph Campau
http://books.google.com/books?id=UIBAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22American+Biographical+History+of+Eminent+and+SelfMade+Men%22#v=snippet&q=masonic&f=false page 38.
Joseph Campau, late of Detroit, was born in that city, 20 Feb 1769;
and died there 23 Jul 1863. "Famous, always, among men, are the
founders of States," said Hon. William M. Evans, in his oration,
delivered in Philadelphia, 4 Jul 1876. But it is frequently necessary
to look behind the mere political structure for the real foundation of
the State, and it is frequently unjust to look for the real founders of
the State to the men whose names appear the more prominently in
its political administration. The men who go to our new Territories in
official capacities, their salaries provided by the Federal
Government, and their safety guaranteed by its military power,
stamp the impress both of their names and characters upon the
civil institutions of the upspringing State. While it is a political
necessity that they do this, they are frequently less entitled to honor
by the exercise of moral courage, energy, public spirit, and
devotion, than others whose names appear less conspicuously in
the public annals. The State has its foundation, not only in its
political life, which is the expression of underlying forces, but also in
its religious, social, and commercial institutions.
Recognizing these factors in the life of our Peninsular State, the
name of Joseph Campau appears so prominently as to give him a
clear title to having been one of its founders. As such, he exercised
a greater influence than any other man upon its early development
and progress, for a period of more than sixty years. Mr. Campau
was "to the manor born." His father, Marquis Jacques Campau,
born in 1730, was also a native of Detroit, his father having arrived
there in 1701, as Private Secretary to M. de la Motte Cadillac. He
fought under Montcalm, at Quebec; and distinguished himself in the
battle on the Plains of Abraham, in 1759, which decided the fate of
that city, and of the French possessions in America. The mother of
Joseph Campau was Catherine Menard, a relation of the early
French missionary of that name. She was a native of Montreal, and
was educated under the refining influences of the religious
establishments in that city. Mr. Campau was essentially a
Frenchman, both by descent and education; and, as a scion of the French nobility that controlled the early settlement of
Detroit, he maintained, throughout his life, the social checks and peculiarities of the old school. He was a man of liberal
views,—making no distinction on account of creed or nationality; was unassuming in manners; and, though a man of few
38
words, was always generous, charitable, and courteous. His education, up to his tenth year, was received at home under the
instruction of his mother, and such religious teachers as the frontier post afforded. When ten years old, he was sent to
Montreal, where he remained five years at school, returning, in 1786, an accomplished young Frenchman, and a welcome
addition to the small but aristocratic society of the town.
His father having died during his absence, he became clerk for Mr. McGregor, then a merchant in the town of Sandwich. He
held this position until he had acquired some means, when he made a contract with the British Government to build a fort at
Maiden. He accumulated, for the purpose, a large quantity of lumber and material, only to see his enterprise frustrated, the
fruit of his savings swept away by a flood, and himself left penniless. He re-entered the service of his old employer; but,
shortly afterwards, commenced trade on his own account, thus beginning a career of unvarying success. He bought his
goods chiefly in Montreal, but sometimes in Boston, being the first to open a trade between that city and Detroit. In his visits
to Boston and Montreal, he induced many enterprising people to come and settle in Detroit. lie became a buyer and seller of
real estate, purchasing uncultivated lands especially, improving and building upon them; and then selling or leasing them,
fully stocked, on easy terms to settlers, thus greatly facilitating the settlement of the country. The cost of clearing the land
averaged about fifty dollars per acre, and the building improvements reached from three to four thousand dollars on each
piece of property. In his dealings with his tenants, most of whom were poor, and some of whom occupied the same farm for
two and three generations without paying any rent, he was always lenient. When their payments became due, and they
were, for some good reason, unable to pay, instead of sending them threatening messages, he would visit them himself, and
assure them that the kind Providence who had entrusted so much property to his care had taught him "to do unto others as
he would that others should do unto him." His books show uncollected rents and dues of over two million five hundred
thousand dollars. He had seventy-four farms or plantations, the greater number of which were in the vicinity of Detroit. He
had, however, lands in other parts of this and in adjoining States, and there was scarcely an organized county in Michigan,
at the time of his death, in which the name of Campau did not appear upon the title deeds there recorded.
He left an available estate, mostly landed, valued at over three million dollars. Mr. Campau was interested largely in stockraising, especially horses, cattle, and sheep. At one time, he had over five hundred horses. Himself descended from the
Norman-French stock, he took especial pride in the Norman horse, which, with its remote Arabian blood, was imported from
Normandy, and from which has sprung the popular breed of horses now used in Canada and the North-west. He was a
member of the "Board of Trade Britannic" as early as 1798. In 1812 he was connected with the Northwestern Fur Company,
with John Jacob Astor, James Abbott, and I. G. Schwarz. Mr. Campau was never an aspirant for public or official honors.
He held the office of Trustee for the town of Detroit in 1802; and was appointed Captain, and, subsequently, a Major, of
militia, by Governor Hull. In 1812 he was ordered to muster his regiment for immediate service; but the occasion passed
without the necessity of ordering him to the front. Mr. Campau's business enterprises were multifarious, requiring not only
constant personal activity, but great executive ability. In 1809 he erected, and for many years operated, a large distillery; at
the same time conducting ten branch stores in the Territory. He was also one of the original stockholders in the first banking
institution in the city,—the Territorial Bank,—of which his nephew, General John R. Williams, was President. Mr. Campau
and Mr. Williams were also associated in various other business enterprises, among which was the establishment, in 1831,
of the Democratic Free Press, a weekly paper, which has developed into the Detroit Free Press, of today. They purchased,
for the purpose, the material then used in the publication of the Oakland Chronicle, in Pontiac. He was also a stockholder in
the Detroit and St. Joseph Railroad, now the Michigan Central. Mr. Campau was equally comprehensive and liberal in his
benevolent and social enterprises and in his business relations. In 1806 he built, at his own cost, the first school-house in
Detroit; and, in the same year, contracted for the erection of St. Ann's Church. He was a member of a debating club, which
included the prominent men of the town, and which held its meetings in his office. He materially aided in the establishment of
Detroit College, in 1817. He was a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and took a leading part in the establishment of that
society in the Northwest. Without hope of reward, he ransomed many white men who had fallen into the hands of the
Indians. He was liberal to his relatives, providing for their education and comfort. He was, at one time, the owner of several
negro slaves, purchased in Montreal, whom he subsequently freed.
In 1808 Mr. Campau married Adelaide Dequindre, daughter of Antoine Ponchartrain Dequindre and Catherine (Desriviere)
Lemoinodiere. A brother of Mrs. Campau, Major Antoine Dequindre, won distinction in the battle of the Monguagon, in 1812.
Mrs. Campau died 29 May 1862. They have left nine children. Mr. Campau occupied his homestead (No. 140 Jefferson
avenue, Detroit) from 1796 to the time of his death, in 1863. The house was destroyed by fire in 1805, but was immediately
replaced by the present structure, costing, at that time, seven thousand dollars. Situated on the site of the headquarters of
Cadillac, the associations of the place invested it with interest in the estimation of Mr. Campau. This feeling is not only
respected, but shared, by those of his children having control of that part of his estate. It is probable that the "Campau
Mansion," although now in the heart of the city, and an unpretending edifice compared with those adjoining, will stand as
long as a Campau remains. In the rear of this homestead, and on the river from, Mr. Campau subsequently built a
storehouse and dock for the accommodation of his boats, of which he had several in the Montreal trade. The homestead has
been used, since Mr. Campau's death, as a repository of family relics, and an office for the settlement of the estate. The
surviving children are Daniel J., Denis J., Theodore J., James J., Alexander T., Adelaide. Catherine D., Emily, and Matilda V.
The sons—Theodore J., and Denis J.—were appointed administrators of his estate. The funeral of Mr. Campau was
probably the largest ever witnessed in Detroit; and was attended by the entire Masonic Fraternity, municipal officers,
members of the bar, the La Fayette Association, and citizens, with the leading men of the city as pallbearers. He was buried
in Elmwood Cemetery, with Masonic honors, 27 Jul 1863.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~colby/colbyfam/b106.html#P12554
Judah CHURCH was born in 1787 in Ashfield, Franklin, MA. He appeared in the census in 1850 in Pontiac, Oakland, MI
(living with daughter Mary and family.) He died on 28 Apr 1853 at Oak Harbor, Island County, Washington.
The first recorded death was noted on May 22, 1853, when settlers discovered the body of Judah Church in the woods of his
claim near Oak Harbor. A coroner's inquest was hastily convened at the site—official verdict, "unknown"—and the sixtythree-year-old native of Michigan was buried where he was found. Church's grave marked the beginning of many "farm
39
burials" on Whidbey, an informal name given to internment on private land. When a death occurred in their family, settlers
cordoned off a small plot of ground on their claims to serve as burial space, oftentimes extending that space to friends who
had no property on which to be buried. Farm burials were common during the pioneer period when formal communities—
and cemeteries—had yet to be established, and it was a burial custom which lasted on Whidbey Island through the late1800s, and possibly longer.
Spouse: Mary COLBY. Judah CHURCH and Mary COLBY were married about 1815. Children were: John P. CHURCH, Ephraim
CHURCH, Mary CHURCH, Allen H. CHURCH.
------Robert Allen Forsyth - private secretary to Governor Lewis Cass
Note: There is some confusion here as to which Robert A. Forsyth is listed above. There were several Robert Allen Forsyths
associated with this family, as follows:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=SHOW&db=damonmaine&surname=Forsyth%2C+Robert+Allen
FORSYTH, Robert Allen b: 10 May 1774 in Grosse Point, MI; son of William
son of the preceding: FORSYTH, Robert Allen b: 1798 in Detroit,, MI prob; d: 21 Oct 1849; Major; married Maria Howard.
son of the preceding FORSYTH, Robert Allen b: 18 DEC 1833 in Detroit,, MI prob
FORSYTH, Robert Allen b: 30 SEP 1795 in ,,MI/OH prob
FORSYTH, Robert Allen b: 18 JUL 1808 in Peoria,,IL
Robert Allen FORSYTH b: 1862 in ,,,MI maybe
http://www.earlychicago.com/encyclopedia.php?letter=F
Forsyth, Robert A. (1763-c.1828) one of John Kinzie`s five half brothers (see Kinzie family tree); both Robert and Thomas
were initially in partnership with John Kinzie at Chicago in 1803; Kinzie’s account books show visits to his trading post by
Robert for Oct. 16, 1803, then on the St. Joseph River, and later in Chicago on Nov. 4 and 11, 1804; by October 1803
Robert had formed a trading partnership with [see] William Smith, a merchant of Sandwich, Canada. There are multiple
entries in Kinzie’s account books for the period from 1803 to 1806 for the firm “Forsyth & Smith.” Robert was in the service of
the American government during the War of 1812; his wife was Mary Scott and their children were [see] Robert Allen,
Marcia (Mrs. B.B. Kercheval), Alice (Mrs. George Hunt), and Jane C.; in 1833, when he lived at St. Louis, MO, he received
$500 in payment for a claim at the Chicago Treaty; the children received $3,000 each at the same treaty with the
Indians, although none had Indian blood.
Forsyth, Robert Allen (1798-1849) born in Detroit, son of Thomas Forsyth and his Ojibwa wife; early citizen of Chicago;
served in the War of 1812; was a cadet in 1814 and later served as secretary to Governor Cass (in that capacity,
accompanied him on the exploratory expedition that passed through Chicago in August 1820); received $1250 in payment
for a claim at the 1828 Indian Treaty; was present at the Treaty of Chicago of 1833, serving on the claims committee and
signing the treaty as a witness; received $3000 in payment to himself for a claim at the Chicago Treaty, $300 in trust for
Mau-se-on-o-quet, $1000 in trust for Catherine McKenzie, and $200 in trust for heirs of Charles Guion; died in Detroit. He is
sometimes cited as Chicago`s very first schoolteacher: at the age of 13, during a winter visit in 1810, he taught the alphabet
to six-year-old John H. Kinzie, tutoring with a speller brought from Detroit. [12] [214]
http://books.google.com/books?id=wJYUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA302&lpg=PA302&dq=%22robert+a.+forsyth%22+%22detroit%2
2&source=bl&ots=BHFsOdcG6x&sig=H5NDLBclAC0auW0UK2-yPZZc8LI&hl=en&ei=r2qFSszqEZEtgehi4yvCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=%22robert%20a.%20forsyth%22%20%22detroit%
22&f=false page 302.
Robert A. Forsyth was long and extensively engaged in the Indian trade.—His residence was at Detroit and his trading
establishments in different places in the Indian Country. He not only enjoyed the confidence of the Indians but that of his
fellow citizens. Every honest man then resident of Detroit can attest to his bravery during the late War. Such had been his
conduct that, on the surrender of Detroit, he was marked as a fit subject for British vengeance.—He was torn from his family
and with his only son, the present Major [Robert A.] Forsyth, then a boy of about fourteen years, put on board the British
vessels and carried off; his several infant daughters being left without a protector; their father's house occupied by the British
troops; and all his valuable property pillaged and carried away. Being landed on parole at Erie, Penn., the father and son
soon afterwards found their way to General Harrison's Army. This gentleman can attest to the many valuable services which
they rendered. The father died in the year 1813, in the service of his country, without having been permitted to return to his
family:—Being early enured to the hardships of trading among the Indians and being naturally active and brave the son
frequently performed duties, from undertaking which others were deterred by their severity and danger. For' the history of the
son, the hardships he encountered, his important services before, and his gallant conduct during the war, I refer you to the
Honourable Lewis Cass, who is familiar with its details.
Major Robert A. Forsyth, formerly a paymaster in the U. S. army, after First Street was opened through the Cass farm, built
and occupied a small cottage house, midway between Fort and Congress Streets, where the Union depot is now. The major
was widely known here in his day and was universally popular. He and his family were intimately connected with the Cass,
Kercheval, Jones and Mason families, and indeed all that went to make up the social side of Detroit. He was very fond of
horses and with his fast nag Spider, was usually the first one out when the snow began to fly or when the ice on the Detroit
and Rouge rivers was in any sort of bearable condition. I have seen him venture on the river in front of the DeGarmo Jones
residence when the ice was so thin that it would rise and fall beneath the runners of his sleigh and the hoofs of his horse, but
Spider, goaded on by the fierce yells of his driver, would always come out all right. He never used a whip. The Major. and
Lieutenant Grant were often pitted against each other when the ice and snow were in good condition. In the summer time
40
Detroit could not boast of any good place to speed horses, but in the winter the Detroit and Rouge rivers and Jefferson
Avenue gave the owners of fast nags ample opportunity to do so.
The Major passed away at the early age of 51 years [b. ca 1822; died November 25, 1873]. At the time of his death we
youngsters used to look upon him as an old man, and he had somewhat that appearance, with his iron-gray hair and
whiskers, a .grizzled old veteran, as it were. Many years after his death Dr. Lucretius H. Cobb, Henry A. Wight and myself
were one day in the cemetery on the corner of Gratiot Avenue and Russell Street and came across the Major's grave. On
the tombstone above it we found, to our surprise, that he had died at the early age I have mentioned and we had always
thought him an old, old man. A son of his, Lewis C. Forsyth, a retired colonel U. S. A., lately died at a summer resort near
Washington, D. C.
Henry Jackson Hunt
http://books.google.com/books?id=0w4UAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1444&dq=%22henry+jackson+hunt%22+%22detroit%22#v=on
epage&q=%22henry%20jackson%20hunt%22%20%22detroit%22&f=false page 1443.
Thomas Hunt, the first member of the family in Detroit, who was born in Watertown, Mass., in 1754, was a soldier in the
Battle of Lexington, and was wounded at Bunker Hill. He came to Detroit with Wayne's army in 1796, but his family did not
come until 1800. He was stationed at various military posts about the western country and died in 1808 at Bellefontaine, Mo.
His wife was Eunice Wellington. They had eleven children. The seven sons were Henry Jackson Hunt, Thomas Hunt, Jr.,
George Hunt, Samuel Wellington Hunt, William Brown Hunt, John Elliott Hunt, and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Hunt.
The four daughters were Ruth Fessenden Hunt, wife of Abraham Edwards, Abigail Hunt, wife of Col. Josiah Snelling (after
whom Fort Snelling was named), Mary LeBaron Hunt, who married Tunis S. Wendell, and Eliza Hunt, wife of James G.
Soulard of St. Louis.
Henry Jackson Hunt, b. 1788 in Watertown, MA, married Ann MacIntosh, a daughter of Angus MacIntosh (sometimes
referred to as the Earl of Moy). Hunt was at one time in partnership with Lewis Cass in real estate purchases and was
always the friend of the governor. He was engaged in trade with his brother-in-law, Abraham Edwards for some years. He
was the second elected mayor of Detroit and died during his term of office in 1826. Governor William Woodbridge, writing of
Henry J. Hunt and his wife in 1815, says that they were the handsomest couple in Detroit.
His role in the surrender of Detroit by Gen. Hull . . .
http://books.google.com/books?id=IEk22rbVL9QC&pg=PA70&dq=%22henry+jackson+hunt%22+%22detroit%22&lr=#v=one
page&q=%22henry%20jackson%20hunt%22%20%22detroit%22&f=false page 70.
As soon as it was light on the morning of the 16th, and as early as five o'clock, Hull sent his son, Captain Abraham F. Hull,
across the river with a flag of truce and with a letter reading as follows:
Detroit, 16th August, 1812.
General Brock:
I propose a cessation of hostilities for one hour to open negotiations for the surrender of Detroit. Yours &c.
William Hull,
B. Gen'l. Com'g.
Captain Hull did not deliver this letter in person to Brock, as the latter had passed down the river some time before the
messenger's arrival, and was either on the point of passing to the American side or had already done so. Young Hull did not
deliver the letter to anyone at the time, but remained with it on the Canadian side until the surrender of Detroit.
The heavy gun fire of the English from the Canadian batteries continued to be exceedingly wild even after it was broad
daylight. Though some damage was done the houses of the town, few of the inhabitants were injured. A court martial was in
progress at this time in the fort, investigating the action of Lieutenant Hanks in surrendering Mackinac While his trial was
being held, a shell from the enemy's camp crashed through the building and killed Lieutenant Hanks, two officers, two
privates and a surgeon. A second surgeon was wounded. The trial record shows that at this time the main body of the troops
"were so crowded inside the fort as to render it impossible for them to act offensively—that is, just before the articles of
capitulation were agreed upon;—the orders (to place the regulars inside the fort) were given to Colonel Findlay immediately
after fire, when the flag was sent by Captain Hull." Many of the townspeople were also within the enclosure at this time.
Major Anderson was in command of the battery in Woodward's garden. A British officer with a flag of truce rode up and
asked why the flag of truce had been sent across the river. He was told that General Hull had sent a letter to Brock.
Lieutenant Henry Jackson Hunt was sent to notify Hull of the errand of the British officer, Lieutenant Duer, and to
ascertain what reply should be made to him. Hunt returned with a sealed paper addressed to General Brock and
with directions to Major Snelling to return with Lieutenant Duer and to deliver the letter to Brock. Brock was a little in
advance of his troops, the latter having marched as far as the Henry farm, a point where the Michigan Central railroad
crosses River street.
The letter borne by Snelling to Brock reads as follows:
Detroit, 16th. August, 1812.
Sir:
The object of the Flag which passed the river, was to propose a cessation of hostilities for one hour for the purpose of
entering into a negociation for the surrender of Detroit.
Yours &c.
William Hull.
Gen. Brock.
B --- Gen'l.
41
Comg
.
It does not appear that any person in the American army, save General Hull himself, knew of the contents of these letters at
the time they were sent, nor did he have the assistance* or advice of any of his officers in their preparation.
http://www.michigan.gov/dmva/0,1607,7-126-2360_3003_3012-8767--,00.html
DeGarmo Jones
Senator from the First District, 1840-1. He was born in Albany, NY, in 1787, and came to Detroit as a
sutler in the army under General. Harrison in 1813, and subsequently settled there.
Mr. Jones established a store and became a leading business man, and at a later date was prominent in
the development of the Lake Superior copper mines. He was Mayor of the city in 1839, several times
Alderman, and took an active interest in business, church and educational affairs, and left a valuable
estate. He was on the board of the Detroit French College and he erected the first plaster mill in the
State. He was a Whig in politics. He died in 1846.
http://books.google.com/books?id=5ZQUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1381&lpg=PA1381&dq=%22deGarmo+jones%22&source=bl&
ots=lV8JW762kr&sig=Kh2EaMZFhWCJZA-oadIUuytRrYA&hl=en&ei=r1OFSoyWOavtgeyidmvCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3#v=onepage&q=%22deGarmo%20jones%22&f=false page 1381.
George C. Bates says that DeGarmo Jones was a drummer boy in 1812. "Sudden and quick in quarrel, with a temper
requiring a curb bit, Mr. Jones was a sort of western Vanderbilt, with a great big head, enlarged views, interesting industry,
who saw far ahead into the future, and had he lived longer, would have cut deeper and deeper into the tablet of time his
career, for he was a most public spirited, enterprising, go ahead man." He was born in Albany, NY, 11 Nov 1787, married
Catherine H. Annin and came to Detroit in 1819. He died 14 Nov 1846.
At the time of his death, besides his wife, Catherine H. Jones, he left three children:
Matilda Cass Jones,
b. 1833, m. Augustus Porter Thompson in 1853. She died in 1865.
DeGarmo Jones (Jr.),
b. 1835, m. Caroline Sauger, d/o Henry K. Sauger. Civil war Officer; died 1864 in Buffalo.
Alice Kercheval Jones,
b. 1838, m. Albert M. Steel. She died in 1887.
DeGarmo Jones was trustee of the "Detroit High School" in 1833. The school was then operating in the old council house.
"The rooms are being completely refitted and furnished for school purposes." Of this school D. B. Crane was the principal
and the trustees were: Gov. Geo. B. Porter, Eurotas P. Hastings, Maj. Henry Whiting, William Woodbridge, Charles Larned,
Charles Cleland, Jonathan Kearsley, Charles Moran, Benjamin F. Larned, Joshua Howard, DeGarmo Jones, Peter
Desnoyers and Francis P. Browning. The school was in operation from August 1, 1833. The building was, before this,
occupied by Mr. Howe for a classical school room.
DeGarmo Jones was a member of the common council in 1838; mayor in 1839; state senator in 1840. He held many other
offices during his life.
-----[Jacques] Gabriel Godfrey (aka Godfroy or Godefroy) was born at Detroit, November 10, 1758, the son of Jacques
Godfroy and Louisa Clotilda Chapoton. He had a trading post. His daughter, Susanne, married James McCloskey (below).
“Early Days of Detroit,” by Friend Palmer. page 589.
http://books.google.com/books?id=yhoVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA619&dq=%22Gabriel+Godfrey%22+%22detroit%22&lr=#v=onep
age&q=%22Gabriel%20Godfrey%22%20%22detroit%22&f=false
Jacques [Godfroy] married Louise Clotilde Chapoton, daughter of Dr. Chapoton, surgeon in the army. She died in 1764,
leavinp one son, Jacques Gabriel. Jacques devoted the remainder of his life to the care of his son, and the rebuilding of his
fortune, which bad suffered since the English conquest. He figures prominently in many of the Indian transfers of land. In the
American state papers is a curious deed in French from Jacques Godfroy to his son, conveying to him farming lands,
implements, cattle, silver and slaves. The land conveyed comprised the tract between Twentieth and Twenty-second streets,
this city, from the river to some three miles back, some of which is still owned by his descendants (Godfroy farm). He died in
1795. He evidently was very popular and generous, for he seems to have been for several years godfather to almost every
child that was born, for pages of baptisms on the records have his name affixed, in his strong, bold handwriting.
This Jacques Gabriel was born in 1758, within Fort Ponchartrain. He was named Gabriel from his godfather and uncle,
Gabriel Le Grand Chevalier de Sintre. About the year he became of age the American revolution was in progress. Though
the colony was far removed from the scene of war, Gabriel's sympathies were with the colonists. His early years were spent
in extending the fur trade and establishing trading posts on a large scale, from Monroe to Fort Vincennes; the firm of Godfroy
& Beaugrand was one of the largest in the west, as well as the firm of Godfroy & Le Shambre. The latter firm established a
warehouse about 1809 at Ann Arbor on the west bank of the Huron river, back of the Occidental hotel. It was called
"Godfroy's on the Pottawattomie trail." This trail crossed the river where the Congress street bridge (Ann Arbor) is now. In
1811 this firm received a patent for 2,5oo'acres of land, signed by President Monroe. It is said that, what is believed to be the
key of this old warehouse was found a short time ago on its site, and at present hangs on the wall of Archie McNicol's shop
in the Hewitt block, and the account of the find indulges in the following remarks in regard to it: "If that key could talk what a
tale it might tell of Indians and bales of deer and beaver skins that were brought into the building and exchanged for guns,
powder and shot and knives. Imagine the canoes and flat-bottomed boats coming up the Huron river (as they must have
done) with supplies. All that is perhaps now left of this warehouse is the big rusty key."
42
After the American possession Gabriel received the appointment as sub-agent and deputy-superintendent of Indian affairs
from General Harrison (aftedwards president of the United States). The records which have been preserved of his success
in negotiating with the Indians are abundant, and he retained the position until his death in 1832. Gabriel was major of the
first regiment of the territory, and on the resignation of Augustus B. Woodward, was made colonel.
He married Angelique de Couture, by whom he had five children.
Gabriel, Jr., married Elizabeth, daughter of Judge James May; his descendants reside at Grand Rapids.
Jean Baptiste settled at Fort Wayne, Ind. In 1796
Gabriel married for his second wife, Therese Douaine de Bondy, by whom he had several children.
He died in 1831. He was one of the few who lived under French, English and American rule in the same place and saw a
change of flags five times.
He married a third time, Monique Campau, by whom he had no issue.
The only child by his second wife, Susanne, married James McCloskey.
http://books.google.com/books?id=5ZQUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1386&lpg=PA1386&dq=%22Gabriel+Godfrey%22+%22detroit
%22&source=bl&ots=lV8JW2c5eu&sig=la6YBlqgQ8UmrK-CWo3UTP3EN-w&hl=en&ei=w6iEStSGEIX2NabwNgE&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#v=onepage&q=%22Gabriel%20Godfrey%22%20%22detroit%22&f=false
page 1386.
James McCloskey, Surveyor. Cashier of Bank of Michigan. Resigned as county commissioner September 14, 1821.
Accused of embezzling the funds of the bank on May 24, 1825. He was charged with stealing between $8,000 and $9,000.
He was arrested but never tried. The affair was compromised. It is evident that he was not universally thought to be guilty,
for he subsequently held important positions and was at one time a candidate for the office of delegate to Congress.
McCloskey was chairman of the board of trustees of the city in 1820.
He married Susanne Godfrey, daughter of Gabriel Godfrey, September 11, 1815. They had several children. One of his
daughters, Elizabeth Eleonida, born in 1821, became the wife of Judge and Senator Isaac P. Christiancy.
Ibid. page 1386 and http://www.michigan.gov/dmva/0,1607,7-126-2360_3003_3012-8025--,00.html
George McDougall, son of Capt. George McDougall. Lawyer, sheriff, justice of the peace, judge of probate, lighthouse
keeper at St. Clair. Owner of Belle Isle. Grandson of Robert Navarre. Eccentric bachelor. Brother of Robert McDougall.
George was born October 19, 1766, and was appointed auditor of public accounts October 4, 1814. Resigned as register of
probate September 11, 1821. He was of a roving disposition and erratic and sometimes quarrelsome. He lived in Detroit,
Fort Defiance, River Raisin and St. Clair. George McDougall, secretary pro-tern of the board of trustees, gave notice June 1,
1820, that the assize of bread had been fixed at four pounds four ounces for 12 ½ cents . . .
In 1820 McDougall had his law office in a room in the Indian Council House, that stood on the southwest corner of Jefferson
Avenue and Randolph Street.
The United States Arsenal was built from limestone taken from the quarry on Grosse He and was advertised for sale by
George McDougall, April 7, 1820. "The sale was to take place next Friday at the Council House." Sale postponed till Friday,
April 21, 1820.
The arsenal stood on the northwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and Wayne Street.
McDougall, Robert (or John Robert McDougall). Brother of George (above), was born June 30, 1764. Grandfather of John
Barnabas Campau and Alexander Macomb Campau. Robert McDougall had nine children who lived to reach their majority.
He moved across the river and received an appointment in the British army. He lived, at the termination of his life, on
Woodbridge Street, between St. Antoine and Hastings streets, where he died July 22, 1846. He was buried at Sandwich.
He was a pensioner of the British government and was required to furnish a statement to the British war department in order
to obtain his pension. The following is an abstract of the report made by him.
John Robert McDougall entered the army at the age of thirteen years.
He was an ensign May 6, 1777; lieutenant December 12, 1781, and a lieutenant on half pay June 25, 1783.
He performed duty with his regiment till June, 1784, in the 8th Regiment of Foot.
On service fully pay 7 years; Half pay 45 years; Total 52 years
He was married June 26, 1786, at Detroit. His children were:
Peter,
b. 15 Jun 1791.
Catherine,
b. 26 Sep 1797.
James,
b. 24 Jan 1793.
Mary Anne,
b. 22 Mar 1799.
Archange,
b. 07 Sep 1794.
Joseph,
b. 01 Feb 1801.
-----
Charles,
Veronique,
b. 19 May 1805.
b. 30 Oct 1808.
Philip Lecuyer
http://books.google.com/books?id=5ZQUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1381&lpg=PA1381&dq=%22deGarmo+jones%22&source=bl&
ots=lV8JW762kr&sig=Kh2EaMZFhWCJZA-oadIUuytRrYA&hl=en&ei=r1OFSoyWOavtgeyidmvCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3#v=onepage&q=%22deGarmo%20jones%22&f=false page 1385.
Philip Lecuyer. Appointed register of deeds for City of Detroit, 14 Nov 1825; resigned 4 May 1826. Appointed associate
justice of County Court, 19 Dec 1826. Appointed clerk of County Court, Wayne County, 29 Dec 1826. Justice of Wayne
43
County Court, 23 Dec 1823. Candidate for the legislative council in 1825. Director of the Bank of Michigan in 1827. In 1819
he had a store on Griswold Street, a little below Jefferson Avenue, where he sold stoves, kettles, ovens, etc.
--------The Adjutant General of the Michigan Territory - 29 Sep 1806 - 1 Aug 1818
George McDougall was the son of Lieutenant. George McDougall of the Royal American Regiment, a
native of Scotland, who was at Detroit during Pontiac's siege. A few years after this event, he obtained
title to Hog Island (Belle Isle) and thereby started a controversy which is still of interest to the people of
Detroit. He died at Carleton Island, April 8, 1780. In 1763, he had married at Detroit, Mary Frances (Marie
Françoise) Navarre, daughter of Robert Navarre and Mary Lootman dit Barrios.
Their son, George, the subject of the present sketch, was born at Detroit, Oct. 13, 1766. He became a
lawyer, but in addition to his legal practice he held various offices and engaged in diverse activities. He was a man of
eccentric temperament, so much so that he seems to have been regarded by his contemporaries as somewhat abnormal
mentally. In 1810, he was foreman of the grand jury which presented Governor Hull and Judges Witherell and Woodward for
tyrannical conduct. At a subsequent date, he was disbarred by the judges for his conduct before them, and the prohibition
was removed only after he had made a humble apology to the court. Notwithstanding his quarrelsome disposition,
McDougall was popular with the French element of Detroit whose language he spoke as fluently as he spoke English. In his
later years, prosperity forsook him and he obtained an appointment as lighthouse keeper at Fort Gratiot on the St. Clair
River. This position he retained until his death, about the year 1840.
George McDougall was a member of Zion Lodge No. 1 (Secretary, 1806) and Chief Justice of the Michigan Territory (18071809), with Bro. James Abbott as an Associate Justice (succeeded by Bro. Robert Abbott in April 1809).
McDougall was a man of historical tastes, and preserved until his death a collection of papers pertaining to early Detroit
which were subsequently utilized by Francis Parkman in writing his Conspiracy of Pontiac. McDougall died a bachelor.
George (1766-1840) became a lawyer and was Adjutant General of Michigan from 1806 until 1818. His first son, John
Robert (1764-1846), married a Frenchwoman named Archange Campeau (Campau) and had thirteen children. One of these
children, James McDougall, who was born in 1793, married Catherine Godet in Sandwich's Assumption Parish in 1821, and
is the gr-gr-gr-grandfather of US Secretary of State and ex-Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton. James and Catherine's
daughter, Mary Anne Francis McDougall, born 1823, married Antoine Martin in 1841. They had a daughter named Delia,
who married Daniel Murray in 1882, and that couple moved from Michigan to Illinois between 1888 and 1891. Delia and
Daniel's daughter, Della, born 1902, married Edwin John Howell in 1918, and gave birth to Dorothy Emma Howell later that
year. In 1947 Dorothy and her husband, Hugh Ellsworth Rodham, became the parents of Hilary Rodham.
http://www.archive.org/stream/governorjudgesjo00burtuoft/governorjudgesjo00burtuoft_djvu.txt
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=rivardcousins&id=I11585
Oliver W. Miller was a merchant in Detroit in 1806. He came from Salt Springs Point, Onondaga County, NY. He was
married 15 Dec 1813, to Pelagie Loranger, dit Maisonville, by Stephen Lindsley, chaplain, U. S. A. Oliver died and his will
was probated 20 Dec 1830. He left all of his property to his wife, Pelagie, and a son, William Warner Miller, born 2 Oct 1814.
James Abbott and Elon Farnsworth were the executors of his will. Pelagie was b. 8 Feb 1788, Assumption Sandwich,
Ontario, Canada, the daughter of Jean-Alexis Loranger, dit Maisonville (b. 15 Sep 1728, Batiscan, Quebec) and Marguerite
Joncaire, dit Chabert (b. 1755).
http://www.jenforum.com/miller/messages/10247.html
Oliver W. Miller was a charter member of the Masonic Military Lodge No. 93 (Manlius, Onondaga, NY) 2 Sep 1802. Prior to
that he was affiliated with the Cazenovia, town of Cazenovia, Madison County masonic order [United Brethren Lodge No.
78]. Oliver W. was involved in an Onondaga Co. lawsuit in 1801 (deed record: B,99) and land he owned on lot 25 in Fabius
was sold. Oliver W. also sold property in Pompey (lot 9) in 1801. Property purchases also included property on lot 11 in
Pompey.
George Alexander O'Keefe
http://books.google.com/books?id=yhoVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA619&dq=%22Gabriel+Godfrey%22+%22detroit%22&lr=#v=onep
age&q=%22o'keefe%22&f=false page 482
Counsellor O'Keefe was an eminent Irish barrister, brim full of wit and repartee. He kept bachelor's hall and continued to until
after the arrival of his maiden sister from Ireland, who, after the counsellor's death, married Judge Strong. I used to see
much of the counsellor in the early thirties, as he frequently visited the office of my uncle in the Cooper Block that I have
mentioned before. Robert Abbott, auditor-general, and A. E. Hathorn had their offices in the same room. He was always
interesting and at that time was just past his prime. It appeared that previous to his departure from Ireland he had a
misunderstanding with some of his fellow students and had it out with them on the college green in Dublin, and, as he said,
he quit the latter place in disgust but not in disgrace. In relating the circumstance and also the tame reception the bar of
Detroit gave him when he came to this city, he would warm up with the subject, and with passionate eloquence he would
give them all particular fits. He was of commanding presence, over six feet tall and straight as a poplar, and with his ample
cloak thrown across one shoulder, his right arm free, he would stride up and down, gesticulating and rolling out his
adjectives, to the intense wonder and amusement of his audience, myself included. He died poor, I think, but left a memory
that is cherished by relatives now here. He was a member of the legislature before the removal of the state capitol to
Lansing. and always when he had occasion to address the house he kept them in a roar of laughter.
"At a very early date, about 1820, O'Keefe came to Detroit. He was a liberally educated and thoroughbred lawyer, but was
extremely intemperate in his habits. His drinking sprees were frequent, sometimes lasting for weeks. He became acquainted
44
with Judge Bunce, of St. Clair, County, visiting him often, sometimes prolonging his visits for weeks, and through the judge's
influence became prosecuting attorney for the County of St. Clair. O'Keefe on one of his visits to Judge Bunce, expressed a
wish to represent St. Clair in our legislative council at the next sitting, and he stated that the judge favored his election, which
was doubted by the leading men of the county. In the following year O'Keefe came up from Detroit to canvass the county,
and made his first call on the lather of Anna P. Stewart. He introduced his subject by stating that he had quit the use of
intoxicating liquors, that lie had decided on thorough reformation, and was about to take up his abode permanently in St.
Clair County. Relying on his reformation and ability, he had come to offer himself as a candidate to represent our county in
the legislature. In reply Mr. Stewart said: 'Counsellor, I am glad to hear of your proposed reformation, and as to your abilities,
no one can doubt them. Come and make your home among us for one year, and give us proof of your reformation, and there
is not the least doubt that you will become a favorite among the people, who will certainly give you their hearty support; but
to be candid, counsellor, I must insist upon one year's reformation before I can give you my support.'
At this O'Keefe became angry and said: "Sir, I wish you to know I was educated at two of the best seminaries in England,
and I was bred at the Irish bar; and, sir, I can write your governor down."
After this outburst of passion there was a pause. Mr. VVolverton who was present remarked:
"Counsellor, you sremind me of the story of the calf who sucked two cows."
"Indeed," said O'Keefe, "and what of that, sir?"
"Nothing in particular," said Wolverton, "only it is said the more he sucked the larger he grew."
At this remark O'Keefe smiled and became apparently good natured, when the three went into a calm discussion of the
matter. Mr. Stewart and Wolverton tried to convince him that Bunce did not intend to support him, but on the other hand was
seeking his own election. O'Keefe said: "It may be so, but if I thought there was such deception in professed friends, I would
throw myself on the mercy of the Lord."
From the first organization of St. Clair County up to 1830. O'Keefe practiced in the county court, most of the time as
prosecuting attorney. A soldier at Fort Gratiot had murdered a comrade, and was delivered over to the authorities for trial; at
the time Judge Sibley, of Detroit, was the circuit judge, and O'Keefe prosecuting attorney. This was the first time that Mr.
Stewart ever sat on a jury. The jury in this case found a true bill of indictment. The bill was drawn up by O'Keefe while
visiting Judge Bunce. In order to dress in the backwoods style of that day, O'Keefe procured a pair of buckskin pants, which
he wore on visiting Mr. Stewart.
Thomas Rowland
http://www.archive.org/stream/funeraldiscourse00kell/funeraldiscourse00kell_djvu.txt
A FUNERAL DISCOURSE,
Delivered August 26th,
ON OCCASION OF THE DEATH OF
MAJOR THOMAS ROWLAND,
RULING ELDER IN THE 2d PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF DETROIT,
Who Died on the 13th of August, 1849.
BY R. R. KELLOGG,
OF THE SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH—DETROIT.
PUBLISHED BY BEQUEST.
22 pages (extract of pertinent biographical data)
Major Thomas Rowland was born on the 4th of February, 1784, at Union Town, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and dying
August 13th, 1849, was, as will be seen, about sixty-five years of age. His parents were pious. He was a child of many
prayers. I have it from reliable authority, that they were faithful in training him in the way he should go, and when he was old
he certainly did not depart from it. The blessed savor of their influence was felt by him during his youth and riper years,
never entirely being lost to him. When about 14 years of age, he was made deeply sensible of his lost condition, and his
need of a Saviour, and for awhile indulged the hope that he had become an adopted child of God. Circumstances, and the
social influences in which he was placed, led him to be ashamed of his hope. He tried to conceal his religion, visited places
of amusement, and thus shut himself out from the smile and approbation of conscience and of God. Still he never entirely
lost his serious impressions, his fear of God, his abhorrence of sin as against God, and the remembrance of parental
counsels and prayers.
Previous to the war of 1812, he held some office of public trust, and was also engaged in business in New Lisbon, Ohio,
where he then resided. On the declaration of war with Great Britain in June, 1812, he volunteered to raise a company, and
did raise one, and was marching with it to the relief of Detroit, then menaced by General Brock, "one of the most energetic
and able of the British commanders in Canada;" but he only arrived at Monroe, where he was met by the news of the
surrender of General Hull and of Detroit to the British forces. This news was brought to him by a British officer, sent down by
General Brock to demand what arms and ammunition he might have, and a surrender of the troops. So astounded was he
by the intelligence of the surrender of Detroit, that he would not credit it. He put the officer under arrest, and confined him for
the night. In the morning, having satisfied himself from the French around him that the surrender had actually been made, he
restored the officer his sword and papers, but himself and forces turned their faces toward Ohio, making good their retreat.
When General Harrison was ordered to take charge of the army of the North-West, he reported himself to him, and was
directed by General Harrison to bring on the Pennsylvania regiment, then being raised, and to join him at Urbana. And he
45
was with General Harrison during the winter of 1812-13, in his operations upon this frontier. In the spring of 1818, having
been appointed to the command of a company in the 27th regiment, he again joined General Harrison, and was with him
during the whole campaign, which ended in the recovery of Detroit, and the (defeat of the British array at the battle of the
Thames, in which action he was present and participated. After the termination of the campaign, he remained in Detroit,
doing duty as a military man, and was promoted to a Majority by President Madison, in consideration of the services he had
rendered to his country.
When it was determined to send an expedition to Mackinaw — the only remaining part of our territory in the hands of the
British — Major Rowland claimed it as his right to be appointed to the command of that expedition. But it was given to
Colonel Holmes, who fell there in the discharge of his duty, God reserving our friend for farther labors in another campaign,
under Immanuel, where, as a soldier of the cross, he might win imperishable laurels — not in bodies wounded and territory
laid waste, but in souls subdued, and heaven won for the vanquished.
In July, 1814, he was married to her who now mourns her loss, but who rejoices in his gain, and who "mourns not as those
who have no hope." In September of this year he went on a recruiting service into Ohio, where he continued until the
following June, and when in 1815 peace was declared and the troops disbanded, he retired from the army to private life, and
was appointed Clerk of the County Court, (then a place of much more importance than now,) and also Justice of the Peace,
which offices he held during the continuance of the Territorial Government; one of our own present citizens (General Cass)
being at that time Governor of the Territory. It was about this time, also, that he received from the President the appointment
of U. S. Marshal, which position he continued to hold until 1827; being at the same time U. S. Pension Agent, and also
holding offices of honor and trust in the gift of his o\m citizens, who, by repeatedly electing him to different responsible trusts
showed their high appreciation of his integrity and worth. Since then he has, during one Gubernatorial regime, (that of Hon.
W. W. Woodbridge,) been employed as Secretary of State, and for three years was the City Postmaster. Thus continuing to
enjoy the respect and confidence of the public, he has filled up his days in the sight of his fellow men, exposed necessarily
and unavoidably to the aspersions incident to public life, but with no blot upon his memory.
http://books.google.com/books?id=8FRLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA177&dq=%22Thomas+Rowland%22+%22detroit%22#v=onepa
ge&q=%22Thomas%20Rowland%22%20%22detroit%22&f=false page 177.
Catherine McNiff was a daughter of [Bro.] Patrick McNiff, who figured quite prominently in the early days in Detroit. He was
one of the first surveyors, and came to Detroit while the British were still there. His wife, Catherine McNiff, was born in 1753
and died December 17, 1838. Patrick died some time between 1801-1804. They had at least four children:
(1) Robert, who lived in Detroit at the time of the fire and whose house was the only one not destroyed He was born 1784
and died April 16, 1844.
(2) Margaret, who married Porter Hanks, January 7, 1807. Lieutenant Hanks was in command at Mackinac at the time of it.
surrender to the British and Indians in 1812. He was paroled and came to Detroit, where he was tried by court martial.
During the trial, August 15, 1812,, a cannon ball penetrated the court room and killed Hanks. His wife died December 14,
1869, aged 83 years and 3 months. For many years she lived in a house on the north side of Jefferson Avenue, between
Bates and Randolph.
(3) Eleanor married Lieut. Jonathan Eastman, October 16, 1808.
(4) Catherine [McNiff] was born in 1788. She lived in Detroit at the time of the fire and received her donation lot. She married
Thomas Rowland, July 26, 1814. They had one son Lewis Cass
Rowland, who died December 16, 1834, aged 8 years and 7 months.
Thomas Rowland died August 13, 1849, aged 65 years. He came
to Detroit from Pennsylvania after the War of 1812. Mrs. Rowland
died May 20, 1853, aged 65 years. Thomas had a sister, Sarah
Griffin, who lived in Detroit and died there August 15, 1846, aged 54
years. Col. Isaac Rowland, adjutant general of Michigan, an older son
of Thomas Rowland by a former marriage, married Catherine
Armistead Mason, sister of Gov. S. T. Mason, September 10, 1839.
They had four children: Elizabeth M. Rowland, Catherine M. Rowland,
Thomas Rowland and John Mason, "as baptised, was never called by
the name of Rowland." They were all minors in 1851. Isaac was born
in 1811 and died June 14, 1850, aged 39 years.
-------Obed Wait - Came from New York State 6 Mar 1820. He was a
contractor and builder.
http://www.detroit1701.org/CapitolPark_Hist.htm
In 1805, Congress created a Michigan territory and, shortly thereafter,
President Jefferson selected Augustus Woodward to serve as
territorial chief justice. Woodward took it upon himself to build a great
city in the vast wilderness and was not deterred by the fire of 1805
that destroyed the village, or Detroit's surrender to the British in the
War of 1812. Until the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, Detroit's
population grew slowly. Woodward had a courthouse built on
Griswold. The architectural thinking of that time—strongly influenced
by the beliefs and preferences of Thomas Jefferson—assumed that
46
important government buildings should be in the style of classical Greece. Architect Obed Wait designed a modest but
impressive brick Greek Revival structure with a very tall steeple.
The First Capitol
The first State Capitol, completed in 1828, was known as the Territorial Courthouse until Michigan became a state in 1837.
Designed by Obed Wait and constructed of red brick, the Courthouse/Capitol was one of the earliest Greek Revival
buildings in Michigan with a fine Ionic portico and a tower which rose to a height of 140 feet. Built at a cost of $24,500, this
building served the State Territorial Government and the State legislature from May 5, 1828 to March 17, 1847, when the
capital was moved from Detroit to its permanent location in Lansing. The building then became a public school and library
until it burned in 1893. Known as Union School, it was, at one time, Detroit's only high school.
http://books.google.com/books?id=Gkt5AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA313&lpg=PA313&dq=%22obed+wait%22&source=bl&ots=cHxX
CX9e-v&sig=942Euww_-I7KlBjd0WVJqMSfNw&hl=en&ei=r0ODSu7qIcSntgehnPHICg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5#v=onepage&q=%22obed%2
0wait%22&f=false page 313.
THE SCIAWASSA COMPANY.
The issue of the 8th of October, 1821, contains a notice of a meeting of the Sciawassa Company, at the council house
(corner of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street), Thursday, the 25th inst., for the transaction of important business. It was
signed by Obed Wait, secretary. This Obed Wait was the architect of and superintended the erection of the capitol building.
October 12, the Gazette, in an editorial, calls attention to the Sciawassa Company, whose avowed mission was to
encourage immigration to the territory, and to disseminate full information in regard thereto, and says in part:
"It is peculiarly favorable to the interests of the territory that a measure like that entered upon by the Sciawassa Company
should be taken at this time—for, so far from our citizens having hitherto been able to spread a knowledge of the advantages
of this territory to any considerable extent among the people of the eastern and northern states, it may be said with truth,
that a general ignorance prevails relative to them. Indeed, the traveler from Michigan is frequently asked (by persons whose
standing in society would seem to imply at least a knowledge of the geography of their native country), 'if Detroit belongs to
the British or the United States.' "
Few and perhaps no one now will remember Obed Wait(e). He was a man of much promise and was the architect of the
state capitol building. He died in 1830. I remember his funeral (Masonic) was largely attended. He was a friend of Thomas
Palmer, father of the senator, also of Colonel D. C. McKinstry, Shubael Conant, Oliver Newbury and indeed all of the
prominent men here at that day. He was a remarkably fine looking man, and an accomplished architect. He died somewhere
near Nov 1829, the month his estate was ‘administered’ by Ira Waite.
[The Henry Rowe Schoolcraft House was built in 1827 as both the home of Mr. Schooolcraft and his wife, Jane, the daughter
of John Johnston, and as the Indian Agency headquarters. Elmwood, as the house was referred to because of the
surrounding elms, was the most high style building in the area. Obed Wait built the house.]
Ibid. page 954.
Upstairs in the southwest corner of the Council House was the Masonic lodge room, with the curtains to the windows always
tightly drawn, and outwardly all looked dark and ominous, owing, no doubt, to the cloud cast on the order by the Morgan
affair that happened in New York State in the early twenties, and with which all Free Masons are familiar. It was said the
feeling upstairs in the southwest corner of the Council House was the Masonic lodge room, with the curtains to the windows
always tightly drawn, and outwardly all looked dark and ominous, owing, no doubt, to the cloud cast on the order by the
Morgan affair that happened in New York State in the early twenties, and with which all Free Masons are familiar. It was said
the feeling entertained against them here, at that time, by the anti-Masons, was so strong that they did not dare to appear in
public, in their regalia with music, etc., as they formerly had been in the habit of doing. Perhaps this may have been so,
generally speaking, but I know of two occasions when they did appear in full regalia; these were at the funeral of my [Friend
Palmer’s] father [also named ‘Friend,’ brother of Thomas Palmer] and later that of Mr. Obed Waite, architect of the territorial
capitol building. Not being a Free Mason I do not remember when the lodge resumed its former sway. I (boy that I was) was
full of the mystery of this alleged Morgan abduction business. Before my mother and the rest of our family left Canandaigua
for Detroit. I accompanied her to the jail there to see Mr. Cheesbro and Mr. Sawyer, prominent Free Masons, who were
confined on suspicion of being concerned in the kidnapping. Mr. Cheesbro was one of my father's most intimate friends, as
also was Mr. Sawyer. The latter was a tenant of his, and a very near neighbor.
There was no evidence against them, or of sufficient character to convict them, and they were released. Mr. Cheesbro died
at a good old age in Canandaigua, and Mr. Sawyer emigrated to Grand Blanc, in this state. He too lived to see many years
and died at Grand Blanc.
“The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1791-122,” By William Stocking, Gordon K. Miller, page 1240.
http://books.google.com/books?id=5ZQUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1240&lpg=PA1240&dq=%22Alanson+W.+Welton%22&source=bl&ots=l
V8JV270fs&sig=6o2gitXhw3WM4cMM9vklFTvIkk&hl=en&ei=rwyDSu71KoeStgex6_jWCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6#v=onepage&q=%22Alanson%20W.%20
Welton%22&f=false
Rev. Alanson W(heeler) Welton was born in Waterbury, CT, 24 Nov 1788, the son of Titus Welton and Mary Hickox. He
was educated in the Episcopal Academy at Cheshire and ordained by Bishop John H. Hobart. He had charge of a church in
Canandaigua, New York, in 1815. On coming to Detroit in the latter part of 1821 he found the building erected by the First
47
Protestant Society to be without an occupant and he was invited to take possession and minister to the wants of a mixed
congregation of all protestant denominations.
The first minister in this church was the Reverend John Monteith. Monteith left Detroit in July, 1821, and in December of that
year the Rev. Mr. Barrows, a Presbyterian, of New York City, was invited to the place. Mr. Barrows declined the call and
then Mr. Welton came.
During the remainder of his short life—for he died in September, 1822, at the early age of 34 years—Mr. Welton kept the
charge of the First Church. It was during his time that efforts were made to organize an Episcopal Church. The society was
organized in 1824. It was incorporated in 1825 under the name of the "Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen of St. Paul's Church
in the City of Detroit." Its first officers were Samuel Perkins and Levi Brown, wardens; John Biddle, James Abbott. Henry
Chipman, Andrew G. Whitney, John L. Whiting, John Garland, Jonathan Kearsley, and Jeremiah Moors, vestrymen. The first
rector was the Rev. Richard F. Cadle.
For a time they were permitted to occupy the Indian Council House on the Sundays it was not occupied for other religious
purposes. It is said that occasionally they had the use of some hall or building within the fort grounds. The Society laid claim
to a portion of the English burying ground—that is the land on the east side of Woodward avenue between Larned and
Congress streets. This land had been conveyed to the First Protestant Society, and the Episcopal Society claimed that the
grant was intended for their use as well as for other protestant societies.
About the middle of this block, and fronting on Woodward Avenue, was the church of the First Protestant Society. An
agreement was reached that the northerly sixty feet of the tract should be conveyed to the Episcopal Society and that, in
consideration therefor, this society should pay for the removal of the church building to the corner of Larned Street, one
hundred and seventeen feet.
This was in 1827 and the corner stone of the new Episcopal Church was laid August 10th of that year. The Rt. Rev. Bishop
John H. Hobart visited Detroit at that time and laid the stone. This was the first visit of a protestant bishop to the City and
was quite a notable event. To add to the celebrity of the occasion, it happened that the Episcopal bishop of Quebec was on
a visit to Sandwich and Bishop Hobart accepted his invitation to join him in holding services at that place. While we find no
record of a return visit, it is not improbable that the Bishop of Quebec came over to Detroit and was also present at the
laying of the corner stone here. At this time the work on the new territorial capitol building had so far progressed that church
services were in that building.
Again, a year later, on August 24, 1828, Bishop Hobart came and consecrated the new church and again a notable event
occurred by the meeting here of Bishop Hobart and the Rev. Bro. Eleazer Williams.
Mr. Williams, at that time, was a missionary among the Indians at Green Bay but had not then achieved the notoriety that
afterwards put his name in the mouth of everyone, when it was claimed that he was the Lost Dauphin of France—the heir to
the throne, Louis XVII.
------Alanson W. WELTON, Rector of St. John's Episcopal Church, Clifton Spring, from 1814-1821. He was the first Episcopal
priest in the Michigan Territory, serving in Detroit for only about a year until his death on 28 Sep 1822. His wife left a short
account of their journey to Detroit from Clifton Springs. Mrs. WELTON (Eleanor) writes that her husband was from Richmond
and that she returned there in 1822 or 1823. Alason was buried in Detroit and a marker at St. Paul's Cathedral notes that he
was 34 years old and died on 29 Sep (rather than the 28th) in November.
http://perdurabo10.tripod.com/ships/id126.html
The first steamboat on the Great Lakes was the Walk-in-the-Water, launched in 1818.
The below is from a contemporary lithograph, ca 1820.
48
Walk-in the-Water, the first steamboat on Lake Erie, with a view of Detroit in 1821.
It brought Detroit to within two days journey of Buffalo, New York.
The original drawing was made by Major Washington Whistler, father of the famous painter.
The large house at the extreme left was the residence of Grand Master Lewis Cass, Governor of Michigan, 1813-31.
The house above the bow of the ship belonged to Joseph Campau, a member of Zion Lodge,
and the owner of the property on Jefferson leased to Monroe Chapter No. 1, R.A.M.,
upon which the Chapter built Detroit’s first Masonic Temple.
http://books.google.com/books?id=tTEUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA369&lpg=PA369&dq=%22McGulpin%22+%22green+bay%22&source=bl&ots=w
oPxVKcGA3&sig=5ASg1Jr7-kMMzZlgQxuCIzU3P8s&hl=en&ei=slSSo22AtLOlAexsJWkDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2#v=onepage&q=%22McGulpin%22%20%22green%20bay%22&f=false
The steamboat was faithfully serving its regular route between Black Rock and Detroit when it wrecked in a storm on the
night of Oct. 31, 1821. She was under the command of Capt. Jebediah Rogers that night. The vessel had 18 passengers
and general freight aboard and was on route to Cleveland. A violent gale blew from the southwest at about 8 p.m.
The passengers became alarmed as the ship's timbers creaked and groaned at every roll. Rogers found that the engine
wasn't powerful enough to make progress against the storm and he was fearful of turning around and trying to get back to
Black Rock in the dark. He ordered the anchors dropped and tried to ride out the gale in mid-lake. One passenger, the wife
of the Rev. Alanson W. Welton, said the ship was anchored a few miles above the old Buffalo lighthouse. As the night
went on, the storm increased in fury, the hull began to leak, and the anchors dragged. The Walk-in-the-Water drifted with
the wind toward the Canadian shore. At about 5 a.m. the captain gave the order to cut the chains so the ship could drift
ashore at Point Albino.
Mrs. Welton's [nee Eleanor Tuttle] account of the wreck that morning is graphic:
"Tired out with anxious watching, I had taken my berth with my children, keeping my own and their clothes on. My
husband was still on deck. When the captain's summons came to the cabin passengers to turn out, as the boat was
going ashore, the floor of the cabin was ankle deep with water.
"I will not attempt to describe the anxious, prayerful, tearful upturned faces that were grouped together in the cabin of the
Walk-in-the-Water on that terrible, cold morning as we looked into each others faces for probably the last time."
But prayers were answered. The ship went aground near the lighthouse and the passengers and crew were all safely
removed to the lighthouse within a few hours. Before the storm was over the hull of the Walk-in-the-Water was cracked and
the ship declared a total wreck. The engine was salvaged and used to power the boat's successor, the Superior.
-----John Leffingwell Whiting [5c4r]
http://books.google.com/books?id=UIBAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22American+Biographical+History+of+Eminent+and+SelfMade+Men%22#v=onepage&q=lodge&f=false page 153
John L., Whiting, M. D., Detroit, was born on 28 Nov1793, at Canaan, Columbus County, NY; and is the son of John Whiting
and Lydia Leffingwell, both from Norwich, CT. His father was a farmer and mill-owner. Mr. Whiting attended the Academy at
Lenox, MA, and that at Lebanon Springs. He commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Samuel White, at Hudson, NY,
49
when nineteen years of age, remaining with him three years. In 1816, after casting his first vote for DeWitt Clinton for
President, he turned his eyes Westward, and left Hudson.
His destination was Detroit; he commenced journeying on horseback, stopping at Auburn by the way. From Buffalo to
Cleveland, he traveled by cutter, driving two horses tandem, in company with Smith Knapp, who had previously lived a year
in Detroit and was returning from a visit to the East. Cleveland, at that lime, contained but one tavern, and a few rudely
constructed houses. From Cleveland to Huron, Ohio, a distance of about forty miles, Doctor Whiting traveled on the ice,
having constructed a rude jumper or sled, on which he carried himself and friend. At Huron, he was obliged to wait several
days for the mail-carrier, on whose guidance he relied for finding his way through the terrible wilderness called the Black
Swamp. During the time consumed in waiting the arrival of the guide, the snow disappeared; when they finally proceeded on
horseback, the track through the snow had become obliterated, and they were lost, at a point near the end of their journey
through the "Swamp." It appears that the mail-carrier relied too much on the snow, omitting the blazed trees, which it now
became necessary to find. Doctor Whiting proposed that their guide should go due south in search of the lost track, himself
going north, and Mr. Knapp remaining, as a rallying point, where they separated. Doctor Whiting, although a stranger,
proved right in his conjectures, and found the road one half a mile north. Continuing their journey, they finally arrived at
Detroit, 26 Feb 1817.
The entire city, at that time, was outlined by Brush and Cass streets on the east and west, and Congress street and the river
on the north and south,—the river, east of Woodward avenue, extending along the present lint of Atwater street and west of
the avenue, spreading out in a kind of bay up towards Woodbridge street. Doctor Whiting entered upon the practice of his
profession in Detroit, continuing in the work for fifteen years. He then went into the forwarding and commission business in
company with John J. Deming, who was afterwards succeeded by Henry К. Avery, continuing the same from 1832 to 1843.
He next turned his attention to the business of a land and tax agency, which he followed until 1871, when a severe and
protracted illness compelled him to retire from active life.
In 1823 Doctor Whiting went on horseback from Detroit to Saginaw, through the unbroken wilderness, with a single soldier
as a guide, to perform, temporarily, the duties of Post Surgeon, at the latter place, during the illness of the late Dr. Zina
Pitcher. On account of the malarial fever then raging at Saginaw, the post was soon after discontinued, and the troops
transferred to the garrison at Detroit. Doctor Whiting was a Whig up to the time of the formation of the Republican party,
since which he has acted with that party. The only political office he ever held was that of Clerk of the city, to which he was
elected in 1830, and re-elected in 1832. He resigned on being chosen Chairman of the Board of Health. He organized the
first medical society in the Territory of Michigan, in 1819, called the "Medical Society of Michigan," himself drawing up the
constitution and by-laws. Among those engaging in the organization were Dr. R. S. Rice, of Monroe; Drs. J. B. Chamberlain
and Olmstead Chamberlain, of Pontiac; and five or six physicians from Mt. Clemens, and other places.
He was a leading member of the Masonic Fraternity up to the time of the Morgan excitement, in 1826, having been
Worshipful Master of Zion Lodge, No. 1, of Detroit; Secretary of Monroe Chapter; and Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge
of Michigan. In earlier times, the "First Protestant Society of Detroit" was the leading religious organization, outside of the
Catholic Church, the several Protestant denominations not being sufficiently strong to maintain separate societies. Doctor
Whiting became a member of this society in 1832, but on the organization of the Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church, he
united with it, and has since remained a member.
Doctor Whiting has been married three times. His first wife was Harriet C. Talman, whom he married at Hudson, NY, in
1821. She died in May 1829, having been the mother of four children, two of whom died in infancy; the other two, Elizabeth
H. and John Talman Whiting, still survive. His second wife was Harriet Rees, of Detroit, who was married in Nov 1830, and
died in April, 1852. She had eight children, three of whom are living,—George Loring, Henry Rees, and Shubael Conant.
George Loring and Shubael Conant reside in Detroit, and are both married. The oldest child of this marriage, De Garmo
Jones Whiting, entered the army as Lieutenant in the civil war; was promoted to a Captaincy, and died in Washington, in
1864. Henry Rees Whiling also served in the war; and was, for a period of eight months, confined in Libby prison. Mr.
Whiting's third wife was Rebecca Rees, sister of Harriet, whom he married in 1854. She is still living, without children.
Doctor Whiting has traveled extensively, during his sixty-two years of Western life, in the States and Territories of the
Northwest, and in Kentucky and Virginia. He is a man of remarkably vigorous mind and retentive memory, and speaks of the
occurrences of sixty and seventy years ago as if they were but yesterday. A very complete description of the town of Detroit,
as it existed in 1817, was published in the Detroit Tribune of March 21, 1876, based upon the personal recollections of
Doctor Whiting. He is one of the few of the early settlers who remain; and, though he has of late been attacked with severe
illness, he has withstood its more threatening symptoms, and at the age of eighty-five is still able to enjoy his walk on
pleasant days.
http://books.google.com/books?id=5ZQUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1381&lpg=PA1381&dq=%22deGarmo+jones%22&source=bl
&ots=lV8JW762kr&sig=Kh2EaMZFhWCJZA-oadIUuytRrYA&hl=en&ei=r1OFSoyWOavtgeyidmvCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3#v=onepage&q=%22deGarmo%20jones%22&f=false page
1401.
John L. Whiting. Physician. He was born in Canaan, Columbia, NY, in 1793, came to Detroit in 1817, and married Harriet C.
Tallman 16 Feb 1821. He was secretary of the Mechanics' Society of the Territory of Michigan in 1820 and Grand
Secretary, F. & A. M., in 1826. He was always prominent in civil affairs, though not an office holder. His first wife was
Harriet C. Talman, who died in 1829. He married Harriet Rees, who died in 1852, and his third wife, Rebecca Rees, was a
sister to Harriet. Doctor Whiting died 4 Aug 1880. In 1837 he was in the forwarding business and lived on the corner of
Congress and Wayne streets. His son, George Leffingwell Whiting, died 20 Jan 1826. John Whiting, the father of Dr. John L.
Whiting, was living in Canaan, NY, in 1842.
http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=flakey&id=I567185418&ti=5538
50
John Leffingwell Whiting, b. 28 Nov 1793; d. 3 Aug 1880; bur. 6 Aug 1880 Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, MI; son of John
WHITING b: 4 Feb 1764 Norwich, New London, CT, and Lydia LEFFINGWELL b: 6 May 1773 of Norwich, CT
m1., 12 Jul 1854 in Detroit, Rebecca REES b: 17 Mar 1805 in Erie, Erie Co., PA
m2., 1821, Harriet C. TALMAN b: Abt 1797 in Detroit, , Michigan
Children
1. John Talman WHITING b: Mar 1822 in Detroit, Wayne Co., MI
2. George L. WHITING b: Feb 1824 in
3. Elizabeth Heroine WHITING b: Dec 1826 in
4. Degarmo Jones WHITING b: Dec 1833 in
5. George Loring WHITING b: 19 Nov 1835 in
6. Henry Reese WHITING b: Dec 1838 in
7. S. Conant WHITING b: 6 Nov 1839 in
8. William Bradford WHITING b: 19 Oct 1841 in
9. William Whitney WHITING b: Abt 1843 in
10. Harriet Talman WHITING b: Abt 1845 in
m3, Nov 1830, Harriet REES b: 7 Jul 1807 in Erie, Erie Co., PA
Children
1. De Garmo Jones WHITING b: Dec 1833 in Detroit, Wayne Co., MI
2. George Loring WHITING b: 19 Nov 1835 in Detroit, Wayne Co., MI
3. Henry Rees WHITING b: Dec 1837 in Detroit, Wayne Co., MI
4. Shubael Conant WHITING b: 6 Nov 1839 in Detroit, Wayne Co., MI
5. William Bradford WHITING b: 19 Oct 1841 in Detroit, Wayne Co., MI
6. William Whitney WHITING b: Abt 1843 in Detroit, Wayne Co., MI
7. Harriet Talman WHITING b: 30 May 1846 in Detroit, Wayne Co., MI
------“History of Monroe County Michigan,” page 151.
http://books.google.com/books?id=UJEPx_u92h8C&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=%22Austin+E.+Wing%22&source=bl&ots=
9JMpR6ec_0&sig=AaKVZr50kilNJj63lrU5TndcnlM&hl=en&ei=HJCCSru_MIyxtgeGxtDICg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&
resnum=6#v=onepage&q=%22Austin%20E.%20Wing%22&f=false
AUSTIN ELI WING, son of Enoch and Mary (Oliver) Wing, born at Con way, MA, 3 Feb 1792. When a lad he accompanied
his father to Marietta, Ohio, where the latter engaged in merchandising and farming, and erected flouring and saw-mills on
the banks of the Muskingum about three miles above the mouth of the river. Austin attended the academy at Chillicothe, and
completed his preparation for college at Athens College, Ohio. He entered Williams College, Massachusetts, in 1810, and
graduated with honor in 1814. Immediately after he graduated he married Harriet, daughter of Deac. Benjamin Skinner,
of Williamstown, MA; returned to Marietta and entered the law office of Governor William Woodbridge, one of the most
prominent and influential lawyers of Ohio.
October 13, 1813, General Lewis Cass was appointed Governor of the Territory of Michigan, and continued Governor until
August 1, 1831, when he resigned and became a member of General Jackson's cabinet. Governor Woodbridge and
Governor Cass were both interested in young Wing; advised him to accompany them to Michigan Territory, and were strong
personal friends the remainder of their lives. By giving his note he obtained a horse, saddle, bridle and saddle-bags, and on
horseback accompanied them to Detroit and entered again the law office of Governor Woodbridge. Was sheriff of the
Territory for a number of years, when his jurisdiction extended over the States of Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan; resided
on Bates street; built the red warehouse and dock at the foot of the street, which are now represented on the old maps of
Detroit drawn in 1820.
He represented the Territory in Congress from 1825 to 1829, successor of Rev. Gabriel Richard, and again from 1831 to
1833; was appointed and served for one term as United States marshal for the Southern District of Michigan; was for two
terms Regent of the Michigan University; represented Monroe county in the legislature of 1842; was one of the early
members of the first Presbyterian church of Detroit. He died at the Water-cure Sanitarium at Cleveland, 25 Aug 1849. Had
one son and two daughters that attained their majority: Talcott E. Wing, attorney and counselor, at Monroe; Eliza, who
married Moses H. Whittier, merchant, of Monroe; and Harriet, who married Charles T. Mitchell, banker, of Hillsdale, MI.
In the language of one of the leading citizens of Detroit; "Austin E. Wing was a gentleman of more than ordinary gifts and
accomplishments, and became prominent in public and private life. Of great personal attractions, the social element was
prominent in him, and his wit broadened into a proverbial humor that made him sought by all who loved the bright side of life.
Far from being a raconteur of the day's gossip, or the idle dispenser of other people's jokes, he was a man of activity and
energy, who won the high positions he reached by the judicious use of the sterling qualities which made him a whole man.
His tone was high. If his humor was broad and surprised you into sudden laughter, its pleasure was altogether healthful. He
was equal to all the requirements of the confidence reposed in him."
He built and occupied during his residence in Monroe, the stately mansion on the north side of the River Raisin
-------The Most Worshipful Grand Master Pro. Tem, opened a Grand Lodge in due form, and the dispensation from the M. W. Grand
Master was read.
51
The M. W. designated the following brethren as the active officers of the Grand Lodge; viz.
John S. Davis, S. G. Warden
Henry J. Hunt, J. G. Warden
John L. Whiting, G. Secretary
Abraham Edwards, G. Treasurer
James McClosky, S. G. D.
Robert A. Forsyth, J. G. D.
Jonas W. Colburn, G. Tyler
A message was received from Detroit Lodge, stating that they were now ready to proceed to the constitution of the Lodge and the
Installation of the officers of the Same.
The Grand Lodge then proceeded to the Masonic Hall, where a Past Master's Lodge was duly opened and Brother Mullett, the
Master elect, was duly placed in the chair.
A procession was then formed under the direction of Brother Lecuyer & Rowland, (Marshalls) in the following order. To Wit:
New Lodge.
Tyler, with a drawn Sword;
Stewards, with white rods;
Master Masons;
Junior and Senior Deacons;
Secretary and Treasurer;
Two brethren carrying the flooring of the Lodge;
Junior and Senior Wardens;
The Holy writings, by the oldest member;
The Worshipful Master;
Music.
The Grand Lodge.
Grand Tyler with drawn Sword;
Grand Stewards with white Rods;
A Brother carrying vessel of Corn;
Two Brothers carrying Wine and Oil;
Grand Secretary;
Grand Treasurer;
A Past Master with Burning Taper;
Ditto Do. with the Holy Writings;
Square and Compasses, -supported by two Stewards with white Rods;
Two burning Tapers, borne by two Past Masters;
Clergy & Orator;
Marshalls—The Globes;
R. W. Junior & Senior G. Wardens
R. W. Deputy Grand Master;
The Master of oldest Lodge, with constitutions;
The M. W. Grand Master;
The Grand Deacons with Black Rods;
Grand Sword Hearer, with a drawn Sword;
Two Stewards with white Rods.
The Procession then moved to the first Protestant Church, where the new Lodge was solemnly consecrated, and constituted, and
the officers duly Installed, according to the ancient usages of the Craft.
A procession was again formed and moved to the house of Bro. Woodworth, where an elegant collation was prepared, and thence
returned to the Masonic Hall.
The Temporary Grand Lodge was then closed in due form without day, by the M. W. Grand Master pro tem.
John L. Whiting Secretary."
In reporting his acts to the Grand Lodge of New York, Brother Whitney also wrote a letter giving additional details
concerning this event. It makes interesting reading to-day, nearly seventy-five years after it was written. Then, as
now, Catholics were forbidden by the Pope to connect themselves with this institution. This letter reads thus:
"Detroit Feby. 7th 1822.
Sir,
52
I have the honor herewith to transmit a report of my doings had under, and by Authority of, the Dispensation of Daniel D. Tompkins,
Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York, to me directed, and dated the fifth day of September, A. L. 5821,—Authorizing
me to summon a convenient number of Brethren and with their assistance to install the officers of Detroit Lodge, and to constitute
the said Lodge according to ancient usage.
Not being acquainted with any form of making up such report, I have thought best to transmit the minutes of the convention of
Masons, or temporary Grand Lodge, assembled by me on that occasion, as kept by the Secretary under my direction; and also the
original of one of the summons which I issued to the adjoining county of Oakland. I do this thinking it safer to err by sending you too
much than too little, that you may know fully the proceedings that were had, and be able to point out to me the errors that may have
taken place, for the benefit of our Brethren in this quarter on some future occasion.
As soon as the Brethren of Detroit Lodge had filled up the Blank in the Dispensation with my name & signified their wish that I
should act as G. M. P. T. on that occasion, I issued four summons to the Most Reputable Brethren of the 4 adjoining Counties to
attend on the 29th day of December, past, to assist me &c. One of these summons I sent for your approbation.
It was requested by the Brethren of Detroit Lodge that the Consecration, Constitution and Installation should be in public at the
Church, and a platform was erected for that purpose. And the Lodge was solemnly Consecrated, Constituted & the Officers
Installed. One Revd. Brother Welton officiated as Chaplain and also delivered an Excellent Masonic Address.
I do not know that it is usual, or allowable for a public consecration to be held, unless some Officer of the Grand Lodge presides in
person.
It was thought advisable, on consultation with our most judicious brethren, that the services should be public and as solemn and
imposing as possible, on account of some peculiar circumstances here. A number of our Elder Brethren of Zion Lodge are
Catholics—and the bull of the Pope, excluding members of the Fraternity from the Communion of that Church, has lately been
promulgated here, by their Catholic Priests. Most of them, in consequence, have withdrawn their attendance from the Lodge for the
sake of peace—and the Lodge have not thought best to enforce its discipline or by-laws against them. I did not therefore insert any
of their names in the summons without first consulting them on the subject. Several of the most respectable of them however, to
whom I had submitted the Dispensation, and informed fully of the whole process of Consecration, Constitution and Installation,
agreed to have their names inserted and attended and assisted in officiating stations; and they, as well as some other Catholics who
ventured to attend at the Church as spectators, were much gratified. And I have not yet heard that it has embroiled them with their
priests, tho' contrary to their injunctions. Others of the Catholic Brethren declined attending and were consequently omitted in the
summons.
The Members of Detroit Lodge would be glad to hear your opinion on the propriety of the proceedings, had under the
dispensation,—as herewith reported to you, when your convenience.
I enclose to you, also, with this, at the request of Sundry Brethren in Oakland County, their petition to the Grand Lodge for a
Charter, accompanied by the Recommendation of Zion Lodge No. 3. Also thirty-two dollars in Bill which were sent me by them for
that purpose. And am requested by them to ask you to lay the same before the Grand Lodge at the next quarterly communication,
and should a charter be granted to them, that you would be good enough to have it made out at the earliest day convenient, and
transmit it immediately thereafter by Mail directed to me, at Detroit, for them.
There are about 25 of the Brethren Residing in Oakland County—mostly recent emigrants from N. York and made under the
jurisdiction of your Grand Lodge.
I forgot to state in its proper place that I have still in my hand the Dispensation for constituting Detroit Lodge, and do not know
whether I should Deposit it with that Lodge, transmit back to you, or keep it in my own possession. Have the goodness to inform me.
Fraternally, yours &c.
Elias Hicks,
Grand Secretary
Grand Lodge N. Y."
A. G. Whitney,
Past Master
of Zion Lodge No. 3.
That Brother Whitney's work met the approval of the Grand Lodge of New York is shown by the letter of the Grand
Secretary, after receiving his report. He said:
"N. Y. Apr. 8, 1822.
Your letter of the 7 Feb. contg the Rep. of your proceedings as Inst: off: of D. L. No.—. came duly to hand and would have been
acknowd: before, but that I wished when so doing to accomp: it with the war't prayed for by the brethren of Oakland cy. This I am
now enabled to do and transmit it herewith, together with a Wr: of C. & a power to instal, which latter I should have filled with your
name could I have known that it would have met your wishes and convenience to have officiated on this occasion.
The course pursutd by you in the constitution of D. L. was perfectly correct & the report of your proceedings so highly satisfactory as
to make it desirable that the repetition of the ceremony should not fall into less skillful hands, nor its solemnities be conducted with a
less imposing effect. If therefr. it shd not so intr: with yr bus as to render it altogeth impract: it would be gratifying to the G. M. that
the duty be performed by you; but if otherwise, it is requested that you substitute for the purpose some Br. of sufficient rank in
whose skill and capacity you may have perfect confidence. The Pet: did not specify the Town in which the Lodge is to be held.
When this is settled, if it is not already done, you will please to insert it in the wart, and inform me of the name. I wrote to Br. Davis
immediately on the w. being granted, but omitting to address my letter to your care, it may possibly still be lying in the P. O. at
Detroit.
Be pleased to acknowledge the receipt of this, as soon as it comes to hand & believe me
53
Very respy & frat
Yours
E. H."
[Elias Hicks]
The first officers of Detroit Lodge, that were installed at this time, were
John Mullett, Worshipful Master,
John Farrar, Senior Warden,
Jeremiah Moors, Junior Warden,
Charles Jackson, Treasurer,
Marshall Chapin, Secretary,
Jacob Eilert, Senior Deacon,
Elihu Sikes, Junior Deacon,
Levi Cook and Daniel B. Cole, Stewards,
James W. King, Tiler.
Thus the second Michigan Lodge took its place to work in the quarries of this Territory. Regular meetings were held
from this time but the first petition for the degrees was not received until the following April, it being that of John
Farmer, who was accepted and duly initiated April 30, 1822, the first work of this Lodge. From this time forward
petitions were frequent and a goodly amount of work was done. July 2nd, 1822, the records state that the "jewels of
the lodge were loaned to Brother Davis for use of the Lodge in Oakland County." This was for Oakland Lodge, which
received a warrant from the New York Grand Lodge at about that time.
The first death in Detroit Lodge was that of Brother Elihu Sikes, Junior Deacon, who was buried with masonic
ceremonies on August 11, 1822.
Detroit Lodge soon occupied a hall jointly with Zion Lodge and Monroe Chapter, and although frequent motions were
made for securing a new room, there is no record that this was done, and the same room was doubtless used by all
these bodies until the cessation of work a few years later.
March 24, 1823, Detroit Lodge recommended sundry brethren asking therefor, to the Grand Lodge of New York,
for a Lodge to be located at St. Clair. There is no record, however, that a Lodge was established there at that time.
The second member of this Lodge who died was Spencer Coleman, who was buried with the honors of Masonry on
April 13, 1823. The brethren of that day did not think that all duties to a brother ceased when they had laid his body in
the grave, but they looked after the welfare of the family after the brother had been taken away. In this case a
committee was appointed with authority to draw on the treasury for sufficient funds to relieve the present wants of the
family.
August 19, 1823, Brother John E. Schwarz, of Harmony Lodge, No. 125, Philadelphia, presented Detroit
Lodge with a Masonic Library, which was highly appreciated. Brother Schwarz became a resident of Detroit and
changed his membership thereto and became one of the most prominent Masons of that city as well as afterward in
Grand Lodge.
April 13, 1824, a number of brethren residing at Green Bay asked for a recommendation for Menomanie Lodge at
that place, and their request was cheerfully granted, and on November 2nd of the same year, they likewise
recommended the brothers at Monroe for the same purpose.
St. John's Day of this year, (December 27th) was jointly observed by Zion and Detroit Lodges and Monroe Chapter.
An oration was delivered by Brother Austin E. Wing, of Zion Lodge, and a dinner was served at Brother Holley's. This
is the first record of such joint celebration by these bodies and serves to show the harmony and good feeling that
existed between them. In the early part of 1825, steps were taken looking toward the erection of a building exclusively
for masonic purposes. A committee was appointed that reported from time to time, but the building was not occupied
previous to the suspension of all masonic labor in 1829.
At a meeting held on July 26, 1825, a movement was started in this Lodge that was destined to become a matter of
great importance to all Michigan Masons. At this meeting a resolution was introduced and adopted, that it was
expedient to form a Grand Lodge, and naming a committee consisting of Brothers Charles Jackson, W. M., John
Farrar, and Levi Cook, S. W., to confer with the other Lodges upon the subject. Out of this movement grew the first
Grand Lodge of Michigan, one year later. June 13, 1826, Brothers Charles Jackson, Levi Cook and John Garrison
were appointed to represent Detroit Lodge in a convention called for the 24th of that month for the purpose of forming
the Grand Lodge, and at the first election of officers, Brother John E. Schwarz of this Lodge was chosen Grand
Pursuivant, which office he continued to hold during the existence of that Grand Lodge, and in 1842 he was elected
Deputy Grand Master of the second Grand Lodge.
September 17th, 1826, Detroit Lodge attended two masonic funerals, one being the W. M. of Zion Lodge, Brother
Henry J. Hunt, the other Bro. Scott Jamison. This Lodge conducted the latter funeral and paid three dollars and fifty
cents for the coffin. Funerals were not as expensive affairs then as at the present day.
The Lodge held an election of officers on December 12, 1826, and elected Abraham C. Canniff, Worshipful Master,
Shadrach Gillett, Senior Warden, and Lewis Davenport, Junior Warden. These, with the other officers, were duly
54
installed on the same evening. Here the records abruptly close. It is very evident that the Lodge continued to work for
the next two or three years and that the book containing the records was lost. At one of the last meetings before the
record closes, the Secretary was instructed to procure a new record book, and during the eleven years when masonic
work was suspended, this book was lost and has never been brought to light, but there is no reason to believe that
this Lodge suddenly stopped work in a time of such prosperity as it was enjoying when its records closed. That the
Lodge continued to work is evident from the fact that it was represented in Grand Lodge in 1827, and also that it
joined with Zion Lodge in a celebration of St. John's Day a year after its records, as preserved, close.
There seems to have been a question raised as to the regularity of the election of officers in 1826, mentioned above,
as in the session of Grand Lodge a few days later the following action is recorded:
"Resolved, That a committee of five Master Masons be appointed by this Grand Lodge, with power to convene Detroit Lodge at
some intermediate period between this and the next meeting of this Grand Lodge, for the purpose of taking such measures as they
may deem advisable to effect a reconciliation of the existing differences in said Lodge, and to report to this Grand Lodge thereon.
Whereupon Brothers Abraham Edwards, Thomas Rowland, Henry Whiting, D. Garmo Jones and John E. Sclnvarz were appointed."
At the meeting of Grand Lodge on January 8, 1827, this further action was had:
"The committee appointed for the purpose of investigating the legality of the proceedings of Detroit Lodge at their late annual
election of officers made their report, which was read.
A motion was made by Brother L. Cook that the report above mentioned lie on the table, on which the Grand Lodge were equally
divided, and the motion was decided in the negative by the M. W. Grand Master.
Brother L. Cook moved that the whole proceedings in relation to the subject of the report be dismissed from this Grand Lodge, which
motion was lost.
Brother Abbott moved that the further consideration of the report be postponed until the first Monday of June next, which motion was
negatived.
The following resolution was offered by Brother L. Cook: Resolved, That the officers of Detroit Lodge lately installed be recognized
as the regular officers of said Lodge, which was negatived.
The report of the committee of five mentioned in the minutes of the last meeting was again taken up and discussed, when on motion
of Brother Lecuyer, seconded by Brother Irwin, it was resolved that the report be accepted, and that Detroit Lodge be directed to
hold a new election. Whereupon,
Resolved, That the Deputy Grand Master be directed to convene Detroit Lodge as such time as he may deem expedient, and hold
an election for officers of the said Detroit Lodge."
There is nothing to show what further was done in this matter, and it probably will never be known.
Of the early members of this Lodge, quite a goodly number afterwards rose to distinction in Grand Lodge.
John Mullett, Levi Cook, Jeremiah Moors, E. Smith Lee, and Henry T. Backus became Grand Masters; James
Fenton was Grand Secretary for twenty-six years, and other members attained more or less prominence.
As already stated, after the eleven years of "innocuous desuetude" that prevailed in Michigan Masonry following the
year 1829, some of the dormant Lodges resumed work in the early part of the year 1841 and two or three new
Lodges were formed at about the same time. It was a year later than this, however, before Detroit Lodge again took,
up the tools she had laid down many years before. In July, 1842, active work was resumed by this Lodge. A meeting
was held, and the following is a facsimile of the record thereof:
55
Without any further ceremony the Lodge continued to work as though there had been no interregnum. Four days after
the above meeting another was held and six brothers admitted to membership, and again six days later, nine more
were received in the same manner. Zion Lodge did not resume labor until two or three years later, and many of her
members joined Detroit Lodge and were active therein. It would seem that at the time one Lodge was thought to be
sufficient for that city and no disposition was shown to revive Zion Lodge until 1844, and this was doubtless the
reason why so many of her members became affiliated with Detroit Lodge when it resumed active work in 1842. At a
meeting held on July 27, 1842, it was again resolved by acclamation, "That the members of Detroit Lodge, No. 2, in
good standing will resume our work." Acting upon the same idea that inspired a prominent American statesman in
later years to exclaim, "The way to resume is to resume," these brethren "resumed" as well as resolving to do so. At
this time a committee was appointed to correspond with the Grand Secretary, "and to do any and all things necessary
and proper to resuscitate and renew the labor of Detroit Lodge."
56
One of the first questions to confront the Lodge was that of a proper place of meeting. Of the place secured at this
time, as well as the subsequent quarters of the Lodge, no better mention can be made than the words used by
Brother S. B. McCracken, in his historical sketch of Detroit Lodge in 1891. He says:
The places at which the Lodge held its meetings prior to the interregnum are mentioned in the early part of this history. Where the
first meetings were held at the time of the resumption is not stated, but on September 29, 1842, a committee reported it expedient to
fit up 'the large room in the upper story of the old Newberry building.' The report was adopted, and on December 26 the hall was
occupied for the first time, and the following resolution was adopted:
Resolved, That tomorrow evening, it being the festival of St. John the Evangelist, the new hall in which we are now assembled be
dedicated in conformity with the ancient usages of Masonry, and that Brother Samuel York Abt Lee be invited to address the
Brethren on that occasion.
For some reason the dedication was deferred at the time for which it was fixed, but the address of Bro. Abt Lee came off, which is
characterized in a vote of thanks as able and appropriate.' The address was subsequently printed, and on June 8, 1843, the Grand
Lodge acknowledged the receipt of 100 copies, with a vote of thanks. Whether the hall was ever formally dedicated or not is not now
essential. The record shows that action was taken at various times looking to the procurement of new quarters and for supplies and
furnishings for those then occupied. On September 15, 1850, a communication was received from Zion Lodge proposing to Detroit
Lodge to use the Lodge room then being fitted up by Zion Lodge in McGrath's ‘new brick building nearly opposite the present Lodge
room.' The Lodge took action on the proposal, but the record does not say whether it was accepted or not. Other data, however,
shows that the Newberry location was used until the new Masonic hall was completed in 1852. The hall was on what was
subsequently the Garrison House corner, corner of Jefferson avenue and Cass street. Bro. Oliver Bourke speaks of his first visit to
the Lodge. It was up two or three flights of narrow, dirty stairs, lighted by a single tallow in a tin sconce. Bro. Seneca Caswell was on
duty as tyler, armed with a rusty sword, which was visible by a similar light. Within was a naked floor and naked benches, with other
things in keeping, the Lodge being also lighted with tallow candles.
In July, 1851, a proposal was submitted to all the Masonic bodies by Monroe Corporation for building a hall on a site leased from
Joseph Campau (now 133 Jefferson avenue ). The proposal was placed before Detroit Lodge, July 9, 1851, and was accepted, and
the building was completed and occupied June 24, 1857, when the building was formally dedicated to Masonic uses by the Grand
Lodge. The lease of the ground was for thirty years, at the expiration of which time the building passed into the hands of the
Campau heirs. At the meeting prior to the occupancy of the new hall, a lengthy preamble and resolutions were offered by Bro. Levi
Cook as a sort of good-by to Newberry hall, in which Mr. Newberry came in for a vote of thanks. The preamble and resolutions are
worthy of reproduction for their prolixity and literary construction, but they must be read in the record if at all. From a statement
entered on the records of Detroit Lodge, April 4, 1871, it appears that of the nominal value of the then Masonic hall, $12,600, Detroit
Lodge owned $6.222.
The present quarters of the Lodge in Masonic Temple were first occupied May 20, 1881. Under date of May 10 is recorded the
request of the Lodge to Grand Master O. L. Spaulding for his consent to the removal, with his assent indorsed upon it. This is a
formality that does not seem to have been observed in former removals.''
At the June meeting of the Grand Lodge in 1842, Brother Jeremiah Moors represented Detroit Lodge and at this time
he was elected Grand Steward, and from this time forward, while he lived, he was one of the most prominent
members of that Grand Body.
At the October meeting in the same year, the following action relative to the Detroit Lodge, was taken:
Your committee to whom was referred the application of Detroit Lodge for a Charter, would report that they have examined the ByLaws and work of said Lodge, U. D., and find them in general to be correct and good. The dispensation is returned and a Charter
prayed for; therefore,
Resolved, That the prayer of said Lodge for a Charter is just and reasonable, and that it be designated by the name of 'Detroit
Lodge.'
The said Lodge having also recommended Bro. Jeremiah Moors to be their first Master, John Farrar to be Senior Warden and
Charles Jackson to be Junior Warden.
(Signed)
Respectfully submitted,
S. C. Munson,
Chairman Committee.
The report having been accepted and adopted as it was, on motion,
"Resolved, That a Charter be granted to the representatives from said Lodge on surrendering their dispensation."
At the same time the Lodges were numbered according to the dates of their warrants and Detroit Lodge
became number one, and was known by that number during the continuance of that Grand Lodge.
This Charter was received and read in the Lodge on December 13, 1842.
As above stated, Zion Lodge had not resumed work at this time, and her books, records, etc., appear to have been
in possession of Detroit Lodge, as on December 26, 1842, the following resolution appears in the records:
57
"Resolved, That the Books, Papers and Records of Zion Lodge, No. 62, be committed to the special care and custody of the
Secretary of this Lodge for preservation until claimed for the purposes of said Lodge by some lawfully authorized agent, officer, or
member of this Lodge."
Under this action, the effects of Zion Lodge were cared for until that Lodge again resumed work two years later.
January 10, 1843, Seneca Caswell took up the duties of Tiler of this Lodge, which position he filled for the next
eleven years. He was also Grand Tiler of the Grand Lodge during all of the same time.
The year of 1844 was a momentous, one to Detroit Lodge as well as to the entire masonic fraternity in Michigan. The
Grand Lodge organized three years before had failed to secure recognition from the other American Grand Lodges,
and as a consequence, Detroit Masons felt, in a greater degree than those in the smaller towns, the deprivation of
masonic communication with other jurisdictions. In an endeavor to bring about the desired relations with other Grand
Lodges, the following appears in the records of a meeting held March 27, 1844:
"The W. M announced that the object of the communication was to lay before the Lodge the correspondence between the Grand
Lodge of N. Y. and the Grand Lodge of Michigan, regarding the organization of the latter Gr. L. and that as a member of this
Lodge is about to visit the city of New York, it had been proposed to invest him with some authority to communicate with Gr. officers
of the Grand Lodge of N. Y. and endeavor to reconcile the difficulties at present existing between these Gr. Ls.
The Secretary then by order of the W. M. read over the letter and documents containing the matters in difference between the above
named Gr. Ls.
On motion, Resolved, that this Lodge recommend to the committee of foreign correspondence of the Gr. L. of Mich, to authorize
Bro. Douglas Houghton to communicate with the Gr. Officers and members of the Gr. L. of N. Y. and of the Gr. Ls. of other states,
as to the conditions and prospects of the Gr. and subordinate Ls. of Michigan and endeavor to bring about a reconciliation of
differences."
At the meeting of the Grand Lodge in June, 1843, a committee of five had been appointed to endeavor to secure
recognition from the Grand Lodge of New York. These five were Brothers Levi Cook, John Mullett, John Farrar,
Jeremiah Moors and E. Smith Lee, all of them members of Detroit Lodge, and all except Brother Farrar afterwards
Grand Masters. This committee presented the Michigan question in an able manner to the Grand Lodge of New York,
but the effort was not successful. The irregularity in the forming of the Grand Lodge of Michigan could not be
overlooked, and the desired recognition was withheld.
In June, 1844, Brother John Barney, whose name in connection with the "Barney Work," is known all over this
country, came to Detroit and was employed for a week by Detroit Lodge, to give instruction in the esoteric work. To
the zealous labors of this honored brother, in Detroit and other places in the state, is Michigan Masonry indebted for
the correctness and uniformity of the work as here practiced? During his week of labor in Detroit, Brother Barney
conducted the masonic burial services over the body of Bezaleel Taft, a member of Detroit Lodge. In addition to the
work mentioned, Brother Barney was destined to be of still further service to Detroit and Michigan Masonry. Failing
to secure recognition from the Grand Lodge of New York, Detroit Lodge, with three others originally
chartered by the Grand Lodge of New York, applied for a renewal of the New York warrant. The request was
promptly granted and the receipt of this charter marked another important point in the history of Detroit
Lodge. The records of the meeting when the Charter was received, is here given in full.
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This act of Brother Barney was a fitting finale to his effectual work in Detroit. His installing the officers of Detroit Lodge
as proxy of the Grand Master of New York, stamped it with the seal of indisputable regularity.
By this change of relation to the Grand Bodies, Detroit Lodge became No. 100, but that number was only
retained long enough to enable her to participate in the organization of a regularly formed Grand Lodge,
59
which was soon accomplished. As in the first instance, Detroit Lodge again takes the initiative in the matter of
forming a Grand Lodge, and fifteen days after receiving her Charter from New York, took the following action:
"Resolved, that this Lodge recommend to St. Joseph Valley, Zion, and Oakland Lodges to send three delegates each, to meet
delegates from this Lodge in Convention at Masonic Hall in the City of Detroit, at 10 o'clock A. M. on the third Thursday of August,
for the purpose of forming a constitution for a Grand Lodge for the state of Michigan, and that the Secretary transmit a copy of the
same to the above mentioned Lodges, asking their concurrence."
The convention referred to was held in Detroit on September 17, 1844. Detroit Lodge was represented by
Brothers John Mullett, John Farrar and E. Smith Lee. The new Grand Lodge was organized and Brother John Mullett,
who had been holding the same station in the former body, was elected as first Grand Master, E. Smith Lee, as
Grand Secretary, Charles Jackson, Grand Treasurer and Seneca Caswell, Grand Tyler. Thus four of the Grand
Offices went to Detroit Lodge. Although Charles Jackson was chosen as Grand Treasurer at the first election of
officers, he does not appear to have served, for Levi Cook of the same Lodge, was installed and served as Grand
Treasurer for eight years. Detroit Lodge now became No. 2, and this rank she has retained during the fifty years
that have passed since that time.
We have now followed Detroit Lodge in all the important points in its history, from the time when it and Zion Lodge
occupied the whole Michigan field, until we find her finally lauded in the Grand Lodge which sustains fraternal
relations with nearly all others in the world. From a weak, struggling Lodge in a frontier town, she has grown to be
one of the strongest in a grand city of three hundred thousand inhabitants, as well as one of the largest of the four
hundred Lodges in Michigan. From this time forward, her history is so closely interwoven with the history of the Grand
Lodge that we no longer follow her in detail. In one sense she is still true to her record in early years. In those times
the subject of securing a new hall was agitated every few months. We leave her now getting ready again to remove to
a new hall, this time into the magnificent Masonic Temple now nearing completion, where she will continue to add
new laurels to her already illustrious career.
She has always occupied a commanding position in the Grand Lodge and has given to Michigan Masonry five Grand
Masters, one Grand Treasurer, two Grand Secretaries, and one Grand Lecturer, besides many minor Grand Officers.
She has initiated nine hundred fifty-six, raised eight hundred eighty-one, and lost by death two hundred thirteen. Her
active membership on January 1, 1895, was four hundred eighty-four.
The following brethren have served as Worshipful Master of that Lodge since it was first organized:
John Mullett,
John Farrar,
Charles Jackson,
Levi Cook,
Abraham (Abram) C. Canniff,
Jeremiah Moors,
E. Smith Lee,
Andrew Harvie,
James Fenton,
Henry T. Backus,
N. B. Carpenter,
William I. Ives,
G. Mott Williams,
Edwin A. Elliott,
Oliver Bourke,
John Sterling,
William F. Moore,
John Strachan,
Edward Mayes,
John W. Lawson,
John Boydell,
Wm. R. Dunn,
James H. Pound,
John W. Moore,
Geo. D. McKimmie,
G. H. Douglas,
Charles F. Gibson,
James Caldwell, Jr.,
John H. Hanna,
Henry Hoek,
George Straw and
John A. Preston.
http://books.google.com/books?id=aT0LAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=%22Abram+C.+Canniff%22&source=bl&ots=8DPrijJu
Hs&sig=uloeLrdhgAsiy1oM5HRWktbYx00&hl=en&ei=1ZCFStbKMoSItgeDw4yvCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=o
nepage&q=%22Abram%20C.%20Canniff%22&f=false page 63.
In this city, March 25 (ca 1877), at 63 Congress street west, Abram C. Canniff, aged 84 years. Funeral from St. Paul's Church,
Monday, March 29, at 2.30 p. M. Friends of the family and the Masonic fraternity are invited to attend.
Abram C. Canniff, familiarly known to the people of Detroit and vicinity as Judge Canniff, died Saturday morning at the family
residence, No. 63 Congress street west, aged eighty-four years. He had lived in and near Detroit fifty-seven years, having come
here in 1819. He was born in Rensselaer county, New York, August 26, 1791. He was for a long time engaged in the boot and shoe
business here. He also at one time embarked in the grocery trade with Mr. Scott, father of James Scott, now living here, for a
partner. He was active in Free Masonry, and was several times elected Worshipful Master of Detroit Lodge No. 2, in which he was
"made" a Mason more than fifty years ago. He leaves one son and three daughters—James H. Canniff, of this city; Mrs. Tyler, of
Greenfield; Mrs. Wagstaff, of Lafayette, Indiana; and another daughter in Philadelphia. His funeral will take place from St. Paul's
Church at 2.30 p. M. Monday.
Judge Canniff was widely known as an inveterate joker, and many of his quaint sayings are treasured by the older residents of the
city who knew him in his active time. Politically he was strongly opposed to anything that savored of Democracy, and he carried his
political opinions to the last limit. Notwithstanding this, he never permitted his feelings in that respect to interfere in his personal
relations with men, and he numbered among his warmest friends many of his most uncompromising political opponents. He never
aspired to office but once, and then he was elected Alderman, a position which he did not seek a second time. He was a man of
very genial qualities, and though he long since disappeared from active participation in affairs, intelligence of his death will cause a
touch of regret in the hearts of many who read this announcement.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_T._Backus
Henry Titus Backus [5c5r] (April 4, 1809 – July 13, 1877) was a politician from Michigan and judge from the Arizona Territory.
Backus was born in Norwich, Connecticut to James and Dorothy Backus. He attended schools in Norwich and the academy in
Plainfield. In Norwich, he worked in a crockery store and studied law with Judge Calvin Goddard. He later attended Yale Law School
and was admitted to the bar in February 1833. The following year he moved to Detroit and practiced law with future Governor of
Michigan William Woodbridge and later became senior partner in the law firm, Backus and Harbough. On 7 Dec 1835, he married
Woodbridge’s daughter, Juliana Trumball Woodbridge.
Backus served as a Whig in the Michigan House of Representatives in 1840 and was a member of the state constitutional
convention of 1850. He was Grand Master of Masons in Michigan from 1851-1853 and served as alderman from the 9th ward of
Detroit from 1860-61.
In 1860, Backus was elected as a Republican to the Michigan Senate and chosen as president pro tempore of the state senate after
Joseph R. Williams took on the duties of acting Lieutenant Governor of Michigan. After the death of Williams a couple months later
on June 15, 1861, Backus took on the duties of lieutenant governor under Austin Blair until January 1863.
On March 10, 1865, Backus was nominated by U. S. President Abraham Lincoln to the Territorial Supreme Court of Arizona to
replace William T. Howell. The U. S. Senate confirmed the nomination on the following day and Backus took the oath of office on
April 20. He left for Arizona that fall on held a term of Court at Tucson in January 1866.
Backus rendered a decision that the Governor of Arizona had no authority under the Arizona Organic Act to apportion the members
of the territorial legislature. As a result, all the laws enacted by the 3rd, 4th and 5th legislatures were void. The U.S. Congress
passed an act to legalize those laws which had been voided from 1866 to 1868. The act was approved on March 25, 1870.
Backus resigned in 1869 and returned to Detroit to practice law. In 1877, he returned to the Arizona Territory to look after some land
he had acquired there. On July 12 he became ill while traveling to Greenwood with Judge Charles T. Hayden of Tempe. The
following day he died at the age of sixty-eight on the Big Sandy River in Mohave County. He was originally interred at Greenwood,
which is now a ghost town, and was later re-interred on August 7, 1885, in the Yantic Cemetery near Norwich, Connecticut.
--------
OAKLAND LODGE, NO. 3 (No. 343 under GL of NY)
The third Lodge established within the territorial limits of Michigan was at first located in the village of Pontiac,
Oakland County, and afterwards removed to Auburn, three miles distant. A number of zealous Masons having
settled in that vicinity, they determined upon an effort to secure the establishment of a Lodge; accordingly they
presented a petition to the Grand Lodge of New York, as follows:
"To the most worshipful the Grand Lodge of the State of New York.
The petition of the subscribers, inhabitants of the County of Oakland, in the Territory of Michigan, respectfully represents that they
are free and accepted Master Masons; that they have been members of regular Lodges; that having the prosperity of the fraternity
at heart, they are willing to exert their best endeavors to promote and diffuse the genuine principles of Masonry; that they reside at
an inconvenient distance from any regular Lodge; that for these and many other good reasons they are desirous of forming a new
Lodge in the county of Oakland, aforesaid, to be named Oakland Lodge; that in consequence of this desire they pray for a warrant
of constitution to empower them to assemble as a legal Lodge to discharge the duties of Masonry in a regular and constitutional
manner, according to the original forms of the order and the regulations of the Grand Lodge. That they have nominated and do
recommend John S. Davis as their first master, Amasa Bagley as their first Senior Warden and Oliver Williams as their first Junior
Warden of the said Lodge; that if the prayer of the petition is granted they promise a strict compliance to all the constitutional laws
and regulations of the Grand Lodge.
Dec. 15, 5821.
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Beeman, Samuel
Bagley, Amasa
Church, Judah
Davis, John L [S].
Davis, Joshua, Jr.
Hotchkiss, Enoch
Leroy, Daniel
Morris, William
Perrin, David
Perrin, Jonathan
Stanard, David
Swan, Ziba
Webster, Aaron
Williams, Oliver
21 pages of biographical sketches of most of the above Brothers is available in a separate paper by the present compiler.
See also History of Oakland County at:
http://books.google.com/books?id=WD4VAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA190&lpg=PA190&dq=%22jonathan+perrin%22+%22oakland%22&sou
rce=bl&ots=q8LhW4N7L3&sig=mVPUwoT1xMmVRQDO6MKYhjC9x9w&hl=en&ei=yGGwSonrLsyltgfvPWWCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Amasa Bagley
http://www.deporrelaw.com/pdf/BagleyHistory.pdf
Bagley’s Inn pre-dates the Civil War - when Michigan was a territory, Andrew Jackson was President, and Woodward Avenue was
an Indian passage called the “Saginaw Trail”. The Inn’s name sake, Amasa Bagley, settled his wife and five daughters in what is
now the City of Bloomfield Hills, in 1819. Bagley was a farmer and tavern-keeper by trade, but as a community leader, he was
appointed the first judge of Oakland County at the County’s first meeting of court on July 17, 1820. He also helped establish the
area’s first bank, the Bank of Oakland, and he served as President of the Board of Trustees of Bloomfield Township.
Judge Bagley and his son-in-law, William Morris, built the Inn in 1833, on the site which is now the southwest corner of Long Lake
Road and Woodward Avenue. Bagley used the two-story, wood-frame structure as a tavern and as a public house for political
gatherings. According to an Oakland County history, the Inn contained, “a barroom, dining-room and commodious sleeping rooms in
the upper story”, for local folks and travelers journeying from Detroit to Pontiac. Alexi DeTocqueville, a famous American author from
the 1800's, was one of the Inn’s notable guests.
Judge Bagley and subsequent owners also used the Inn to host local government meetings, such as the Township meetings from
1835 through 1837. Judge Bagley and his Inn became so popular with the locals, that they simply referred to the intersection of
Long Lake and Woodward as “Bagley’s Corner”. Bagley sold the Inn in the late 1830's.
This frame structure, completed in 1833, is the second home of Bagley's Tavern. Amasa Bagley first established
the tavern in the 1820s in a log cabin. He came to this area in 1819 with his family and four other settlers. He was
appointed associate judge of the Oakland County Court in 1820. Shortly afterwards Bagley and William Morris, the
area's first sheriff, set up a brickworks and a saw and grist mill. However, they were best known for Bagley's
Tavern which hosted social and political functions.
“Collections of the Pioneer Society of the State of Michigan, Volume 3,” by Michigan State Historical Society, page 596-600.
http://books.google.com/books?id=rBIUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA596&lpg=PA596&dq=%22amasa+bagley%22&source=bl&ots=aHEOKJ
NDvS&sig=57i0Gq2Vh0z47Djteq2lAF9hB0A&hl=en&ei=c2SwStDLGYqNtge3_PnUBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5#
v=onepage&q=%22amasa%20bagley%22&f=false
HISTORY OF AMASA BAGLEY.
Paper by Mrs. Nancy G. Davis read before the Oakland County Pioneer Society in 1860.
Being the only remaining member of the family of Amasa Bagley, better known as Judge Bagley, who was one of the earliest
pioneers of Oakland county, I have often felt inclined to relate what I remember of pioneer life. My father came to the territory of
Michigan in the winter of 1817-18. He started from his home in Massachusetts, upon runners with wheels and running gear lashed
62
on the sleigh, with box and seat, so if the snow left him, he could still proceed upon his journey. He came all the way with that rig,
changing to wheels as occasion required, arriving at Detroit at a time when there were but eleven frame houses in that city. In the
following summer, 1818, he went out on the River Rouge and bought some laud near where Mr. Buckland then lived (referred to by
Mr. P. Dean Warner in his address before the Pioneer Society), and succeeded in putting in some crops. Not satisfied with his
present location he, with eleven others, formed an exploring company, starting northward and slept the first night under a tree,
where our present city of Pontiac now stands. Being favorably impressed with the land in this county he abandoned his farm on the
River Rouge, and in company with William Morris, bought a farm at Bloomfield Center under the two dollar act, where he resided for
ten years.
In the summer of 1819 father wished mother to join him at the west. She was then living near Boston, Mass. At that time there was
no other mode of traveling than by private conveyance. She accordingly hired a man to bring her and her five little girls through to
Black Rock, where the boats left, instead of Buffalo. The man was to bring 1,000 pounds for $200; accordingly we were all weighed
up and brought by the pound, and what we lacked in weight was made up in household goods. Arriving at Black Rock my mother
was much perplexed at not meeting father as he had arranged to do, but never daunted, she hired the man, Mr. George, who had
brought us through, to remain at Black Rock until the return trip of the boat, so if she did not find her husband she should have some
way to return to her old home. Arriving in Detroit she was met by her husband, who had been sick some time and was just able to
get down to the boat. We came on the old "Walk-in- the-water," (Indian name) the first steamboat on Lake Erie, and on its third trip.
When my father first moved out on his farm in Bloomfield Center, he had to take his pork from the barrels and put it in bags and
bring it in that way, but when the family came, there was a wagon road cut through and we were two days going from Detroit to
Bloomfield Center, a distance of about 18 miles.
I would like here to pay a tribute to the ladies of pioneer life. Though my mother had been brought up in a home of refinement and
plenty, she never hesitated to leave the east and her friends, who much opposed her going, and follow her husband to the west. I
never heard her complain or say she expected to see her daughters brought up under such disadvantages, but bore everything with
perfect heroism. I have often heard father speak of telling her that she would have to drink tea without sugar, and she being quite
sure she should not. While in Detroit mother gave one of the girls a dollar and told her to get some sugar. The three pounds of
brown sugar this bought was all put into the sugar bowl and that was the only sugar used in our tea in our family for years. My father
was poor at that time and could not afford such expensive luxuries. We came to Bloomfield Center before a saw-mill was completed
and were obliged to take the door off its wooden hinges to use as a table, but in a few days father obtained some boards and made
a table, from which the dignitaries of Wayne and Oakland counties have eaten many substantial meals. The crops father had put in
on his little place near the River Rogue, added much to the comfort of the family, for the first year, as everything of the kind was very
expensive, and the crops were brought through in the winter with very little trouble. By spring the "Mack saw-mill" was completed,
and in the fall the first grist mill was built and ready to run by the time the grain was ready to grind, and all the early settlers from
fifteen to twenty-five miles around brought their grain to this mill. My father was appointed associate judge of this county in 1820,
and continued to serve until Michigan became a state. I here present to the pioneer society of Oakland county one of the oldest
documents of the county—the appointment of my father as judge by Lewis Cass.
LEWIS CASS, GOVERNOR IN AND OVER THE TERRITORY OF MICHIGAN. To all to whom these presents may come, greeting:
KNOW YE, That reposing special trust and confidence in the integrity and ability of Amasa Bagley, Esquire, I have appointed him an
Associate Justice of the County Court in and for the County of Oakland, AND DO HEREBY AUTHORIZE and empower him to
execute and fulfill the duties of that office according to law: To have and to hold the said Office, with all the rights, privileges and
emoluments thereunto belonging, during the pleasure of the Governor of the said territory for the time being.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have caused these letters to be made Patent, and the great Seal of the said Territory to be hereunto
affixed. [Seal.1 GIVEN under my hand at Detroit, this twenty-eighth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the forty-fourth. By THE GOVERNOR, LEW. CASS.
Secretary of Michigan Territory.
At the same time William Morris, father of Orvil C. Morris, Zeolide B. North and Sylvia C. Flower, was appointed high Sheriff; he was
associated with my father and married my eldest sister in the winter of 1820, if not the first, nearly the first wedding in this county.
Mr. Morris established a tannery in the spring of 1822, at the foot of the long hill, at Bloomfield Center, and George Morris, still living
at Bennington Station, had charge of it. William Morris also started a small store and shoe shop on the hill farm, as early as 1825. In
1823 my father moved down to the Center on the farm known as the "Hagerman farm," and there he kept what will be remembered
by the oldest settlers as the log house tavern.
Up to this date I have written from what father and mother have told me, but from this time on I will write from my own recollection.
The 4th of July, 1825, was celebrated in Pontiac by a menagerie. The two corners of the tent were at the back part of the old yellow
tavern that stood where Mrs. Boyd's millinery store now stands. I well remember the lion, leopard, and many other animals,
especially the monkeys, and in order that I might obtain a better sight of their pranks, father elevated me upon his shoulder. The 4th
of July, 1826, was celebrated at our house in Bloomfield Center. A green bower was built to dine under, and we had a dance at the
house in the evening. I well remember of hearing of the death of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson two weeks after, and hearing
father say they died about the time that we had dinner under the bower, and it made a lasting impression upon my mind.
I remember the first murder in this county, that of Mrs. Utter and her daughter, by Emir Fish. It was brought fresh to my mind by Mr.
P. D. Warner's letter. The night of the murder, while Fish was still at large, my father was keeping watch over us little ones, (mother
having gone to lay out the unfortunate ladies) he heard footsteps approaching the house, and called out, "Who is there?" There was
no answer to his inquiry, and father again repeated his demand, saying that if not answered he should fire, when Mr. Warner
answered, and then such a joyous hand-shaking. My father and Mr. "Warner each felt that they had escaped a great danger—one
of killing, the other of being killed. At that time there was not enough cambric in Pontiac to make two shrouds, and they had to be
pieced down with cotton cloth.
63
In 1822 a Mr. Germane opened the first store in Pontiac, and Mr. Levi Cook, uncle of Judge Taft, established the second store, and
the third was opened by Oliver Newberry, who was succeeded by Elisha Beach, in a building built in an early day, on the corner of
Pike and Saginaw streets, known at the present day as the Dawson block, which was burned about four years ago. Mr. Beach
continued in the business there for many years.
For a long time after we removed to Bloomfield Center, thousands of Indians used to pass our house in a week, going to and from
Detroit for their bounty from the Britons. When I was about six years old I remember one Indian coming into our house and
demanding whisky of my father, and being refused, drew a knife; in an instant the Indian was upon the floor, his knife across the
room, and father's foot upon his chest. He seemed as much pleased as possible, and told father he was "nisli-ie-shing," that is,
"brave white man," and this act established my father's reputation for bravery among the Indians, and he was never afterwards
molested. A few years later, one Sabbath day, there were perhaps 150 Indians in front of our house, and the room was full of them,
when one Indian stepped up to mother and demanded whisky. She refused him; but he, seeing the whisky on the shelf, for this was
before the temperance times, attempted to take it, when my mother, with her usual decision, gave him a push and told him it was
"che-mo-ke-man," that was "whiteman" or "husband." All the Indians applauded her for her bravery, and shamed him because a
"white squaw " had struck him. He went off as ashamed as if he had been whipped. We were taught never to be afraid of the
Indians, and so were never molested, although I presume we have seen 300 in a day, while going to and from school. One chief
took a great fancy to the writer and wished her to be his young chief squaw, and was much disappointed that it was not agreeable to
both parties.
Among my early recollections was a great excitement over a man that was found dead very near our house—a Mr. Warner Lee,
brother to William and Horatio Lee, of Farmington, a very respectable man, supposed to have died in a fit. I am sure it was the first
case of its kind in this county. I know our house was thronged all day.
The oldest house that I now recollect is the one where Alfred Judson now resides. It was built by David Stanard, and successively
occupied by him, Judge LeRoy and G. 0. Whittemore. The house where Adam Shaft now lives was owned by D. C. Buckland's
father. The house now occupied by Edward Peck was built at an early day by R. T. Merrill, brother-in-law to S. T. Murray. It was the
house in which the first paper in the county was printed, called the Oakland Chronicle, in 1831, and where the writer resided in
1332, afterwards the residence of William Draper, father of Charles Draper. I looked after an old land-mark the other day, the house
of Rev. Isaac Ruggles, but it was destroyed, and here I would like to pay a tribute to Mr. Ruggles and Elder Comstock, father of E.
B. Comstock. They were our first resident missionaries. I know Mr. Ruggles came here as early as 1825. They worked hard with
very small pay, going from place to place, looking up the lost sheep, forming churches, and keeping alive the love of Christ in many
hearts. I remember Mr. Ruggles baptized me when I was nine years old. His house was the only place where the young people
could receive any advantages above a log school-house training, as Mrs. Charles Draper, Mrs. Willard McConnell, myself and many
others can testify. I always think of these gentlemen of the Methodist itinerancy with the greatest respect and veneration. The first
church building in Pontiac was the Congregational church, built by a company of twenty persons giving &100 each. I remember
many of the names of the contributors, but not all. They were Judge Daniel LeRoy, Dr. William Thompson, Judge Amasa Bagley,
Solomon Close, Schuyler Hodges, Governor 0. D. Richardson, G. 0. Whittemore, J. J. Garland, David Paddock, Stephen Reeves,
Frank Darrow, Horatio N. Howard, Amasa Andrews and A. M. Hastings. There were not more than three church members among
the number, but many of them became members thereafter. The church was built as an honor to the locality, and on a speculation,
they intending to rent the pews so as to give an ample return for the money expended. About the time the church was completed
twenty ladies contributed $5.00 each for the purpose of buying a bell. They bought the present Congregational church bell from the
First Presbyterian church of Detroit, and it was the first bell that was ever rung in a Protestant church in Michigan. Among the
earliest Christian workers was a Mr. Birge, who was an earnest and zealous advocate of the cause of Christ. His good works
followed him, and he was always remembered with the kindest approval. The first public building in Pontiac was the old yellow jail
and court-house, both built in one, where justice was dispensed, religious services held, and Emri Fish, the first and only criminal for
many years, was confined. The first building for educational purposes was the academy, now the Catholic church, of Pontiac. The
first military company was called the Rifle company, commanded by Captain Edwards, a relative of Mrs. Schuyler Hodges. Their
uniform was a blue blouse, belted down, trimmed with red fringe, the pants of the same material, trimmed up the sides and around
the bottom with red -fringe. I think their caps were made of black bear skin.
I well remember my father's telling an anecdote related to him by Mr. Buckland when father was on the River Rogue. It seems Mr.
Buckland was in the war of 1312, and just previous to a battle near the river Raisin he took his pocketbook, containing about $1,500,
and hid the same in a hollow stump. Pending the engagement that followed, Mr. Buckland was taken prisoner and conveyed to
Detroit with other prisoners. After much pleading and entreaty he persuaded his keeper to let him out one night by promising strictly
to be back to the prison by light the next morning, when he started on a run some fourteen miles, to find the hollow stump and his
treasure. He came in sight of the location and found the Indians encamping there, and the stump on fire, but managed to get to the
stump, and much to his delight secured the pocket-book before it was seriously damaged, and ran back to Detroit, appearing at the
prison quarters just as day was dawning. My father remained in Bloom- field Center ten years, then bought and moved upon the "
Mud Lake farm," and the succeeding year moved into the "yellow tavern," on the corner of Saginaw and Lawrence streets. It was
while living here that the circumstance which Charles Sumner spoke of in a lecture about eleven years ago, occurred. "That our city
had been honored by a visit from one of the world's noblest writers and statesmen, ' De Tocqueville.'" His visit to our house is very
fresh in my mind. He came during a severe storm, remaining several days. There was a great mystery surrounding him and his
servant, (the most important of the two in appearance). They took their meals alone and claimed a good share of my father's
attention, seeking from him information of the then new territory of Michigan. Mr. Sumner said "De Tocqueville " spoke to him of his
sojourn in a public house in the wilds of the west, referring to his visit to our house. Many other recollections of pioneer life crowd
themselves upon my memory, but I will weary you no more at present, and simply subscribe myself, Truly yours,
NANCY G. DAVIS.
--------
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March 7, 1822, a warrant was granted to these brothers under the name and style of Oakland Lodge, No. 343,
and Brother A. G. Whitney was given a dispensation to constitute the Lodge and install its officers, which duty he
performed on July 16, 1822, and reported such action to the Grand Lodge of New York in the following letter:
"To the Worshipful Brother E. Hicks, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York.
I, the undersigned, as directed by the within, do hereby make known, certify and report, as follows: to wit; That, in pursuance of the
Authority to me, by the within dispensation given, having previously summoned for that purpose a convenient number of the
Brethren of Zion Lodge, No. 3, and of Detroit Lodge, No. 337, have, with their assistance, this Sixteenth day of July, Anno Lucis
5822, at Pontiac, in the County of Oakland, duly installed the officers of Oakland Lodge No. 343, as named in the Warrant
granted the Lodge, into their respective offices; and also duly constituted the said Lodge according to the ancient usages of the
craft, in such cases established.
In testimony of which I have hereunto set my hand,
at Pontiac, Oakland County, Mich. Terr'y,
this 16th day of July A. L. 5822.
A. G. Whitney,
Past Master of Zion Lodge, No, 3.
In this new and sparsely settled part of the Territory of Michigan, such was the financial condition of its members that
Oakland Lodge found it extremely difficult to collect sufficient money to keep up its Grand Lodge dues, and in the
year 1825 several letters were sent to the Grand Lodge of New York asking a remission of such dues. One of these
letters read as follows:
"Pontiac, Mich. Terr'y July 1, 1825.
To the Secretary of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York.
Worshipful Brother
We the subscribers being appointed a committee by Oakland Lodge, No. 343, for the purpose of acquainting the Grand Lodge with
our Circumstances, beg leave to State; that on the decease of our first Worshipful Master, this Lodge ceased in its progress for
Some time, and having to make reimbursements for money borrowed to purchase Jewels and other necessary implements has
Consequently been laboring under great embarrassment and not in Circumstances to make punctual remittances of the Grand
Lodge dues. But wishing to Save the Lodge from forfeiting its Charter, we the Committee, in behalf of the Lodge pray for a further
postponement in remitting Grand Lodge dues.
Agreeably to the instructions of this Lodge a Committee wrote the Grand Lodge on this Subject last March but have not yet reed, an
answer. Their request was to know whether further indulgence could be given in paying the dues.
We wish an answer as soon as practicable.
We are Sir,
Fraternally your obedient Servants
Elias Hicks, Sec.
Elias Comstock
Leonard Weed
P. S. Please direct your Communication to the Post Office at Pontiac, Oakland Co'y, Michigan T'y.
E. Comstock."
Another letter written Nov. 2 of the same year, contained a remittance of twenty dollars and asked that the remainder
of the dues standing against that Lodge be remitted, and the request being read in Grand Lodge December 7, 1825,
the balance of the dues of this Lodge were remitted to December 22, 1825.
November 2, 1825, Brother Leonard Weed, then Worshipful Master of this Lodge, notified the Grand Lodge of its
removal from Pontiac to Auburn, in this letter:
"The Lodge is moved from Pontiack to the Village of Auburn, more in the sentre of its members, and if it meets the approbation of
the Grand Lodge we wish it mite be inserted in the Charter to that effect as the Town or Village at present is left a blank in the
Charter. The returns are maid out from the Installation up to 27 of Dec. 5825, as inserted in the letter
Leonard Weed"
This was the pioneer of the country Lodges of Michigan, the only two others existing at that time being located in the
city of Detroit. The members were warm-hearted and enthusiastic, and exerted a marked influence upon Michigan
Masonry at that early day. The earliest records of this Lodge have not been preserved, but from the evidence
attainable, it was an active Lodge and enjoyed, in a marked degree, the good will of all Lodges existing in Michigan in
its day.
Although apparently in thorough harmony with the movement to organize the Grand Lodge of Michigan in 1826, this
Lodge was not represented in the convention held in June of that year for the purpose of such organization, but at the
July meeting, when the Grand Lodge was organized, it was represented by Brother Leonard Weed, its Worshipful
Master, who was accredited as being "proxy for the Oakland Lodge and entitled to three votes," and at the first
election of Grand Lodge Officers, held at this meeting, he was elected Junior Grand Warden, thus most fully
identifying Oakland Lodge with the newly formed Grand Lodge of Michigan and releasing her from the
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jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of New York, which was confirmed by a letter from Oakland Lodge, acknowledging
the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Michigan.
Brother Smith Weeks, another active member of Oakland Lodge, was also present at this organization meeting of
the Grand Lodge on July 31st, 1826. Such was his zeal for Masonry, he walked the entire distance from his home to
Detroit, twenty-five miles, to be present on that occasion, returning after the meeting in the same manner. He was at
that time elected Grand Chaplain, being the first to fill this position in Michigan. He was a local preacher of the
Methodist Church, and probably the first preacher of that denomination in Oakland county. He died in 1829, aged
sixty-two years.
In 1825, about three years after its organization, Oakland Lodge had been removed from Pontiac, where it was
originally established, to the little village of Auburn, three miles distant, and held its meetings in the house of Brother
Leonard Weed. This house is still standing and a faithful representation of it is here given, as one of the first "Masonic
Temples" in Michigan.
The Lodge met in a little upper room where the two small windows are shown, the room being hardly high enough for
a person to stand upright except near the center.
LEONARD W EED'S HOUSE IN 1825.
It is related of Brother Weed's third wife, (for he was married four times), that on one occasion when the Lodge was
holding a meeting in his house, a young man living near there came to be initiated. He was seated in the kitchen with
Mrs. Weed and daughter while preparations were made for his reception in the little Lodge room above. Mrs. Weed,
being fond of a joke, said to her daughter, "I understand they are going to make some Masons up stairs to-night. You
had better get the gridiron on the stove so as to have it ready." The daughter brought the old family gridiron and
placed it on the top of the stove and the young man at once became nervous and fidgety. He soon took up his hat
and walked out of doors and when he was sent for to go to the Lodge room, he was nowhere to be found. The
gridiron was too much for him.
Brother Ebenezer Smith was another enthusiastic member of this Lodge, and in 1826, he gave a deed of a lot in that
village to Lewis Cass, as Governor, and to his successors in office, for the use of a public school and a Masonic
Lodge. This deed is recorded in the Register's office in that county as follows:
"THIS INDENTURE, made this first day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, between
Ebenezer Smith of the village of Auburn in the county of Oakland, and Lydia, his wife, of the first part, and Lewis Cass, Governor of
Michigan and his successors in office of the second part, WITNESSETH that the said party of the first part, for and in consideration
of one hundred dollars to them in hand paid, by the said party of the second part, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, do
by these presents grant, bargain, sell, remise, alien, release, convey and confirm, unto the said Lewis Cass, Governor, as aforesaid,
and to his successors in office forever, all that certain lot or piece of land situate in Auburn aforesaid, and known and distinguished
as part of section thirty-six in range ten East of Township three north, commencing at the quarter section stake on the north line of
said section thirty-six, running thence south seven rods, thence west six rods, thence north seven rods, thence east along said
section line six rods to the place of beginning, containing forty-two square rods of land, Ix.- the same more or less, together with all
and singular the improvements and appurtenances to the same belonging or appertaining, and all the estate, right, title and interest
whatsoever of the said party of the first part either in law or equity, of, in and to the same, to have and to hold the said premises to
the said party of the second part and to his successors as aforesaid for the use of a common school to be kept on said premises,
and for the use of a Free Mason Lodge to be there held, and for no other use or purpose whatever. And the said party of the first
part, for themselves, their heirs, executors and administrators do covenant, grant, promise and agree to and with the said party of
the second part and his successors as aforesaid that the said party of the second part and his successors, as aforesaid, may and
shall forever hereafter peaceably and quietly use, occupy, possess and enjoy the premises aforesaid for the uses and purposes
aforesaid without the hindrance, interruption or molestation of the said party of the first part, their heirs, executors or administrators.
And the said party of the first part further covenants and agrees that they will, and their heirs, executors or administrators shall
warrant and defend the said premises against the lawful claims of all persons whatsoever.
In testimony whereof, the said party of the first part have hereunto set their names and affixed their seals the day and year above
written.
66
Signed sealed and delivered
In the presence of
Daniel LeRoy
Leonard Weed
Recorded 12th June 1826 at 3 o'clock p. M.
Ebenezer Smith (L. S.)
Lydia Smith (L. S.)
This shows how intimately the education of the young was associated with the sublime teachings of Masonry, in the
minds of its early devotees. The lot, however, still remains vacant, neither school-house or Lodge room having been
built thereon.
July 6, 1827, a petition was presented in Grand Lodge for Lodges at Stony Creek and Rochester, in Oakland
county, and in making the report thereon the committee said, "In the opinion of your committee, the Lodge in the
county of Oakland, at present held at Auburn, ought to be removed back to Pontiac, where the said Lodge was
installed and intended to have been established." Such removal, however, did not take place, but the Lodge
remained at Auburn and continued to perform its regular work until, by recommendation of Grand Master Cass
and the Grand Lodge, in 1829, masonic work was suspended in this state.
On the resumption of work in 1841, Oakland Lodge was one of the first to take up the long idle tools of the craft and
re-light the extinguished fire upon its altar.
The original charter having burned in 1840, a meeting was held in Pontiac to devise means for securing the proper
authority and resuming work. The following record of that meeting shows the action taken:
At a meeting of members of the Masonic Fraternity of the village of Pontiac and vicinity, held at the Hodges House, in the village of
Pontiac, on the 3d day of February, A. D. 1841, A. L. 5841 there were present,
Jacob Loop,
Charles M. Eldridge
Daniel V. Bissell,
Schuyler Hodges
Calvin Hotchkiss,
Julius Dean,
Josiel Smith,
Phineas Silsby,
Henry L. Rinehart,
Amasa Green,
David Hollenbeck,
Mahlon Hubbell.
Jacob Loop was appointed chairman and Charles M. Eldridge Secretary.
The object of the meeting having been stated by the chairman to be the formation of a new Lodge at this place, It was
Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to draft a petition to be forwarded to the Grand Master of the State of
Michigan, asking for a dispensation.
In accordance with this resolution, the chair appointed C. M. Eldredge, C. Hotchkiss and D. V. Bissell said committee.
Resolved, That Jacob Loop be a committee to proceed with said petition to the Grand Master, at Detroit, and in case of the refusal
of the Grand Master to act in the matter, to proceed to Ann Arbor to the next Senior Officer of the Grand Lodge.
In order to defray the expenses of Brother J. Loop in carrying out the preceding resolution, it was
Resolved, That a fund be raised by contribution, and should he succeed in obtaining a dispensation, that the amount contributed by
each individual be refunded him out of the first moneys of the Lodge.
The following individuals contributed the sums set opposite their names respectively, viz: J. Dean, $1.00; P. Silsby, $1.00; C.
Hotchkiss, $4.00; L. Weed, $1.00; C. M. Eldridge, $1.00;
Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to draft By-Laws for the regulation of this Lodge.
The Chair appointed Bros. L. Weed, H. S. Rinehart and C. Hotchkiss.
On motion of C. Hotchkiss, it was
Resolved, That we now proceed to the election of officers to be named in the petition asking for a dispensation.
After balloting and counting the votes it was declared that Leonard Weed be our first Master, Jacob Loop our first Senior Warden,
and Daniel V. Bissell our first Junior Warden.
Resolved, That we now adjourn to meet in the Hodges House on the 18th day of February, instant,
Charles M. Eldredge,
Secretary.
At the adjourned meeting on the eighteenth of the same month, the following action is recorded:
Brother J. Loop reported that in compliance with the resolution of the third February inst., he had proceeded to Ann Arbor, and had
procured from the Grand Junior Warden a letter of dispensation, as also an order to Brother John Brownell to install the officers of
said Lodge at such time and place as the petitioners might appoint. Said Lodge being designated in the dispensation as Pontiac
Lodge, No. 8.
The following is a facsimile of that dispensation:
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The record then continues:
The remaining officers were elected as follows: Charles M. Eldridge, Secretary; Julius Dean, Treasurer; Calvin Hotchkiss, Senior
Warden; Phineas Silsby, Junior Warden; Mahlon Hubbell and H. S. Rinehart, Stewards; Josiel Smith, Tyler. It was further
Resolved, That our first regular communication be held at the house of Bro. C. Hotchkiss, on Wednesday, the 3rd day of March,
next, at two o'clock p. m., and that the Secretary be directed to request the attendance of Bro. J. Brownell at that time for the
purpose of installing the officers of the Lodge.
Pontiac again became the location of this Lodge and it continued to work in that place, and its records are very
complete from this time until its charter was forfeited.
When the second Grand Lodge was organized, a charter was given this Lodge under the name of Oakland Lodge, it
being considered not as a new Lodge but a renewing of the old one by that name.
After receiving its charter the Lodge was known at home and its records kept as Pontiac Lodge, No. 8, while on
the roll of Grand Lodge it was recorded as Oakland Lodge, No. 2, soon changed to No. 3. Within a short time
however, the name and number given it by Grand Lodge was fully adopted and it no longer worked under a dual
name.
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The Lodge met at the house of Brother Hotchkiss until July, when it was removed to the house of Charles M.
Eldridge, where it met for a number of months. On April 1, 1842, it was again re moved and its meeting place was
thereafter designated, "Masons' Hall." A celebration of St. John's day was held on June 24, 1842, when the Lodge
was formed in procession and "proceeded to the Presbyterian Meeting House," where appropriate services were
held, with an address by Brother A. C. Smith, Grand Secretary.
The exercises at the church consisted of a masonic ode, prayer, address, ode and benediction. The procession was
then re-formed and marched to the Hodges House, where a banquet had been prepared, and after the cloth was
removed toasts were in order. The toasts were drank in iced water, Washingtonian style. One of them was "Masonry
in America,—like Daniel in the Lion's den it has escaped unhurt." Very appropriate for that time. The last toast was,
"The ladies—the brightest jewels of the craft."
The appearance of the "proscribed Masons" in public for the first time in that vicinity after the terrible anti-masonic
crusade, was an event of much importance and served to bring masonry prominently before the public, and no doubt
helped to add to the interest that was being taken in the revival of the same. As an item interesting to our more
modem Lodges, it may be well to note that the rent of "Masons' Hall," above referred to, was to be "one dollar and
seventy- five cents for each communication, wood, lights, etc., furnished."
In September, 1843, the Lodge again removed to another hall, the contract for which is explained in this singular
action:
"Committee reported that Benj. Phelps offers the third story of the building occupied by J. Bacon and Co., at the rate
of $30 per year, rent payable quarterly. And also this Lodge shall initiate and raise to the 3d degree of Masonry, free
of charge, either the said Benj. Phelps, or his son Wm. W. Phelps, if desired by them and they shall be found
acceptable to the Lodge"
This offer was accepted and the new Lodge room was named "Masonic Hall." The work of Oakland Lodge proceeded
successfully and with the usual harmony, until it was finally ascertained in 1844 that the Grand Lodge of
Michigan could not secure recognition from other jurisdictions on account of the irregularity of its formation,
when, with the others that had previously worked under warrants from the Grand Lodge of New York, this Lodge
applied for a renewal of its original warrant. This action was taken at a meeting held on July 20, 1844, and is
recorded as follows:
Whereas, as the Lodges of Free and Accepted Masons in this state have not been acknowledged by the Grand Lodge of the State
of New York as Lawfully Constituted Lodges, and
Whereas, as the want of regular fellowship and communication with said Grand Lodge has been a source of much inconvenience
and embarrassment, and
Whereas, as the said Grand Lodge has offered this Lodge a charter free of charge, and this Lodge in a spirit of compromise has
petitioned the said Grand Lodge for a charter, and said charter having been received by our W. Master, therefore be it and it is
hereby
Resolved, That Oakland Lodge, No. 2 is now dissolved, and the charter and all things pertaining to the Grand Lodge of this state
are hereby surrendered to said Grand Lodge.
The following is a list of persons who signed the above named petition to the Grand Lodge of the state of New York:
Leonard Weed,
D. V. Bissell,
C. Hotchkiss,
R. Ingraham,
Jacob Loop,
H. C. Thurber,
J. A. Weeks,
Jacob Loop, Jr.
J. S. Carpenter,
S. C. Munson,
Levi Bacon, Jr.
Lodge adjourned "sine die" [i.e. "without any future date being designated for resumption" or "indefinitely"]
J. S. Carpenter,
Sec. O. L. No. 2.
By the new warrant it became Oakland Lodge, No. 101, on the Registry of the Grand Lodge of New York.
Although it participated in the organization of the present Grand Lodge in 1844, and was represented therein by its
prominent members, the records do not show that any other meeting of this Lodge was held for nearly a year and a
half, but on December 10th, 1845, a meeting was held and officers elected for the ensuing year. These officers were
installed a few days later, and brief records show that meetings were held in February, March and April, 1846, when
the records abruptly end with this entry: "Motioned and carried that the Lodge be carried to Bro. Hotchkiss."
The period of inactivity which followed the surrender of the Michigan charter and the securing one from New York,
probably developed for the time being, a lack of interest in the order, and as a consequence the Lodge had not
sufficient vitality to survive.
69
At the resuscitation of the Grand Lodge in 1841, Oakland Lodge was represented by Brothers Leonard Weed and
Calvin Hotchkiss.
At this meeting Brother Weed was elected Deputy Grand Master, and at the next election was made Grand Master.
Brother Calvin Hotchkiss was elected Grand Treasurer, which position he continued to hold until that Grand Lodge
was "dissolved" to give place to the regularly formed Grand Lodge in 1844. At this time he was made Senior Grand
Warden and served until 1847.
When a charter was granted this Lodge by the Grand Lodge of Michigan in 1841 it became No. 2, but was
subsequently changed to number three, it being the third Lodge organized in the state, which number it retained
while working under the Grand Lodge of Michigan.
At the annual meeting of the Grand Lodge in 1842, Oakland Lodge was greatly favored by having four Grand Officers
elected from its members, viz: Leonard Weed, Grand Master; Calvin Hotchkiss, Grand Treasurer; Rev. Samuel
Silsby, Grand Chaplain, and Jacob Loop, Grand Sword Bearer. Thus it will be seen, the influence of Oakland Lodge
was strongly felt in the Grand Lodge of that day.
In the convention of delegates that organized the present Grand Lodge of Michigan, on the seventeenth day of
September, 1844, Brother Calvin Hotchkiss was present as the representative of Oakland Lodge, No. 101, and
assisted in such organization. Brothers Hotchkiss and Weed represented this Lodge in Grand Lodge in 1845, at the
January meeting, and Brothers Hotchkiss and A. N. Hitchcock at the June meeting. This was the last time Oakland
Lodge was represented in Grand Lodge, although Brother Hotchkiss continued as Senior Grand Warden for two
years longer.
In the records of Grand Lodge for 1847, appears this item, in the report of the Committee on Lodges:
The Committee further report, that no returns have been made or dues paid by Oakland Lodge, No. 3, within two years last past,
and that pursuant to a resolution of the Grand Lodge at its last annual communication, the charter of said Lodge has become
forfeited.
The report was accepted and the committee discharged, and on motion, the following resolution was adopted, viz:
Resolved, That the R. W. Grand Secretary be directed to demand of Oakland Lodge, No. 3, to surrender the Charter, By-Laws,
Records, and Jewels of said Lodge, and that he receive the same.
Thus passed out of existence the first country Lodge organized in Michigan, and one that gave to the fraternity some
of its brightest members in those early days. Many men of prominence in Masonry first received light in Oakland
Lodge, Grand Master Francis Darrow being one of them.
Masonry in Pontiac, however, was not dead, but only sleeping, and on the twelfth of November, 1847, a dispensation
was granted for a new Lodge at that place, and Pontiac Lodge, No. 21, sprang into existence, and has since
occupied the field formerly held by Oakland Lodge. The jewels and furniture of Oakland Lodge, which were
surrendered to Grand Lodge with its charter, were loaned to the new Lodge that took its place, and thus it became
fully equipped for work. This Lodge has proven a very successful one for nearly fifty years, and further mention of it
appears later in this work.
“History of Oakland County, Michigan,” page 364-65.
http://books.google.com/books?id=vtzsq71gpFAC&pg=PA364&lpg=PA364&dq=%22pontiac+Lodge+no.+8%22&sour
ce=bl&ots=bueBxvGlbg&sig=vLfLQRK81H5Y4OXF0psVZ2P7IM&hl=en&ei=KjNfSqHhOozCMOLdzaoG&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1
70
MENOMANIE LODGE NO. 374 — GREEN BAY.
THE FIRST LODGE WEST OF THE GREAT LAKES.
While Green Bay is now an important city in the state of Wisconsin, yet at the time of which this work is now treating,
all that is now Wisconsin was embraced within the limits of what was then the Territory of Michigan. The early history
of this Lodge, therefore, finds an appropriate place in the history of Michigan Masonry.
The history of this Lodge dates from St. John's Day, December 27th, 1823. The first record of action taken with a
view to organizing it is the minutes of a meeting of several members of the Fraternity at the home of one of the
Brethren who resided on a farm on the west side of the Fox River, said farm now forming a portion of the town of Fort
Howard, the city on the other side of the river being Green Bay. At this meeting were the following officers of the
United States Army then stationed there:
Major Watson,
Major Green,
Captain Browning,
Surgeon Satterlee,
Lieut. Lewis,
Lieut. Dean and
Surgeon Wheaton,
also citizens
George Johnston,
E. D. Curtis and
S. Wheeler.
Dr. Walter V. Wheaton, b. ca 1787, of Providence, RI, married Maria Jacob, Jan 1819, daughter of Stephen Jacob and Pamela
Ferrand. She was b. 7 Sep 1791; d. 16 Mar 1821, at Sackett's Harbor, NY, where her husband, a surgeon in the army, was
stationed. Dr. Wheaton died at an advanced age in Philadelphia, in 1860, the senior surgeon in the regular army. He was appointed
a post surgeon on 4 Sep 1816 and was stationed at Fort Howard in what is now Wisconsin. He apparently remarried:
A petition was drawn up and signed as follows:
We the undersigned, Free and accepted Master Masons, who are, or have been, members of regular Lodges, having the prosperity
of the fraternity at heart, are willing to exert our best endeavors to promote and diffuse the genuine principles of Masonry, and for
the conveniency of our respective dwellings, and other good reasons, we are desirous of forming a new Lodge at Green Bay in the
Territory of Michigan, to be named MENOMANIE LODGE, and in consequence of this desire we pray for letters of dispensation or if
possible a warrant of constitution to empower us to assemble as a legal Lodge, and to discharge the duties of Masonry in a regular
71
and Constitutional manner, according to the Original forms of the order, and the regulations of the Grand Lodge. And we have
nominated and do recommend ROBERT IRWIN to be the first Master, BENJAMIN WATSON to be the first Senior Warden, and
WALTER V. WHEATON as the first Junior Warden, of the said Lodge. And if the prayer of this petition shall be granted we promise
strict conformity to all the constitutional laws and regulations of the Grand Lodge.
Accompanying the petition was this recommendation from Zion Lodge:
To the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the State of New York.
In conformity with a resolution of Zion Lodge No. 3, passed at a communication held on the first Monday of May current, we the
undersigned, officers of said Lodge, do hereby recommend the brethren who have subscribed the within petition for a Dispensation
or Charter, authorizing them to form a new Lodge at Green Bay in this Territory; and most cordially recommend that their prayer
may be granted.
By order of the committee of Zion Lodge No. 3, Detroit, Mich'n Territory, May 29th, A. L. 5824
John G. Whiting, Worsh. Master.
Obed Wait, Senr. Warden
Henry J. Hunt, Junr. Warden
A dispensation was granted by Martin Hoffman, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York, bearing date June
12, 1824, but unforeseen difficulties presented themselves and the Lodge could not conveniently be constituted.
These difficulties were overcome by the following special dispensation, made to fit this emergency:
BY THE W. M. MARTIN HOFFMAN, ESQ., GRAND MASTER
OF THE ANCIENT & HONORABLE FRATERNITY OF FREE
& ACCEPTED MASONS IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
To Br. Robert Irwin, the appointed Master of Menomanie Lodge.
Whereas, by our Dispensation issued on the I2th day of June last, authority was granted to you & your associates to constitute, form
and hold a Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, in the Town of Green Bay, in the Territory of Michigan, for, during and until such
time as your petition to the R. W. Grand Lodge, for a warrant for that purpose, should be decided upon:
And whereas, it has been represented to us that from the want of some present or Past Master, duly qualified to constitute the said
Lodge and to install its officers, the said Lodge remains unorganized it inoperative, to the great disappointment of the Brethren
associated, and to the material detriment and injury of the Craft:
And whereas, the extraordinary circumstances of the case, seem particularly to demand the exercise of that power in us vested, in
and by the Book of Constitutions, and the ancient usages and Land Marks of the Craft:
Now THEREFORE, these are to authorize you, waving the ceremonies of Constitution and Installation, forthwith to open your said
Lodge; to select from among the Brethren suitable and proper persons for filling, ad interim, the offices therein, and when so opened
and organized by virtue hereof, to proceed to the transaction of all Masonic business, to as full an extent, as tho' the said Lodge had
been duly and regularly constituted, conforming yourselves strictly in whatever you may do to the Book of Constitutions and the
ancient Land Marks: and for the so doing this dispensation shall be your sufficient power and authority, and shall continue in force
until such time as that a suitable person duly qualified for the purpose can be procured to perform the ceremonies of Constitution
and Installation, when the same shall be done and the power hereby granted cease and be of no further effect.
Given under my Hand and private seal, at the
City of New York, in the United States of America
this eighteenth day of August A. D. 1824, A. L. 5824.
Attest.
MARTIN HOFFMAN
E. Hicks
Grand Secretary.
72
On September 2, the Lodge was opened at Fort Howard and the first meeting held. The day previous to this,
September 1, the petition for a charter was read in the Grand Lodge of New York, then in session, and the prayer
granted.
A dispensation was given to Major B. Watson to install the officers, and the following letter explains why he did not
perform that duty:
Fort Howard, Green Bay, 5 March, 1825.
Sir.
The dispensation of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, which you did me the favor to transmit, reached me a short time
since, after following me from place to place about the country. On my arrival here, I however found it useless, as a gentleman, Mr.
Stevens, who was authorized, had installed the Lodge, and it was in full operation, of which you have doubtless been informed, by
the reports of Mr. Stevens, and of the Lodge. If any expense attends the dispensation it is chargeable to the Lodge.
I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect.
Your Obedient Servant,
B. Watson.
This Lodge made regular returns to the Grand Lodge of New York the next two years, and at the close of the year
1825 reported twenty-seven members, and the following officers:
Walter V. Wheaton, W. M.
R. S. Satterlee, S. W.
Robert Irwin, Jr., J. W.
Daniel Curtis, Sec.
John D. Hopson, Treas.
Lewis N. Morris, S. D.
James Dean, J. D.
John P. Arndt, Steward,
Miller Gilman, Tyler.
Accompanying this return was the following letter from the Secretary, showing that this Lodge meant to fulfill all its
financial obligations:
Green Bay, M, T., 4 Feby. 1826.
Sir and Brother.
Herewith you will receive a return of Menomanie Lodge, No. 374, and a Registry return for the year ending the 27 of December A.
L. 5825, which I trust you will find satisfactory. I am instructed by the Worshipful Master to signify to you that the dues of last year,
together with those for the year, A. L. 5824, will be punctually remitted on the opening of the Navigation in the Spring.
Yours very Respy.
Wm. Dickinson,
Secty.
To Elias Hicks,
Grand Secty. of the
Grand Lodge of the State of New York.
This Lodge was interested with those in Detroit and vicinity in the matter of organizing a Grand Lodge in Michigan,
and at the convention held for that purpose on June 24, 1826, was represented by proxy, Brothers Andrew G.
Whitney of Zion Lodge and Marshall Chapin of Detroit Lodge, having been appointed to act in behalf of this Lodge. It
was also represented by duly appointed proxies in most of the subsequent meetings of that Grand Lodge, but its
distance and the inconvenience of travel in those days prevented its members from personally attending the meetings
of the Grand Lodge.
The labors of this Lodge were kept up until the year 1830, when, by reason of the removal of the regiment
stationed there, whose officers were the main support of the Lodge, it was compelled to discontinue its
existence.
During the six years which this Lodge was kept alive at this remote military post, about forty persons were initiated or
became affiliated therein. Several of them were later known as men of prominence in Green Bay.
The dispensation and Charter granted to this Lodge in 1824, were both signed by Martin Hoffman, then Grand Master
in New York, and were carefully preserved and highly prized by Washington Lodge, No. 21, at Green Bay, until
they, with other valuable records and papers, were destroyed by a fire that occurred in 1869.
http://www.newmasoniccenter.com/history.htm
Menomanie Lodge (Menominee Lodge)
The history of Masonry in Green Bay started on 27 December 1823 when ten Masons met at the home of George
Johnston near Ft Howard, in Michigan Territory, and drafted a petition to the Grand Lodge of New York for permission
to form a Masonic Lodge. The Grand Lodge of New York granted a dispensation on 12 June 1824 and on 3 Dec 1824
issued a charter for Menomanie Lodge No. 374.
73
The Lodge met in an upper room over a Commissary store near Ft. Howard, and later in a small building on a private
claim site. Beginning in the fall of 1827 the Lodge met in the upper room over the store of R. & A. J. Erwin in "Shanty
Town" [where Fort Howard had temporarily relocated due to the malarial conditions at the fort].
Map of the Town of ‘Munnomonee (“Shantytown”)
Recorded in the Brown Co. Register of Deed’ office, vol. B, p. 146, 4 Jan 1829.
A similar deed had been recorded 6 Oct 1826 (vol. A, pp. 320-324)
Some confusion still remains about the status of Menomanie Lodge. Five Michigan Territory Lodges originally
chartered under the Grand Lodge of New York formed the Grand Lodge of Michigan in Detroit in June 1826.
Menomanie Lodge did not attend and was represented by proxies. Menomanie Lodge No. 374 (NY) was redesignated as Menominee Lodge No. 4 (Ml).
Henry S. Baird stated in 1854 that contrary to the action of the Michigan Grand Lodge, "Menomanie Lodge continued
to operate under the original charter from New York". Baird elected to ignore the Masonic law of Territorial
Jurisdiction Records show that during the Grand Lodge of Michigan annual session on 31 July 1826, Menominee
Lodge #4 members Robert Irwin and Robert Irwin Jr. were appointed as Grand Stewards of Charity. The following
year on 19 February 1827 Robert Irwin Jr. was acting Grand Secretary (Pro-Tem) and a week later was acting Grand
Junior Warden (Pro-Tem), indicating that Menominee Lodge was in fact, attending and operating under the
jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Michigan.
In 1830 the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan suspended the work of the Michigan Grand Lodge and
advised the subordinate Lodges to do the same. No written record has been found to show Menominee Lodge ever
met or worked after 1830.
Two reasons are given for the demise of Menominee Lodge: one is that the military members moved further west or
were discharged, and secondly (and probably more accurate) the Anti-Masonic sentiment caused by the Morgan
Affair. It would be eighteen more years before another Masonic Lodge would be established in Green Bay.
Masonry Returns
After Menominee Lodge went dark in 1830, it would be ten long years before Masonry again surfaced in the
Wisconsin Territory; at Mineral Point in 1840 and Platteville in 1842 (both working under the Grand Lodge of
Missouri) and in Milwaukee in early 1843 (working under the Grand Lodge of Illinois). These three Lodges were
instrumental in forming the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin in December 1843.
74
No record has been found to date to explain the lack of Masonic activity in Green Bay from 1830 to 1848. The new
Lodge in Mineral Point in 1840 and the formation of the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin in 1843 did not appear to have an
impact on Masonry in Green Bay. Masonry slowly moved north, adding Sheboygan in 1847, and finally returning to
Green Bay in 1848 after an absence of eighteen years.
Eighteen Green Bay and Ft Howard area Master Masons (about half had previously been members of the old
Menominee Lodge), petitioned the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin for permission to meet and work under the name
Washington Lodge. A dispensation was issued on 23 December 1847, and a charter was granted for Washington
Lodge No. 21 on 16 December 1848.
Henry S. Baird, who had served as the last Worshipful Master of Menominee Lodge in 1830, was also the first
Worshipful Master of Washington Lodge in 1848 (an eighteen year gap). He served as Grand Master of Masons in
Wisconsin in 1856 and 1857.
Washington Lodge first met on the second floor of a building at Washington and Cherry Streets, moved to the third
floor of the State Gazette building on Pine Street and then to the First National Bank Building which was
destroyed by fire in 1869. Also destroyed in the fire were the original charter and the old records pertaining to
Menominee Lodge.
http://www.tntpc.com/252/philalethes/P57AUG.html
Menomonie Lodge at Old Fort Howard
by R.H. Gollmar, M.P.S. (Wisconsin)
THE STORY OF MENOMONIE LODGE No. 374 at Fort Howard, now Green Bay, Wisconsin, is a fascinating one. Formed in 1823,
this was the first Lodge in what is now Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Northern Michigan. Twenty years before the Grand Lodge of
Wisconsin was formed; twenty-five years before Wisconsin became a state; and thirteen years before it even became a territory,
Masonry came to this locality.
The War of 1812 brought a realization to the U.S. Government of the need for garrisons in the Midwest to protect the settlers and
control the Indians. On June 20, 1815, President Madison, approved the establishment of Fort Howard at Green Bay, and in August
of 1816 it was garrisoned by the Third Infantry Regiment.
Green Bay, a part of Lake Michigan, is connected to the Wisconsin River by the Fox River. We are told that in 1816 when the troops
arrived, farms stretched along the Fox River for five or six miles, and some forty families lived in the village and on the farms.
Fort Howard occupied a reserved tract which also included land for gardens, woodlots for fuel, meadows for hay, and fields to raise
provisions. The fort proper was of simple construction with a central parade ground, surrounded by barracks, officer’s quarters,
storehouses and a hospital. Surrounded by a palisade with blockhouses, its neat and clean appearance was a pleasant contrast to
the village and farms. This was civilization in northeast Wisconsin. There was one other town, Prairie du Chien, with Fort Crawford,
in the southwest where the Wisconsin River entered the Mississippi.
75
Fort Howard as seen from the confluence of the Fox River & East River.
Into the depressing picture came the U.S. Army to bring an example of industry and neatness, but more important, to bring a social
life and standards; undreamed of culture; a market for produce; physicians and a hospital. By 1824, Green Bay had 160 white
people of whom 130 were men, 7 were women and the balance children. With them lived 1627 Indian men and 4000 squaws and
children. The growth in population had been more than matched by a growth in culture. The army had organized a lyceum, Masonic
Lodge, temperance society and, in 1826, an Episcopal church.
The officers were determined to preserve a decent standard of living and the fort became the social center of the community.
Zachary Taylor, later to be President, was commandant from 1816 to 1818.
Now back to Menomonie Lodge, its organization, short existence under two Grand Lodges, and it's fading away.
It was the day of the feast of St. John the Baptist, December 27, 1823. Masons had come to Fort Howard with the army. In fact,
Menomonie Lodge was almost a military Lodge. Colonel John McNeil was commanding the Third Infantry there and was a Mason.
Other petitioners included Major Benjamin Watson who became Senior Warden: Surgeon W(alter).V. Wheaton, who became
Junior Warden: and, to preserve Masonic democracy, Sergeant M. Gilman. These men gathered at the home of George Johnston,
a farmer, on the west side of the Fox River. With them were some civilians who were Masons, and out of the celebration came a
petition to form a Lodge.
Wisconsin was then a part of Michigan Territory whose Masonry was under the Grand Lodge of New York. The petition for a
dispensation made its way to the nearest Lodge: Zion No. 3 of Detroit, but did not arrive until April. On May 29, 1824, Zion approved
the petition and sent it on to Martin Hoffman, then Grand Master of New York. June 12 of the same year, Brother Hoffman issued his
dispensation with Robert Irwin. Sr., as Master and Wardens as previously stated.
Some picture of the difficulties of the times can be gained from the following. On August 18, 1824, after it appeared that the
problems of transportation prevented a proper installation of officers, Grand Master Hoffman issued a further dispensation waiving
the ceremonies of constitution and installation. This was sent to Major Watson on the same day but did not reach him until March of
1825. By that time the Lodge had been installed by a gentleman, Mr. Stevens, whose Masonic authority does not appear. However,
his services apparently were satisfactory and the Lodge proceeded to work.
The records of the Grand Lodge of New York show the following:
76
"September 1, 1824:
"A petition from Robert Irwin and others upon which a Dispensation had, on 12th June, been issued by the Grand Master, praying
for a warrant to hold a Lodge in the town of Green Bay, in the county of Brown, in the Territory of Michigan, by the name of
Menomonie, recommended by Zion Lodge No. 3, was read and the prayer of the same granted." The number given it was 374.
The warrant or charter was issued on December 3, 18242 with the same officers as named in the dispensation.
Some account of the activities and interests of Menomonie Lodge as a Lodge should be of interest we learn that the officers were
installed by Mr. Stevens on September 2, 1824, and proceeded to work. In the period from September to December 27, 1824, the
Lodge initiated 8, passed 9, and raised 9. Apparently courtesy work or its equivalent existed then, since one Brother was passed
and raised who had been initiated in Washington Lodge (now 13). Major Hezekiah Bradley was raised only. At the end of that
period, the Lodge had 17 Master Masons and 1 Fellow Craft. The Secretary's return for that year was sent under date of January
10, 1825, and contains this postscript:
"In consequence of the risque in forwarding the funds by our express through the wilderness it is thought proper to retain our dues
till the opening of the navigation next spring."
[Of Captain, or rather Major Hezekiah Bradley (for he was so brevetted, in 1814, for "ten years of faithful service"), we cannot
say how long he had lived on the frontier; but he had distinguished himself in the successful defense of Fort Bowyer, at Mobile
Point, Ala., September, 1814. He died 18th May, 1826.
A detachment of about 112 men was sent from Fort Hunter (in ‘Greenbay’] to rebuild Fort Dearborn in Chicago. FORT
DEARBORN at that day [Chicago - 1831] consisted of the same buildings as at present. They were, of course, in a better state
of preservation, though still considerably dilapidated. They had been erected in 1816, under the supervision of Captain
Hezekiah Bradley, and there was a story current that, such was his patriotic regard for the interests of the government, he
obliged the soldiers to fashion wooden pins, instead of spikes and nails, to fasten the timbers of the buildings, and that he even
called on the junior officers to aid in their construction along with the soldiers, whose business it was. If this were true, the
captain must have labored under the delusion (excusable in one who had lived long on the frontier) that government would
thank its servants for any excess of economical zeal.]
1825 was another good year with 8 initiated and passed, and 9 raised. Surgeon Wheaton was Master, R. S. Satterlee, Senior
Warden, and Robert Irwin, Jr., Junior Warden. Sergeant Gilman is now Tyler, and the strong military membership is shown by the
fact that the Treasurer and both Deacons are lieutenants.
Perhaps some part of the interest is disclosed by the bill of refreshments which follows:
"Manominy Lodge in acct with John P. Arndt 1824
Nov. 2d 1 qt. brandy and 1 qt. whiskey, $1.00; Nov. 2d 1/2 quire paper 1/6, 19c; Nov. 11 1 qt. brandy and 1 qt. whiskey, $1.00;
Refreshments and cyder, $1.25: Nov. 27 1 qt whiskey, 25c; Dec. 31 1 qt. brandy and one qt. whiskey, $1.00; Refreshments and
cyder, $1.25; total, $5.94: Dec. 9 to refreshments and cyder, $1.00; total, $6.94.
"Examined and found correct
R. S. Satterlee
Lewis N. Morris
J. Dean"
In connection with this bill, it is probably significant that two petitions were dated November 10, one November 24 and one
November 25. The latter one was the petition of Henry S. Baird, who became Master in December, 1826, after being installed as
Senior Deacon in December, 1825.
Brother Henry S. Baird was a colorful figure in Wisconsin Masonry. He was the first trained lawyer in the state of Wisconsin. He
came to Green Bay in September, 1824 with his 14-year-old bride who spoke no English. He was later to be the first Master of
Washington Lodge No. 21 at Green Bay when it received its dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin in 1847, and Grand
Master of Wisconsin in 1856 and 1857. An address delivered by Brother Baird in 1854 has preserved for us a wealth of material
on this early period. (see below)
The Lodge first met at the fort in an upper room over the Commissary's store, but was moved out of the fort in the fall of 1825 in an
effort to make it less of a military Lodge. It remained a year in a room in the store of Brother John P. Arndt, then in 1826 and 1827 in
a small building on the south line of the then village of Green Bay, and finally in an upper room in the store of Brothers R(obert) and
A. J. Irwin.
One more interesting chapter in the history of the Lodge is the part it played in the formation of the Grand Lodge of Michigan
Territory in 1826. A Lodge was chartered in Detroit in 1764 by the Provincial Grand Master of New York. It was largely a military
Lodge. Masonry continued a precarious existence in Detroit through the years and in 1825 Zion Lodge No. 3 of Detroit issued a call
for a convention to form a Grand Lodge.
The response of Menominee Lodge No. 374 dated November 7, 1825, is still preserved in the archives of the Grand Lodge of
Michigan. The Convention met at Detroit June 24, 1826, with representatives present from four Lodges including Menominee. The
latter, however, was represented by proxies. The Grand Lodge met July 31, 1826, and was recognized by its parent Grand Lodge,
New York, on June 6, 1827. Lewis Cass, who was then the Governor of Michigan Territory and a Past Grand Master of Ohio, was
elected Grand Master and served throughout the Grand Lodge's brief existence.
The transactions of this Grand Lodge are preserved and we find some references to Menominee Lodge (note the difference in
spelling used in Michigan), and its members. At the meeting of July 31, 1826, Robert Irwin and Robert Irwin, Jr., were both
elected Grand Stewards of Charity. On December 27, 1826, Robert Irwin, Jr. was reported entitled to vote. He was also present
77
January 8, 1827, and on February 19, 1827, acted as Grand Secretary, pro tem. A week later we find him acting as Junior Grand
Warden, pro tem.
The Grand Lodge reports show the last meeting on August 9, 1827 a quorum not being present, no business was transacted. AntiMasonry had begun its work. During its existence the Grand Lodge held four special meetings besides its annual meeting in 1827.
To the five original Lodges, Zion and 337 at Detroit: Oakland No. 343, Pontiac, Michigan: Monroe (Michigan) No. 375 and
Menominee 374 (later renumbered No. 4); were added by dispensation four more Lodges. These were all in Michigan and were
Stoney Creek, Western Star, St Cloud and Friendship. Of these, Stoney Creek is still revered for its refusal to cease meeting during
the dark days of anti-Masonry.
Major Henry B. Brevoort came out in 1822 as Indian Agent. We know little about him, but thanks to the voluminous writings of
Brother Baird's wife, we do know about his daughter. This young lady joined her father at Green Bay in 1824 and immediately
created a social problem. Her beauty overcame the young lieutenants and she became very popular.
http://books.google.com/books?id=5ZQUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1360&lpg=PA1360&dq=%22Henry+B.+Brevoort%22&source=bl&ots=lV7S9a5fq&sig=SUI5rKN5mDYRWIoFZX8cD6gENCs&hl=en&ei=SRFSsHyAoantgfZ0Nn6AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=%22Henry%20B.%20Brevoort%22&f=false page 1360.
The Brevoort family was among the early Holland families in New York City. Henry B. Brevoort was born in New York, January 13,
1775, and married Marie Catherine Navarre (daughter of Robert Navarre and Marie Louise Navarre) January 15, 1811. He was
always prominent in naval, military and political affairs in Detroit and took an active and very important part in the Battle of Lake Erie
in 1813. He died January 30, 1858. The following are his children:
i. Marie Anne Brevoort,
b. 1812, married Charles Leroy Bristol, son of Clark Bristol and Lucy Perry Ball, February 16, 1836.
Marie Ann died in 1894.
ii. John Van Tromp Brevoort, b. 26 Nov 1816, married Elizabeth Anne Navarre. He died in Ecorse, May 29, 1899.
iii. Henry Brevoort,
b. 1819, married Janetta Sarah Helouise Macomb, daughter of William Macomb. Henry died in
1851 and his widow died in 1883.
iv. Robert Brevoort,
b. 1821, died unmarried in California.
v. Elias Brevoort,
b. 1822, died in New Mexico in 1904, unmarried.
Of the next generation, probably the best known are William Macomb Brevoort, captain in First Michigan Cavalry; Thornton Elias
Brevoort, who was accidentally killed in 1905, and Judge Henry Navarre Brevoort, a member of the Detroit bar and lately a judge of
the Circuit Court.
Henry B. Brevoort came to Detroit as soon as the country passed into the hands of the Americans, in 1796, and possibly even
before that date. The Advertiser of May 30, 1842, contained a statement that of the twelve Americans who resided in Michigan in
1796, only three were then living, to wit: Henry B. Brevoort, William Russell and Christian Clemens.
"Brevoort always occupied a prominent place among the people. He was commodore in the battle of Lake Erie, September 10,
1813—Perry's Victory."
He was appointed associate justice of the County of Brown, June 13, 1823, and resigned November 9, 1825. He was Indian agent
at Green Bay in 1826.
“Compendium of History and Biography of the City of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan,” 1909/ page 324.
http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA324&dq=%22Henry+B.+Brevoort%22+%22navarre%22&id=IEk22rbVL9QC&output=text
HENRY B. BREVOORT.
In the early history of Detroit the name which initiates this article was well known and represented a power and beneficent influence
in local affairs. In compilations of this order fitting memorials to such sterling pioneers are most consistently incorporated.
Henry B. Brevoort came of staunch Holland Dutch stock and the family was founded in America prior to the war of the Revolution.
He was born in New York city, in January, 1775, and was a son of Henry Brevoort, the maiden name of his mother having been
Bergaw. The parents were natives of Holland, whence they immigrated to America about 1700, taking up their residence in New
York city, where they passed the remainder of their lives. The subject of this memoir was reared to maturity in his native city, where
he received good educational advantages, as gauged by the standards of the period. As a young man he left the national metropolis
to seek adventure and fortune in the western wilds. He located in Detroit and entered the United States army, in which he was an
officer at the time of the war of 1812. At the time of the surrender of Detroit to the British he was one of those who protested against
the action of the commander, but was compelled to accept the situation with as much equanimity as possible, being taken as a
prisoner of war and being eventually granted a parole. His attitude in the regard, as showing his disregard for a parole given under
such circumstances, was indicated by his soon joining the American forces at Put-in-Bay. Official reports show that he rendered
valiant service after the uncalled for capitulation of Detroit. After the close of the war he returned to Detroit, where he became
prominent and influential in business and civic affairs and where he continued to reside until he was summoned from the scene of
life's endeavors, his death occurring in January, 1857.
In the year 1811 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Brevoort to Miss Catherine Navarre, a daughter of Robert Navarre, who was
born and reared in Detroit, where his father, Robert Navarre, Sr., settled in 1728. Mr. and Mrs. Brevoort became the parents of four
sons and one daughter, and all continued to make their home in Detroit until death, with the exception of Elias, who went into the
southwest, being one of the early scouts in New Mexico, where he was a companion of the historic Kit Carson. He was a prominent
figure in the Indian wars on the frontier and he finally established his home in Santa Fe, where he served as register of the United
States land office under the administration of President Hayes. His death occurred in 1904 and he was known as one of the
representative citizens of New Mexico. Another son, Henry B., Jr., was a civil engineer by profession, and he died in Detroit,
December 27, 1851. He surveyed all the northern counties of the lower peninsula of the state and also did considerable work of the
78
sort in the upper peninsula, attaining to a high reputation in his profession. John, the eldest son, passed his life in Detroit and
became the owner of a large amount of valuable realty, leaving a substantial estate at his death in March, 1899. Robert, the
youngest of the sons, was one of the argonauts to California in 1849, and he died in that state, his relatives having heard nothing
from or concerning him after he left for the Pacific coast. The only daughter of the subject of this sketch was Mary A., who became
the wife of Charles Leroy Bristol, in 1838: her husband was a prominent business man of Detroit for many years.
Henry B. Brevoort was a man of fine mentality and staunch integrity, and he wielded no little influence in public affairs in the city
which so long represented his home. He never sought official preferment, but was known as an ardent and uncompromising
advocate of the principles of the Democratic party.
Henry B. Brevoort, Jr., of whom brief mention has already been made, was reared and educated in Detroit, and. his professional
training as a civil engineer was gained mainly through practical field experience. That he developed exceptional strength in the line
is evident when recognition is had of the fact that at the age of seventeen years he was granted a government surveying contract,
which he carried to successful completion.
July 13, 1841, was celebrated the marriage of Henry B. Brevoort, Jr., and Miss Sarah Jane Macomb, who was born and reared in
Detroit. She was a daughter of William Macomb, who died when she was a child of about five years. Her grandfather, William Macomb, Sr., was one of the early settlers of Detroit, where he was a prominent business man at the time of the war of the Revolution.
In company with his brother Alexander he secured possession of Grosse Isle in 1776, from the Pottawatomie Indians. The Macomb
family has been one of prominence and influence in connection with the history of the state of Michigan. To Henry B. and Sarah
Jane (Macomb) Brevoort were born three children. William M. sacrificed his life in defense of the Union in the civil war, having met
his death in the battle of Cold Harbor, June 1, 1864. He rose from the rank of second lieutenant to that of lieutenant colonel of the
First Michigan Cavalry and was a brave and gallant soldier; he was not married. Thornton E., the second son, died in July, 1906. He
was cashier for the Michigan Central Railroad at Grosse Pointe for a period of nine years and served as an internal-revenue officer
under the administration of President Cleveland. Henry N., the second of the three sons, is now the only representative of the third
generation of the family in Michigan. He was born in Detroit April 3, 1848, and in this city his early educational discipline was
secured. In 1872 he took up the study of law in the office of the well known firm of Van Dyke, Brownson & Moran, and in 1874 was
admitted to the bar of his native state, well fortified for the active work of his chosen profession, which he has honored and dignified
by his services as a legist and jurist. In 1876 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Wayne county, remaining incumbent of this
office for two terms. In 1887 he was honored with election to the circuit bench, on which he served six years, making a most
creditable record and manifesting marked judicial acumen, reinforced by a thorough knowledge of the law. He is still engaged in
active practice in Detroit and is known as one of the representative members of the bar of the state. Judge Brevoort is a staunch
supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party and has done effective service in its cause. His religious faith is that
of the Catholic church, of which both he and his wife are communicants, as were also his parents.
On the 21st of April, 1898, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Brevoort to Miss Neele E. Davis, who was born in Kentucky. They
have no children.
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:1016040&id=I369
Robert NAVARRE, b. 25 Nov 1739 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan; bur. there 19 Dec 1813
From 1987 Edition of "Genealogy of the French Families of the Detroit River Region, Pg. 801-802.
Mary Louisa Marsac, born 26 Oct 1744, bur. 10 Oct 1796, m. there 13 Dec 1762
Robert Navarre, b. there 25 Nov 1739 bur there 19 Dec 1813 son of Robert Navarre and Mary Lootman dit Barrois.
Mary Louisa Marsac is the eighth child of Francis Marsac and Teresa Cecilia Campau.
(There being Detroit, Michigan.)
Pg. 844-846:
Robert Navarre (Son of Robert Navarre and Mary Lootman dit Barrois), b. 25 Nov 1739 Detroit, bur. there 19 Dec 1813, m. there 13
Dec 1762 Mary Louisa Marsac, b. there 26 Oct 1744, bur there 10 Oct 1796, dau. of Francis Marsac and Teresa Cecelia Campau.
Children:
i. Francis,
b. 12 Oct 1763.
ii. Robert,
b. 4 Mar 1765.
iii. James,
b. 15 Dec 1766.
iv. Isadore,
b. 19 Aug 1768.
v. Mary Archange Louisa, b. 23 Jul 1770 Detroit, bur. there 15 May 1851, m. 20 Oct 1788 Assumption Sandwich Francis Dominic
Godet dit Marentette,
b. there 16 May 1763, bur. there 22 Apr 1808, son of Francis Godet dit Marentette and Jane Parent.
vi. Anthony,
b. 26 May 1772 on his grandfather's farm, South West Coast of Detroit, bur 19 Apr 1812, Detroit.
vii. Charlotte,
b. 10 Apr 1774 on her grandfathers farm, South West Coast of Detroit, bur 3 Mar 1852 Grosse Pointe,
m. 4 Aug 1800 Detroit Cajetan Tremblay, b. 11 Sep 1771 Detroit, bur. 8 Mar 1862, son of Louis Tremblay and Cecelia Yax.
viii. Peter.
b. 3 Dec 1775.
ix. Simon,
b. 18 Aug 1777 Detroit, bur there 20 Aug 1777.
x. John Mary,
b. 23 Oct 1778, South West Coast of Detroit.
xi. Mary Ann,
b. 20 Sep 1780 Detroit, bur. 4 Sep 1866 Grosse Pointe.
xii. Mary Catherine,
b. 4 Sep 1782 Detroit, d. 24 Dec 1868 there, m. there 15 Jan 1811, before a justice to Lt. Henry
Bergaw Brevoort, b. 13 Jan 1775 New York, d. 30 Jan 1858 Detroit, son of Henry Brevoort and Esther Bergaw.
xiii. Monica,
b. Jun 1784 Detroit, bur. there 19 Dec 1785.
xiv. Peter,
b. 8 Feb 1787 Detroit, sett. ca 1807 at mouth of Maumee River.
xv. Monica,
b. 13 Aug 1789 Detroit, bur there 4 Nov 1813, m. there before a justice to William Macomb, b. Detroit,
son of William Macomb and Sarah Dring. William gored by a bull, d. 1826 Grosse Island.
___________________________________________________________
From: "Legends of Le Detroit" by Marie Caroline Watson Hamlin, published by Detroit, Thorndike Nourse, 1884., page 290.
"Francois, married 1734, Therese Campeau, by whome he had:.... 4. Marie Louise, born 1744, married 1762, Robert Navarre, Jr.
79
Page 307-308:
"Robert Navarre..... He married there Marie Lothman de Barrois.... Robert Navarre's children were as follows:.....
Robert, eldest son of Robert Sr., surnamed Robishe the Speaker, was born in 1739. He married, 1762, Louise Archange de Mersac,
daughter of Francois and Charlotte Bourassa (my note: ?). To Robishe was deeded by the Pottawatomies, their village, which was
on a beautiful eminence commanding a fine view and which even then was pronounced by them an "Ancient Village". "We the chiefs
of the tribe of the Pottawatomie nation at Detroit have deliberated and given of our own free will a piece of land of four arpents in
width by the whole depth, situated at our ancient village to Robishe, son of the Scrivener. We give him this land forever, that he
might cultivate the same, light a fire thereon, and take care of our dead, and for surety of our words we have made our marks."
This grant was ratified by Henry Bassett, commanding at Detroit, July 15 1772, in presence of Geo. McDoughall. On one of
Navarre's quit rent receipts it is stated that this tract was confirmed by Gen. Gage. Robishe resided on his land and in the house
known today as the Brevoort homestead. It was later enlarged by Commodore Brevoort (Robishe's son in law). Robishe was
the great great grandfather of the writer, and there still lives an old lady who remembers him.
She speaks of him as a pre-eminently handsome man, with courtly manners, most engaging and charming in conversation. He was
blessed like all the French of that period, with an exceptionally large family.: 1) Robert, born 1764; 2) Jacques, born 1766, he settled
on the River Raisin; 3) Francois, born 1767, early removed with his brother Jacques and Jean Marie to Monroe, where twenty-six
arpents had been deeded to the Navarres by the Ottawa's. Francois was Colonel during the war of 1812-1813, and figures most
conspicuously. 4) Isadore, born 1795. ......
__________________________________________________________
From : "Early Days in Detroit" by General Friend Palmer of Detroit, publ. by Hunt and June, Detroit, printed by the Richmond and
Backus Co., 1906, pages 606-613, same data as given in "Legends of Le Detroit" above, and indicated in reference under Pierre
Navare "Early Days in Detroit."
___________________________________________________________
From: "Navarre, or, Researches after the Descendents of Robert Navarre, whose Ancestors are the Noble Bourbons of France.,
compiled by Christian Denissen, pastor of St. Charles Church, Detroit, Michigan.,1897, pg. 16-20.
3rd Generation: Robert Navarre and Mary Louisa Marsac.
Their Children; all born at Detroit except their first born, Francis:
a). Francis Navarre
b. at Assupmtion, Sandwich, 12 Oct 1763; m. at Detroit, 9 Nov 1790, Mary Suzor, b. at Assumption,
Sandwich, 24 May 1772, d/o Louis Francis Suzor and Mary Joseph Le Beau. Col. Francis Navarre was one of the first settlers at
Raisin River; he built the historical loghouse which stood where Dr. A.L. Sayer's residence now stands in the City of Monroe. Francis
Navarre was buried at St. Antoine, Raisin River, 3 Sept 1826, Mary Suzor was buried at St. Antoine, Raisin River, 17 Aug 1834,
having died of cholera.
b). Robert Navarre
b. at noon, 4 March 1765; m. at Monroe, before Magistrate Christopher Tuttle, 14 Apr 1809, Geneveva
Bourdeau, b. at Assumption, Sandwich, 13 Nov 1767, widow of Amable Cosme, d/o Joseph Bourdeau and Mary Louisa Clermont.
This marriage was ratified at St. Antoine, Raisin River, 23 Jul 1810. Robert Navarre died before 1829, probably during the War of
1812. Geneveva Bourdeau was buried at Raisin River, 21 Dec 1829.
c) James Navarre
b. 1 a.m., 15 Dec 1766; m. at St. Antoine, Raisin river, 5 Nov 1800, Basile Lapointe, b. at Assumption,
Sandwich, 28 Jan 1784, d/o John Baptist Audet dit Lapointe and Catherine Gouyou. Basile Lapointe was buried at St. Antoine,
Raisin River, 4 Mar 1819. James Navarre married again, at Detroit, 3 May 1823, Mary Ann Vessiere dit Laferte, b. at Detroit, 21 Apr
1779, d/o Louis Vessiere dit Laferte and Catherine Esprit dit Champagne.
d). Isadore Navarre
b. 9 a.m., 19 Aug 1768; m. there 18 Jun 1795, Mary Frances Labadie, b. at Detroit, 29 Oct 1774, d/o Alexis
Descomps dit Labadie and Mary Frances Robert. The groom resided at River Raisin. Isadore Navarre was bur. at St. Antoine,
Raisin River, 22 Aug 1835. Frances Labadie was bur. at St. Antoine, Raisin River, 17 Nov 1836.
e) Mary Archange Louisa Navarre b. 1 a.m., 23 Jul 1770; m. at Assuption, Sandwicdh, 20 Oct 1788, Francis Dominic Godet dit
marentette, b. at Assumption Sandwich 16 May 1763, s/o Francis Godet dit Marentette and Jane Parent. Dominic Godet dit
Marentette was bur. at Assumption, Sandwich, 22 Apr 1808.
f) Anthony Navarre
b. at noon, 26 May 1772, was buried there, 19 April 1812.
g). Charlotte Navarre b. at noon, 10 Apr 1774; m. there 4 Aug 1800, Cajetan Tremblay, b. at Detroit, 11 Sep 1771, son of Louis
Tremblay and Ceciliea Yax. Charlotte Navarre was bur. at Grosse Pointe, Mich., 3 March 1852; Cajetan on 8 Mar 1862.
h) Peter Navarre
b. 1 a.m., 3 Dec 1775; m. there, 15 Apr 1806, Magdelene Cavelier dit Rangeard, b. at Montreal, d/o John
Baptist Cavelier dit Rangeard and Magdelene Parent. Peter Navarre was bur. at St. Antoine, Raisin River, 27 Apr 1808. Magdelene
Cavelier was bur. there, 8 Feb. 1810.
i). Simon Navarre
b. 18 Aug; was buried there, 20 Aug 1777.
j). John Mary Navarre b. 7 p.m., 23 Oct. 1778.
k). Mary Ann Navarre b. 9 p.m., 20 Sep 1780; bur. at Grosse Pointe, 4 Sep 1866.
l). Mary Catherine Navarre b. 4 Sep 1782; m. before a civil magistrate, at Detroit, in 1810, Henry Bergaw Brevoort born at New
York, 13 Jan 1775, son of Henry Brevoort and Esther Bergaw. Henry Brevoort died at Detroit, 30 Jan. 1858. Catherine Navarre died
at Detroit, 24 Dec 1868.
m). Monica Navarre
b. Jun 1784; buried there 19 Dec 1785.
n). Peter Navarre
b. 8 Feb. 1787.
o). Monica Navarre
b. 13 Aug. 1789; m. there before a civil magistrate, William Macomb born Detroit, son of William Macomb
and Sarah Dring. Monica Navarre was buried at Detroit, 4 Nov 1813.
____________________________________________________________________From Thomas Jordan: Photograph of Pierre Navarre in trapper's clothing, Veterans War of 1812 reunion in 1871, and the Navarre
cabin used as General Winchester's headquarters during the War of 1812.
Father: Robert NAVARRE b: 1709 in Villeroy, Brittany, France
Mother: Mary LOOTMAN b: 1719 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.
Marriage 1 Mary Louise MARSAC b: 26 OCT 1744 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan. Married: 13 DEC 1762 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.
80
Children, all born in Detroit, Michigan, except Francis.
1. Francis NAVARRE
b: 12 OCT 1763 in Assumption, Sandwich
2. Robert NAVARRE
b: 4 MAR 1765
3. James NAVARRE
b: 15 DEC 1766
4. Isadore NAVARRE
b: 19 AUG 1768
5. Mary Archange Louisa NAVARRE
b: 23 JUL 1770
6. Anthony NAVARRE
b: 26 MAY 1772
7. Charlotte NAVARRE
b: 10 APR 1774
8. Peter NAVARRE
b: 3 DEC 1775
9. Simon NAVARRE
10. John Mary NAVARRE
b: 23 OCT 1778
11. Mary Ann NAVARRE
b: 20 SEP 1780
12. Mary Catherine NAVARRE b: 4 SEP 1782; d. 24 DEC 1868; m. 1810 Henry Bergaw Brevoort
13. Monica NAVARRE
b: JUN 1784
14. Pierre Freschette NAVARRE b: 8 FEB 1787
15. Monica NAVARRE
b: 13 AUG 1789
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:1016040&id=I387
Notes regarding Robert Navarre Sr., father of the above Robert:
Robert NAVARRE, b. 1709 in Villeroy, Brittany, France; d. in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan; m. 10 FEB 1734 in Detroit Mary LOOTMAN
b: 1719 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.
Father: Antoine Marie Francois NAVARRE b: ABT 1675; Mother: Jane DE PLUGETTE b: ABT 1675
Children, all born in Detriot:
1. Mary Frances NAVARRE
b: 9 JAN 1735.
2. Mary Ann NAVARRE
b: 14 OCT 1737
3. Robert NAVARRE
b: 25 NOV 1739
4. Joseph NAVARRE
b: 3 AUG
5. Mary Catherine NAVARRE b: 14 JUL 1749; d. 17 NOV 1789 in New York; m. 4 MAY 1773 in Detroit General
Alexander Macomb.
6. Bonaventure Peter NAVARRE b: 7 OCT 1753.
7. Mary Catherine NAVARRE
b: 12 APR 1757
8. Francis Mary NAVARRE
b: 19 NOV 1759
9. John Mary Alexis NAVARRE b: 21 SEP 1763
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=DESC&db=craigsharrow&id=I369885
8 Marie Catherine Navarre b: 4 Sep 1782 d: 24 Dec 1868; married Henry Bergaw Brevoort b: 13 Jan 1775 d: 30 Jan 1858
Children:
9 Mary Ann Brevoort b: 17 Feb 1812 d: 19 Jul 1894; m. Charles Leroy Bristol b: 1811 d: 18 May 1870
9 John Van Tromp Brevoort b: 26 Nov 1816 d: 29 May 1899; m. Eliza Ann Navarre b: 1 Mar 1835 d: Mar 1895
10 Heloise Mary Eliza Brevoort b: 4 Mar 1860; m. Richard Alterauge b: 6 Mar 1859
10 John Van Tromp Brevoort b: 4 Aug 1862 d: 1866
10 Henry Bregaw Brevoort b: 15 Jul 1869; m. Ann Elmira Ellair b: 1876
9 Henry Brevoort b: 7 Aug 1819 d: 27 Dec 1851; m. Jane Sarah Heloise Macomb b: 4 Oct 1818 d: 11 Feb 1883
10 William Macomb Brevoort b: 27 Apr 1842 d: 1 Jun 1864
10 Henry Navarre Brevoort b: 3 Apr 1845; Judge and surveyor,
for whom Brevort (Brevoort) Lake Michigan is named;
m1. Caroline Miller b: Oct 1858; m2. Il Neele Elsworth Davis
10 Catherine Macomb Brevoort b: 7 Aug 1846 d: Apr 1847
10 John Brevoort b: Sep 1847 d: 1847
10 Thorton Elias Brevoort b: 22 Nov 1849 d: 12 Jul 1905
9 Robert Brevoort b: 17 Jan 1821 d: 1849
9 Elias Brevoort b: 22 Sep 1822 d: 12 Mar 1904
--------Captain Daniel Curtis, who taught the school in 1824, later had a granddaughter who became the wife of General Philip H.
Sheridan of Civil War fame.
Brother Robert Irwin, Sr., the first Master was born in Ireland in 1773 and came to America at the age of three months. His youth
was spent in Baltimore and Carlisle, Penn. He married and had two sons, Robert and Alexander. He served with distinction in the
War of 1812 and then moved to Detroit. He was an operative mason of a high order and superintended the building of many first
class buildings in Detroit. In 1822 he moved to Green Bay where he lived until his death at 77.
Raised in Lodge No. 56 at Carlisle, in 1792, he was the Worshipful Master in 1793. Later he belonged to a Lodge at Greensberg
and Erie, Penn., and Zion No. 1 at Detroit. Perhaps most interesting is the fact that he was a charter member of Monroe Chapter
No. 1, at Detroit, in 1818. This pioneer Chapter antedated the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Michigan by 29 years. It is not surprising
that Governor Cass was High Priest.
81
--------Robert Irwin, Jr., came to Green Bay in 1820. He became postmaster in 1822. His brother, Alexander, joined him in 1823, and they
became partners in the fur trade. Robert was a member of the first Legislative Council of Michigan Territory from its organization in
1824 until 1830. He was Indian Agent at Fort Winnebago (now Portage, Wis.) when his death occurred July 9, 1833.
There were a number of farmers in the membership, John Lawe, a "leading farmer," was called the "English Jew." He not only
farmed but worked as a fur trader for the American Fur Company, owned by (Bro. John Jacob) Astor. Born in York, England, his
father was an army officer. His mother was a sister of Jacob Franks, a Jew who had gone to Green Bay as a clerk in 1792. Later
Franks had his own post and brought John in from Canada. John later took over the fur trade and seas noted for his fair dealings
and charity. He died at Green Bay in 1846 at the age of 66.
Reverend Eleazar Williams, an Episcopal priest, was to attain fame and notoriety in 1841 when many people became convinced
that he was the "Lost Dauphin" of France - Louis XVII. Williams came from New York. His mother was an Indian and he had worked
among her people. He had a plan to move the Indians from New York to Wisconsin. It didn't work. He came to Green Bay and met
with the local Indian tribes. His plan failing, he married a French woman and settled in Green Bay.
After 1827 no records can be found of meetings and no officers were elected, although Brother Baird tells us that meetings were
held until 1830. Brother Baird says that the dissolution was due to several reasons but "principally to the dispersion of and
separation of its members." This is difficult to believe because twenty years later, in 1847, when a dispensation was issued for
Washington Lodge No. 21 at Green Bay, we find not only Brother Baird but Brothers John P. Arndt, William Dickinson, Robert
Irwin, and Lewis Rouse as charter members. Surely these men, with those who must have passed away in the interim, were a
sufficient nucleus to have held the Lodge together.
The solution to this minor mystery probably lies in anti-Masonry and the unwillingness of Brother Baird, in retrospect, to admit to a
lack of courage in facing up to it. Probably we too would have gone underground.
Thus ends Masonry in Wisconsin, not to be revived until 1840, with a Missouri charter.
“The Ashlar,” Vol. III, edited by Allyn Weston, Charles Scott, 1858. pages 56-59.
http://books.google.com/books?id=nMBJAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA57&lpg=PA57&dq=%22benjamin+watson%22+%22fort+howard%22&s
ource=bl&ots=1dp_GRPoFE&sig=m-vtYBF3LWzNbc0cX3fNkwfAgL0&hl=en&ei=XX99StetJD7tgecteTkAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=%22benjamin%20watson%22%20%22fort%20howard
%22&f=false
MASONRY IN WISCONSIN—THE OLDEST LODGE.
A FRIEND has recently forwarded to us an interesting and instructive Address delivered before Washington Lodge, at Green Bay,
Wis., Dec., 1854, by Bro. Henry S. Baird, Past Master of said Lodge, and now Grand Master of the Masons in Wisconsin. The
following historical information which it contains, cannot fail to interest the Craft throughout the country.
The light of Masonry which made its appearance at any point in the United States, north or west of Detroit, first shone at Green Bay;
it was the forerunner of civilization and the introduction of the arts; the harbinger of peace and good will among men. On the 2nd day
of September, A. D. 1824, the first regular Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons was opened and organized at Fort Howard, directly
opposite this city, under a Dispensation from the M. W. Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, that body being
at that time, the most accessible, and one of the nearest Grand Lodges in the United States. The document, by virtue of which this
Lodge was opened, signed by MARTIN HOFFMAN, as M. W. Grand Master, and E. HICKS, W. G. Secretary, is now preserved in this
Lodge. The officers named in the dispensation for the new Lodge, were ROBERT IRWIN, Sen., Master; BENJAMIN W ATSON, Sen. and
W. V. W HEATON, Jun. Wardens. The name of the Lodge was "Menomonee." It derived its name from the tribe of Indians then
inhabiting and owning a vast extent of territory, nearly coextensive with the limits of the present State of Wisconsin—then a
numerous and powerful band, but daily diminishing in strength and power, and rapidly approximating to that condition which seems
to be the inevitable fate of the aboriginal race.
At the opening and organization of the Lodge, the following named members of the Order were present: Robert Irwin, Sen., Master;
W. V. Wheaton, S. W. pro tem; A. Lewis, J. W. pro tem; and Harrison, Curtis, Satterlee, Dean, McNeal, Green and Johnston, Master
Masons. All of these members, except three, were officers of the 3rd Regiment U. S. Infantry, four companies of that Regiment
being then stationed at Fort Howard, under the command of Col. JOHN McNeal, who was also a Mason, and a member of
Menomonee Lodge.
On the 3rd of December, 1824, a regular Charter was granted by the R. W. Grand Lodge of New York, to establish
Menomonee Lodge. This document was signed by Martin Hoffman, as G. Master; Elisha W. King, Dep. G. Master; Richard Hatfield,
S. C. Warden; Watson Smith, J. G. W.; and E. Hicks, G. Secretary; and in it Robert Irwin, Sen., was nominated as Master, Benjamin
Watson, Sen., and W. V. Wheaton, Jr., Wardens. This charter is still preserved in the archives of this Lodge. Within a very short time
after its organization, the Lodge received a very respectable accession to its members, for we find by the records, that on the
anniversary of St. John, Dec. 27, 1824, it numbered twenty-one members.
In December, 1824, Dr. W. V. Wheaton was elected Master; Dr. R.S. Satterlee, S. W., and Robert Irwin, Jr., J. W.; D. Curtis,
Secretary; Lieut. Hopson, Treasurer; Lieuts. Morris and Dean, Deacon and Sergeant; Gilman, Tyler. From the organization of the
Lodge to the end of the year 1825, it was held in an upper room over the Commissary's store, at or adjacent to Fort Howard; and
during this period, it might he considered as, in a great degree, a Military Lodge, as it was held at a military post, and a large
majority of its officers and members were attached to the army. In the fall of 1825, however, the officers expressed a desire that the
Lodge should be removed from the Fort, and that its future government should be placed in the hands of the citizen members of
Green Bay. Accordingly, in the fall of that year, Menomonee Lodge was removed from Fort Howard to a room prepared for the
82
purpose, in the old store then and still owned by John P. Arndt, in Astor, or the South Ward of this city, where it continued to meet
for upwards of a year.
In December, 1825, Robert Irwin, Jr., was elected Master; R. Irwin, Sen., S. W., and George Johnston, J. W.; Wm. Dickinson,
Secretary; Benjamin Wallace, Treasurer; H. S. Baird, S. and L. Rouse, J. Deacons; Gilman, Tyler.
In December, 1826, H. S. Baird was elected Master; Lieut. Henry Smith, S. W., Wm. Dickinson, J. W.; A. J. Irwin, Secretary; Lieut.
Griswold, Treasurer; N. G. Bean and N. Perry, Deacons; C. Mills, Tyler.
In December, 1827, H. S. Baird was reelected Master; Henry Smith, S. W., Wm. Dickinson, J. W.; A. J. Irwin, Secretary; L. Rouse,
Treasurer; N. G. Bean and Samuel Irwin, Deacons; and C. Mills, Tyler.
From the year 1827 to its close, no record can be found of the meetings or proceedings of Menomonee Lodge, and all that can be
stated in relation to its action, most be from the recollection of its surviving members. The officers last named, with one or two
exceptions, continued to discharge the duties of their respective stations until the Lodge ceased to work, which it did in the year
1830. I had the honor to preside over the old Lodge for the last four years of its existence; as also over the present one in the first
four years of its infancy.
From its organization to its close, Menomonee Lodge received within its portals, and initiated into the Order, the following named
persons at different periods, became officiating members:
J. C. Allen,
J(ohn) P(enn) Arndt,
H(enry) S(amuel) Baird,
Capt. Boardman,
Lt. Bloodgood,
Capt. Bradley,
Lt. Clark,
Lt. J. C. Cotton, (John
Winslow Cotton)
Capt. J. Claty,
Hunter Crane,
Lt. Cruger,
Wm. Dickinson,
John W. Doty,
Wm. Farnsworth,
Dr. L(yman) Foot(e),
M. Gillman,
Lt. Glover,
Amable Grignon,
Augustin Grignon,
Lt. Griswold,
J. Hartzell,
Lt. [Alex. Seymour) Hooe,
Lt. [John D.] Hopson,
J. Ingram;
Robert Irwin, Jr.,
Lt. Law(e),
Lt. Loring,
Capt. [Gideon?] Lowe,
H[enry] McGulpin, [fur trader]
Lt. Merrill,
Chester Mills,
Lt. Morris,
J. Paquette,
Lt. Pendleton,
L(ouis) Rouse,
Dr. R(ichard) S. Satterlee
Lt. Sibley,
Capt. Henry Smith,
Benjamin C. Wallace,
Augustus Walker,
E(benezer) Williams,
Wm. Wilson.
Biographical Sketches
John Penn Arndt (Nov 1780 - 1861) was a pioneer promoter, merchant, b. Bucks County, Pa. He was engaged in building
Durham boats near Wilkes-Barre, Pa., until 1816. After residing at Buffalo, NY, and Mackinac Island, Mich., he moved to
Green Bay, then part of Michigan Territory, in 1824. In 1825 he built the first Durham boat to be used on the Fox River, and
soon these light, efficient boats were widely used on both the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. In the same year Arndt also built
and operated a ferry across the Fox River to Ft. Howard. In 1827, with Ebenezer Childs, he built the first sawmill in the area
on Menominee land in Oconto County. The first schooner in the Northwest was built by Arndt in 1834. He was among those
who attempted to link the Fox and Wisconsin rivers by a canal. In 1835 he [along with Bro. William Dickinson – q.v.]
organized the Fox River Hydraulic Company to improve navigation by building a dam, completed in 1837, at the site of De
Pere. A Whig, Arndt was elected to the territorial council in 1836, serving until 1838.
The story of the Arndts: the life, antecedents and descendants of Bernhard ...,” by John Stover Arndt, Warren Smedley Ely,
page 182.
http://books.google.com/books?id=dCt5rlThXzwC&pg=PA300&lpg=PA300&dq=%22mary+arndt%22+%22cotton%22&sourc
e=bl&ots=70nOv09X8g&sig=IGgrncKcLcWFX9epm_YIfI3QXVU&hl=en&ei=mHQSsi2FZHklAfdlsycDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=%22mary%20arndt%22%20%22cotton
%22&f=false.
JOHN PENN ARNDT (48), only child of Philip and Mary (Little) Arndt, was born at or near Durham, Bucks County, Pa., 25 Nov
1780. His mother died at his birth, and he was reared in the family of his grandfather, Abraham, and uncle, Jacob Arndt, in
Williams Township, Northampton County. From the age of eighteen years he was associated with his father in business in
Wilkes-Barre, milling, lumbering, merchandising, and other industries, including the building of the Durham boats for the
navigation of the Susquehanna. After the death of his father, John Penn Arndt, being the only son and heir, took full control
of the business in its several branches, and was successful for many years, and until the industrial and financial crisis of
1815-16, when he lost heavily.
His journey of exploration to western Pennsylvania and New York in 1818, and subsequent removal with his family, first to
Buffalo in 1820, to Mackinac Island in northern Michigan in 1822, and his final location at Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1824,
are recited in a letter written by John Wallace Arndt, youngest son of John Penn Arndt, to his classmate, Rev. S. W. Barnum,
Class Secretary of 1841, at Yale College. The date of marriage is incorrectly given, he being probably misled by the date of
his father's location in Wilkes-Barre. An extract of the letter is as follows:
83
JOHN PENN ARNDT
JOHN WALLACE ARNDT
My father John Penn Arndt was born in the town of Durham, Bucks County, Pa., 25 Nov 1780, on the Penn tract near
Easton, Pa. My mother Elizabeth Carpenter was born in Warren County, NJ, about three miles east of Easton, Pa., on 7
Aug 1780. She died at Green Bay, Wisconsin, 10 Jun 1860, and father died at the same place 11 Jun 1861. They were
married in 1799 and soon after removed to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., where he went into business and was very successful,
accumulating a large property in a few years.
During the years following the close of the War of 1812, due to the general prostration of business and the consequent
financial panic, he met with heavy losses and a large portion of his property was sacrificed.
In 1818, he in company with a friend, who with him, was considering a change of location, undertook a journey of exploration
on horseback through Western Pennsylvania and New York to Buffalo, then through Ohio, and part of Michigan, into
Indiana, and part of Illinois. On his return home he decided to settle at Buffalo, which was then but a small village of a few
hundred inhabitants, but conveniently situated for business. Accordingly he went there in 1819, leaving his family at WilkesBarre, but returned in 1820 and made the necessary preparations for their removal to Buffalo. This was done by wagons
drawn by horses, the only available means of transportation then. There were three wagon loads, containing such household
goods as could be moved, and the members of his family, consisting of Father, Mother, one daughter and three sons of
which I was the youngest.
In 1822 we moved to Mackinac Island in Northern Michigan, where father engaged in buying and shipping fish and furs. He
purchased two vessels and did his own forwarding and transportation, but meeting with much opposition from the American
Fur Company, whose headquarters in the west were at the time at Mackinac, he decided to remove to Green Bay (Fort
Hunter), where with his family he landed on 25 Sep 1824. Here he lived for 37 years, honored and respected by all, was
active and prominent in business and public matters, having to do with the local development of Green Bay and the
organization of the Territory of Wisconsin. He was elected a representative of the first Territorial Council in 1836 and held
many other prominent and important offices.
John Penn Arndt brought with him to his new home in the wilderness of the Fox River Valley an experience of more than
twenty years of success and failure in a business similar to that he was called upon to engage in there.
The vast resources of this region were scarcely touched, the wedge that was to open and develop it had not been driven. It
lay there in almost its pristine beauty, neglected and forgotten except for the daily wants of the few who had settled along the
banks of the river. These people saw no future. They never dreamed of the wealth that lay broadcast for hundreds of miles
around them. The rich and fertile soil, the immense forests of pine and hardwood timber ready for the ax and saw, the rivers
and streams that flowed into the Fox and Green Bay affording sites for mills and manufactures or for navigation. The location
of Green Bay was the great factor in this case, situated at the head of navigation, with a direct communication by water with
New York through the Erie Canal. [John Wallace Arndt's "History of Green Bay."]
All these facts and scenes made a strong impression on the vigorous brain of John Penn Arndt. The spirit of the age turned
to the lakes, rivers, and canals for navigation and for power. Steam was in its infancy, and railroads were unknown. He
became at once interested in the navigation and improvement of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers and the development of the
vast resources of the region drained by them. Associated with a few leading men he organized the Fox River Company, and
for the next quarter of a century was one of the active moving spirits in the development of the whole territory of Wisconsin.
In the summer of 1825 he built a Durham boat for the navigation of Fox River, similar to those he and his father had built at
Wilkes-Barre, and those previously built by the latter at Durham, Bucks County, Pa., and operated on the Delaware River. A
little pamphlet, written and published by his son John Wallace Arndt in 1894, entitled "The Early History of Green Bay and
the Fox River Valley," describes the construction of these boats and gives a graphic description of one of the early trips of
one of these boats.
In the same year he was licensed to operate a ferry-boat across the Fox River at Green Bay to the Fort Howard side of the
river, and was granted the first tavern license under the territory of Wisconsin. His experience as a vender of spirituous
liquors in the frontier town may account for his becoming one of the organizers of the first "Temperance Society" west of
Lake Michigan some years later.
84
In 1827 he built a saw mill on the Indian Reservation with the consent of the War Department. In the same year he built the
first decked scow-boat and made the first bricks burned in Wisconsin. In 1834 he built the first schooner or sailing vessel in
the Northwest, and christened it the Wisconsin. A few years later he built another vessel and called it the Mary Elizabeth,
after his two daughters.
One of the first measures for the proper development of the region was to secure the title of the several tribes of Indians
inhabiting the great Northwest to the land comprising the present state of Wisconsin, then the territory of Michigan. In 1827 a
commission was appointed with Hon. Lewis Cass, Governor of Michigan, at its head, to negotiate a treaty with these Indians,
which was subsequently held on the shores of Lake Butte des Morts, opposite Menasha. John Penn Arndt had entire charge
of the preparations for the reception and entertainment of the commission. His boats furnished the transportation and his
saw-mill the lumber for the treaty buildings and other purposes. The goods and supplies for use at the treaty were stored in
his warehouses at Green Bay, and transported by his boats to the treaty ground.
By this treaty the United States acquired all the lands in Wisconsin east of Wisconsin River and extending to Lake Michigan.
The results of the treaty did not culminate until eight years later, in 1835, which was the great boom year for Wisconsin,
when there was an immense migration of settlers from the East and South, eager to invest in the rich lands of Wisconsin.
Like all booms, it was followed by a depression two years later, caused largely by the national financial cyclone growing out
of the refusal of President Jackson to re-charter the United States Bank. Mr. Arndt's enterprises suffered with others in the
crash, but survived.
At the first election in the Territory of Wisconsin he was elected a member of the legislature, and was reelected for several
terms. He was also Probate Judge of his county, and filled other important offices. In 1836-37 he was one of the
incorporators [along with Bro. William Dickinson] of a company that built a dam across the Fox River at De Pere, four miles
south of Green Bay, and carried on a large manufacturing business, having the privilege to issue bills of credit that passed
as money. He was prominently identified with all the public affairs of his section and held in high esteem.
He died at Green Bay, 11 Jun 1861, at the ripe old age of fourscore. The issue of the Green Bay Advocate of that date has
the following obituary notice of him:
AN OLD RESIDENT GONE.—It is with feelings of sadness that we today record the death of Hon. John P. Arndt, one of the
oldest pioneers of Wisconsin. He was born in Williams Township, Pennsylvania, 20 Nov 1780; came to Mackinac about the
year 1821, and to Green Bay in November 1824, and has resided in the same house where he died since the spring of
1825. In civil life he has honorably filled many offices in the county, and was a member of the first legislature of the Territory
of Wisconsin. He was always kind and obliging in his intercourse with those around him, he was always respected and
honored. In the various vocations of his long and active life, he was always energetic and persevering. He built the first saw
mill and the first sail vessel ever built west of Lake Michigan, and lived to see thousands succeed them. From a half dozen
families in the little village of Green Bay, in the Territory of Michigan, in 1824, he has lived to see grow up around him the
great state of Wisconsin, numbering over seven hundred thousand. Strong in body and in mind, he has been among the
foremost in the affairs of our city and county, and was capable of the transaction of business up to the last hours of his
sickness. He has gone to his rest at a good old age, and we shall miss the venerable form of the "old man" in our
accustomed walks.
Flags throughout the city yesterday were displayed at half mast in token of respect to the deceased.
He married at Greenwich Presbyterian Church, Warren County, New Jersey, 7 Mar 1803, Elizabeth Carpenter, daughter
of Baltzer Carpenter, of Greenwich Township, opposite Easton, where she was born 7 Aug 1780. It seems, however, that
he did not take her to Wilkes-Barre until after the death of his father, as his first child, Philip Arndt, was born in Greenwich
Township, 16 Mar 1804, and was baptized some months later at Greenwich Presbyterian Church. There is also a traditional
story, told by her grandchildren that she had related to them experiences of her removal from Greenwich to Wilkes-Barre on
horseback carrying her infant child. She died at Green Bay 10 Jun1860.
Members of the Carpenter family removed with John Penn Arndt and his wife to Wilkes-Barre, and some of them later
followed or accompanied them to Wisconsin.
CHILDREN OF JOHN PENN AND ELIZABETH (CARPENTER) ARNDT
156. PHILIP ARNDT,
b. 16 Mar 1804; drowned in Susquehanna River at Wilkes-Barre in 1817, while catching
driftwood.
157. ALEXANDER HAMILTON ARNDT, b. 1805; d. 10 Oct 1847; married Caroline Albright.
158. BALTUS ARNDT,
died in infancy.
159. MARY BUDLEMEN ARNDT,
born Oct. 31,1809; died Sept. 6,1896; married John Winslow Cotton.
160. CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY ARNDT, b. 31 Oct 1811; d. 11 Feb 1842 (shot and killed on the floor of the Assembly
by a colleague, James R, Vineland; John Penn Arndt was in the hall at the time of incidet); married Catharine Ann Marsh.
[ref: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/do/digitalbookshelf/29265221/29265221.part_06.pdf page 235]
161. JOHN WALLACE ARNDT,
b. 15 Sep 1815; d. 12 Jan 1897; married Mary Catharine Wilcox.
Ibid. page 234:
Lt. John Winslow Cotton (later Captain) who married Mary Budleman Arndt (above):
MARY BUDLEMAN ARNDT (159), daughter of John Penn and Elizabeth (Carpenter) Arndt, born at Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 31 Oct
1809; died at Green Bay, Wisconsin, 16 Sep 1896. She married, 6 May 1825, Captain John Winslow Cotton, U.S.A. He
was born at Plymouth, MA, 29 Mar 1800, and died at Green Bay, Wisconsin, 10 Sep 1878. He graduated at West Point in
the class of 1823, and was inducted into the United States Army as second lieutenant. At the time of his marriage he was
captain in command at Fort Howard, Wisconsin. He served with distinction during the Civil War.
85
John was the son of Rossiter Cotton (23 March 1758- August 1837) and Priscilla Jackson.
The ‘Cotton House’ was built on top of a hill by John Penn Arndt for his daughter upon her marriage to Lt. Cotton.
http://www.cardcow.com/61347/the-cotton-house-green-bay-wisconsin-green-bay/
The large white house on the ridge is "Cotton House," built about 1840 by John P. Arndt as a home for his daughter and her
retired Army officer husband, Capt. and Mrs. John Winslow Cotton.
Considered one of the finest examples of Jeffersonian architecture in the Middle West, it was moved to its present location,
restored and furnished by the Brown County Historical Society in the 1930's.
Adjacent to "Cotton House" is a small structure built as a law office for Henry S. Baird,
"Father of the Wisconsin Bar" in the early 1830's.
Remodelled as a residence, it was acquired by the Historical Society,
restored and later moved to this spot [Heritage Hill State Historical Park, Green Bay] in 1960.
Mrs. Cotton likewise entered the United States service during the war. She was mustered in July 6, 1861, as a nurse in the
field hospital corps of the Fourth Wisconsin Regiment, with which she served one year.
CHILDREN OF CAPTAIN JOHN W. AND MARY B. (ARNDT) COTTON
421. JOHN ROSSITER COTTON,
b. 6 Jul 1826; d. 24 Dec1899; married Carrie Augusta Redfern.
422. ELIZABETH ARNDT COTTON,
married Charles Royal Tyler.
423. PRISCILLA JACKSON COTTON,
b. 4 Jul 1833; d. 30 Jun 1855; married Colonel James Henry Howe.
424. MARY GORDON COTTON,
b. 31 Aug 1836; d. 4 Jan 1893; married Colonel James Henry Howe.
425. CHARLES ARNDT COTTON,
b. 6 Aug 1845; lived in Green Bay; married Allene Jane Kennedy.
See also “Chapters in Fox River Valley history,” by John Wallace Arndt, Lyman Copeland Draper.
http://books.google.com/books?id=ik8VAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA180&lpg=PA180&dq=%22John+Wallace+Arndt%22&source=bl&ots
=AE84K9WVLF&sig=0ZV9yg7uVYyYcttJ1bhHyY8xmz8&hl=en&ei=fIyQSv_3CJSwlAeipoyDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Henry Baird, 1856
Henry Samuel Baird (16 May 1800-3 Apr 1875) was a lawyer, politician, b.
Dublin, Ireland. He migrated to Pittsburgh with his family about 1805, and studied
law in Pennsylvania and Ohio. In 1822 he went to Mackinac Island, Michigan
Territory, where he taught school and, in 1823, was admitted to the bar. He
moved to Green Bay and, at a special term of Judge Doty's court held on Oct. 4,
1824, was admitted to practice before the territorial court, the first professional
lawyer to practice in what is now Wisconsin. Prominent in Indian affairs, he was a
counsel for the Winnebago and Menominee tribes during negotiations for sale of
their land in 1830, a secretary to Henry Dodge during the signing of the Treaty at
the Cedars (1836), and a secretary at the council held at Lake Poygan (1848). A
Whig, he was elected to the territorial council in 1836 and served as president
during its first session. He was attorney general for the territory (1836-1839), and
in 1846 was a delegate to the Wisconsin constitutional convention, and in 1853
the Whig nominee for governor. In 1861-1862 he was mayor of Green Bay. Baird
retired from active practice in 1865.
86
Elizabeth Baird, 1879
Elizabeth Therese (Fisher) Baird (1810-1890) b. Prairie du Chien, settled with her
mother in Mackinac in 1812. After marrying Henry S. Baird in 1824, she acted as an
interpreter for his French clientele and, because of her wide knowledge of the area
and its inhabitants, contributed greatly to his success in law and politics. A woman of
great personal charm and intelligence, her home was a center of Green Bay society
for many years. Their reminiscences and memoirs have provided a rich source of
knowledge of early Wisconsin history.
--------The Grand Lodge mourns the death and weeps at the grave of Past Grand Master
Henry S. Baird. He died at his home in Green Bay, April 30th, 1875. His funeral
occurred May 4th; the rites at the grave were the Master Mason's service; they were
conducted by the officers of the Grand Lodge. The brethren of Washington Lodge,
No. 21, and Desperes Lodge, No. 85, participated in the ceremonies, together with
many friends and citizens of the vicinage, the funeral cortege being upwards of a mile
in length.
Bro. Baird was born in Dublin, Ireland, May 16th, 1800. He came to Green Bay in the
year 1823, and was admitted to the bar; the following year he took up his residence
and resided there continuously until his death. He was therefore, the oldest of the bar of Wisconsin at his decease. He
actively practiced his profession until 1860; since then, he devoted himself chiefly to office business rather than to litigations
in the courts.
Bro. Baird received the symbolic degrees of Masonry in Menominee Lodge at Green Bay, in the year either of 1824 or 1825.
This Lodge was created by a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of New York, issued in 1824, followed by a charter, which
was granted December 3d, 1824. It was the first Lodge organized within the- present limits of Wisconsin; and is said to have
been, at its date, the first Lodge north or west of Detroit. Bro. Baird himself said of it—" it was the forerunner of civilization
and the introduction of the arts; the harbinger of peace and good will unto men." It continued in existence until 1830, when it
ceased to work. Bro. Baird, from 1826 to 1830, was its Worshipful Master, and upon the organization of Washington Lodge,
No. 21, he was, for the first four years of its existence, its Worshipful Master.
In 1852 he was chosen Senior Grand Warden of this Grand Lodge (Wisconsin), and in the years 1856 and 1857 was elected
its Most Worshipful Grand Master. In 1853 he was elected Grand King; in 1854 Deputy Grand High Priest; and in 1855
Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Wisconsin. At the organization of the Grand Commandery
of Wisconsin he was elected to the office of Grand Captain General.
He was a member and President of the first Territorial Council in 1836, and was a member of the Constitutional Convention
in 1846. He served also as Mayor of the city of his home, and in other public trusts and offices.
He was a pioneer in all aspects of the term—in his early coming to this State, then a part of the Territory of Michigan, in the,
to us, long ago time of 1823, a poor boy, to hew and carve out, as he did, an honorable and useful life; in Masonry, as
Master of the first Lodge established within our borders. He was devotedly attached to the Craft, and he served it well and
faithfully, both in high office and in simple membership. He honored all offices that he filled, whether civil or Masonic; he was
true and able, just and conscientious in all. His brethren — and all his friends not less—will tenderly cherish his memory, as
being that of a pure, upright man, who discharged every duty faithfully, accurately and laboriously, who lived in all respects
honored, and who died in all respects regretted. [Ref.
http://books.google.com/books?id=erxLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA121&dq=%22Henry+S.+Baird%22+%22grand+master%22#v=onepage&q=%22H
enry%20S.%20Baird%22%20%22grand%20master%22&f=false page 121.]
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/h/u/n/Dorothy-H-Huntley/GENE11-0002.html#CHILD5
HENRY SAMUEL BAIRD (HENRY SAMUEL1) b. 16 May 1800 Dublin, Northern Ireland; d. 30 Apr 1875 in Green Bay,
Brown, Wisconsin; m. ELIZABETH THERESE FISHER 22 Aug 1824 in Mackinac Island, Michigan Territory, d/o HENRY
FISHER and MARIANNE LASALIERE, b. 24 Apr 1810 Prairie du Chien, Crawford, Michigan Territory; d. 5 Nov 1890 in
Green Bay, WI.
Children:
i. ELIZA ANN BAIRD,
b. 12 Sep 1825, Mackinac Island, Michigan Territory; d. 25 Mar 1915, Green Bay, WI.
ii. EMELIA VIRGINIA BAIRD, b. 25 Mar 1829, Green Bay, Michigan Territory; d. 12 May 1844.
iii. MARY ELENOR BAIRD,
b. 18 Jun 1831, Green Bay, Michigan Territory; d. 21 Aug 1833.
iv. LOUISE SOPHIA BAIRD, b. 05 Feb 1833, Green Bay, Michigan Territory; d. 26 Jan 1911, Winnetka, Cook, Illinois.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyoswego/obits/obits2.html
Hunter Crane - Oswego Commercial Times, Oswego, New York, Tues., April 13, 1858
Death of an Old and Valued Citizen. - It was our melancholy duty yesterday to record the death of another of our oldest ,
most prominent and respected citizens. Hunter Crane died at his residence, in this city, on Sunday morning, the 11th inst.,
between seven and eight o clock after a somewhat protracted illness. Mr. Crane was born at South East, Dutchess county,
on 1 Mar 1791 [son of Isaac Crane and Anna Sears], and consequently had but just passed the 67th year of his age. [He
had 7 siblings, Henry, Sara, Charles, Ralph, Della, Albert and Isaac, of which Hunter was the 5 child]
87
He embarked in commerce in early life, the junior partner of the venerable Samuel F. Hooker, at Sackets Harbor, who still
survives him, though many years his senior. His house had extensive dealings with the officers and government of the
United States, connected with the Army and navy in the War of 1812; and subsequently Mr. Crane and his family proceeded
with a detachment of the Army to Fort Howard, Green Bay, where he resided for two years, occupied as Army sutler.
On his return from the Western Frontier, Mr. Crane settled at Salina, and was connected with extensive mercantile
operations for several years, after which he established himself at Oswego in 1842, where he spent the remainder of his life,
actively engaged in the commerce of the city and lakes, charged in addition with the agency of several insurance
companies.
Mr. Crane has been connected with the commerce of the Lake Counties for almost half a century, and has witnessed its
unparalleled growth from infancy to its present magnitude; and whatever of material wealth he may have left to his heirs, he
leaves them a legacy more valuable than gold, the reputation of a sagacious and talented merchant of unimpeachable
integrity.
In domestic life he was benevolent and charitable, a true and faithful friend, a kind and indulgent parent and a devoted
husband. in death his memory will be cherished by a community which, in life, ever esteemed him for his excellent qualities
of head and heart. Mr. Crane has always been in sentiment Episcopalian - to the Episcopal Church, in its doctrines and
forms, he was greatly attached. Not having been baptized in childhood he was not a communicant of the Church, though
always a devout and conscientious worshiper until within the last few months. he had long felt the importance of something
more than he had done to give him the comfort of a reasonable religious hope.
He was baptized into the Church in February last, before his last illness, and afterwards received the Holy Communion at his
house. Since his baptism there has been a marked change, not so much in his outward conduct, which had long been that
of a conscientious man, as in the cheerful state of his mind in view of the steps he had taken to identify himself with the
church. He had now the Christian hope, and he was no longer reserved on the subject of religion. It became the topic of
frequent conversation with his family as it was the uppermost thing in his thoughts, and he was ready for any personal
question which might be asked him upon that solemn subject. He enjoyed the conversation and prayers of his Christian
friends, many of whom have been to see him in the course of his sickness. But he seemed to enjoy most of all the solemn
forms to which he had become familiarized, and frequently asked for the service of his Church to be read at his bed side.
And thus he passed away, giving tokens to all around him, upon which his friends will delight to dwell, of the sustaining and
comforting power of a calm and unwavering trust in the merits of his Redeemer.
-----William Dickinson
http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/th/read/DICKINSON/2005-10/1129244069
William Dickinson was born in Middlebury, Addison County, VT, and died 27 Oct 1848 probably in De Pere or Green Bay,
Brown County, WI. He married Elizabeth Irwin June 23, 1825 in Shantytown, Brown County, WI, daughter of Robert Irwin
[Sr.] and Catherine ____. She was born 3 Aug 1807 in Erie, PA, and died 20 Feb 1891 in De Pere. She was the sister of
Robert Irwin [Jr.] noted in the sketch below.
The beginning of De Pere dates from 1829 when William Dickinson, the founder of De Pere [about 8 miles south of the
present city of Green Bay on the Fox River], foresaw the site's water power potential and organized the De Pere
Manufacturing Company. In 1837 the first dam was built by John P. Arndt, Charles Tollar [Tuller?], and Wm. Dickinson.
(note below that one of William’s son was named ‘Charles Tuller (Tollar?). William was also the first postmaster there.
They had the following children:
i. Elizabeth Dickinson.
She married Theodore Cady Bromley; d. 22 Jul 1907 in Marinette, WI.
ii. Robert Dickinson,
b. De Pere, Brown County, WI.
iii. Catherine Dickinson,
b. ca 1826 in Shantytown; died aft. 1829 (young).
iv. Mary Jane Dickinson,
b. 1828; d. 1 May 1881 in De Pere, WI. m. Col. Maurice Maloney 25 Sep 1851 in Green Bay; b.
1813 in Limerick, Ireland; d. 8 Jan 1872 in De Pere.
v. Charles Tuller Dickinson, b. 9 Apr 1834 in De Pere; d. 15 Apr 1885 in West De Pere; m. Mercena Leonard Newton 8 Jul
1854 in Brown County, WI; b. 18 Jul 1835 in LaPoint, Lake Superior; d. 21 Jun 1912 in Plymouth, WI.
vi. George Dickinson,
b. 1841 in De Pere; d. Aug 1908 in Soldiers Home, Dayton, OH.
vii. Fannie F Dickinson,
b. 1845; d. 29 Sep 1858.
viii. Zachary Taylor Dickinson, b. 23 Jun 1849 in De Pere; d. there 22 Mar 1892; m. Anna Elizabeth Anderson 1878 in De
Pere; b. 8 May 1860 in Manitowoc, WI; d. there 22 Nov 1908.
http://books.google.com/books?id=pJAUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA20&lpg=PA20&dq=%22william+dickinson%22+%22elizabeth+ir
win%22&source=bl&ots=zHlaG0aOee&sig=emSd4H7LlBXU5O2Vvpu7F7RdMnk&hl=en&ei=qOPSqHhHtTFlAes78ypDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=%22william%20dickinson%22%20%
22elizabeth%20irwin%22&f=false page 20
Mrs. Elizabeth Dickinson, born in Erie, PA, 3 Sep 1807; died at Depere, 20 Feb 1891. Her maiden name was Elizabeth
Irwin. In her early youth her parents moved with her to Detroit, Mich. In 1828 they removed to Green Bay, in this state. She
was married to Gen. William Dickinson, 23 Jun 1835; at that time [Inspector] Gen. Dickinson was keeping a store at
Shantytown, and the nuptials were celebrated at the residence which was afterwards known as the "Agency House." Among
other guests at the ceremony were the late Hon. Henry S. Baird and wife. Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson remained at Shantytown
three years, their house being consumed by fire in 1828. In 1829 they built a residence on the present site of East Depere,
where at that time there were only two or three cabins. Here Mrs. Dickinson resided the greater portion of sixty-two years,
88
and here all her children, seven in number, were born, excepting her eldest. Her husband, Gen. Dickinson, died in 1843
[1848?], leaving to her care and nurture the above mentioned family of seven young children.
“History, Winnebago County, Wisconsin: its cities, towns, resources, people . . .” by Publius Virgilius Lawson, page 365.
http://books.google.com/books?id=hvi7kkaoLCwC&pg=PA366&dq=%22william+dickinson%22+%22depere%22#v=onepage
&q=%22william%20dickinson%22%20%22depere%22&f=false
The Stambaugh Treaty was concluded 8 Feb 1831; ratified 9 Jul 1832. It was under this treaty that Winnebago Rapids was
selected for the Mission to the Menominee Indians, in which they were to be instructed in civilized ways. This treaty read, in
part:
“ . . .The following described tract of land, at present owned and occupied by the Menominee Indians, shall be set
apart and designated for their future homes, upon which their improvements as an agricultural people are to be
made: Beginning on the west side of Fox river at the Old Mill Dam,- near the -Little Kackalin,- and running up and
along said river to the Winnebago lake; thence along said lake to the mouth of Fox river; thence up Fox river to the
Wolf river to a point southwest of the west corner of the tract herein designated for the New York Indians; thence
northeast to said west corner; thence southeast to the place of beginning; the above reservation being made to the
Menominee Indians for the purpose of weaning them from their wandering habits, by attaching them to comfortable
homes . . .”
Contract to erect the buildings for the Menominee Mission was let to [Inspector] Gen. William Dickinson, who had arrived in
Green Bay with a stock of provisions and groceries in the fall of 1820, being the second American storekeeper, Daniel
Whitney being the first, who arrived in the summer of the same year. In 1859 Mr. Whitney was still alive, but Dickinson had
died in 1849. In 1827 during the Winnebago outbreak Gen. Dickinson and Col. Ebenezer Childs raised a company of sixtytwo Oneida and Stockbridge Indians, which was mustered into Colonel Whistler's detachment at the Little Butte des Morts,
from whence they marched to Portage, where Colonel Childs received the surrender of Red Bird and his fellow murderers.
In 1824 Gen. William Dickinson lived at Shantytown, Menomineeville, or Allouez, about two miles above Green Bay (Fort
Howard), as variously called, which was likewise the home of the English speaking colony, Governor Doty, Mr. Whitney,
Robert Irwin, senior and junior, and their wives. Mr. Whitney and Mr. Irwin each had a store. About 1830 General
Dickinson removed to Depere. He seems to have been the successful bidder for the construction of the mission buildings
at Winnebago Rapids [now Neenah]. Engaging a force of about forty mechanics, they set to work to construct the buildings
for the mission—the sawmill with its up-and-down saw, grist mill with one run of buhr stone, the blacksmith shop, the wing
dam and the canal. This was a large undertaking in those days and required a large amount of capital or a large credit, as
$19.000 had been set apart for the work, and before the work was complete the contract was transferred to Daniel Whitney,
of Green Bay.
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Lower Fox River Basin from Green Bay to De Pere and Neenah (Winnebago Rapids) at Lake
Winnebago
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/gmu/lowerfox/images/lfbasin.jpg
89
------William Farnsworth (26 Sep1796 – 7 Sep 1860) pioneer fur trader, lumberman, b. Vermont. He moved to Wisconsin from
Canada in 1818 and settled in the Green Bay district, where he was employed by the American Fur Company. Quarrelsome
and belligerent, Farnsworth was dismissed from the company in 1819, and established himself as an independent trader at
the present site of Marinette. There, due to the influence and assistance of his wife, the half-Menominee Marinette Chevalier
[Queen Marinette] (q.v.), he developed a prosperous trade. During the winter of 1831-1832, in partnership with Charles R.
Brush of Detroit, he built the first sawmill on the Menominee River. In 1833, Farnsworth moved to the site of Sheboygan,
established a lumber and real-estate business and built the first sawmill on the Sheboygan River. He was drowned when the
excursion steamer "Lady Elgin" sank in Lake Michigan.
-------He moved to Wisconsin from Canada in 1818 and settled in the Green Bay
district, where he was employed by the American Fur Company. Quarrelsome
and belligerent, Farnsworth was dismissed from the company in 1819, and
established himself as an independent trader at the present site of Marinette.
There, due to the influence and assistance of his wife, the half-Menominee
Marinette Chevalier [Queen Marinette] (see next paragraph), he developed a
prosperous trade. During the winter of 1831-1832, in partnership with Charles R.
Brush of Detroit, he built the first sawmill on the Menominee River. In 1833,
Farnsworth moved to the site of Sheboygan, established a lumber and real-estate
business and built the first sawmill on the Sheboygan River. He was drowned
when the excursion steamer "Lady Elgin" sank in Lake Michigan.
Queen Marinette [Marinette Chevalier Jacobs] 1793 – 1865, fur trader, b. Post
Lake, Wis. She was the daughter of a Menominee Indian mother and Bartholemy
Chevalier, a French trapper. Her first husband, Jean B. Jacobs, a fur trader and
school teacher, deserted her about 1823, and she became the common-law wife
of William Farnsworth, with whom she lived until he abandoned her about 1833.
Farnsworth's successful opposition to John Jacob Astor's American Fur Co.
was largely due to Marinette's Menominee kinship and to her skill as a trader.
After Farnsworth left her, she carried on the fur trade with her children until about
1854, often advising the Menominee on dealings with white settlers, lumber
90
companies, and the U.S. government. She was well-known for her charity work with impoverished and sick residents of the
area, and the city and county of Marinette adopted her name in tribute. She was not a queen, and her name "Marie-nette"
(Little Marie) was probably used to distinguish her from other girls named Marie; some authors have also speculated that it
was a contraction of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, who died the same year Marinette was born.
------The name of William Farnsworth, the founder of Sheboygan, who in 1818 first visited the site on which this city stands,
appears on the first ledger of the Security National bank. This old book was used in 1856 when the bank was first organized
under the name of the German bank.
Farnsworth belonged to the fearless and enterprising clan of early-day American fur traders who braved the dangers of the
wilderness to traffic with the Indians for their valuable pelts. Very little of written record is available on Farnsworth, because
he had few intimates, and except for one article written by Judge Morgan Lewis Martin in the State Historical society
collection, there is a dearth of reminiscence available.
Farnsworth was born probably in Vermont or New York about 1795, but entered the fur trade at Montreal, Canada. Of a bold
and impetuous temperament which made him a successful trader, he soon broke with the American Fur Co., in whose
employ he originally was, and entered the field as an independent trader.
Among the Canadians these independent traders were known as "couriers du bois," and since they were without authority
from the government to engage in the Indian trade, their goods might be confiscated wherever found, and their life was in
constant jeopardy. Farnsworth set up his establishment near Marinette, and the story is told that the company sent a band of
Indians to eject him from the Wisconsin trading territory which they considered their exclusive field. The warriors filed into his
cabin, the purpose of their visit being apparent to him. He defied them, however, and to show his mettle, he placed a burning
candle on an open keg of powder standing in the middle of the floor. This was too much of a test for the Indians' nerve, and
as the flame burned lower and lower, one after the other of the Indians filed out, the last few pell-mell, leaving Farnsworth in
undisputed possession.
He built a sawmill here in 1835 and a warehouse, which he operated in partnership with Charles D. Cole, and except for
three or four years after the panic of 1837, when he lived in Milwaukee, he lived here the rest of his life. Members of the
family have been members of the community from time to time since and are well known.
Farnsworth was one of the victims of the "Lady Elgin" disaster in 1860, when the steamer went down off Kenosha during an
excursion out of Milwaukee, with a loss of several hundred lives. He lies buried in Wildwood cemetery, a part of his original
purchase of half the village site when Sheboygan was first platted during the 30's.
The date of his first visit to this spot was in 1818 when on an exploration trip he landed here. The party, in birch-bark canoes,
continued their way into the interior, their trip taking them as far as St. Louis.
Sketch of William Farnsworth
by Hon. Morgan Lewis Martin
http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=%2Fwhc&CISOPTR=3357&REC=0&CISOBOX=farnsworth
[This article originally appeared in the Bay City Press of Green Bay Sept 22d 1860. The disaster alluded to in which William
Farnsworth lost his life was the sinking of the Lady Elgin, Sept 7, 1860. The Evergreen City Times stated that Mr.
Farnsworth first visited Sheboygan as early as 1814, was there a few months in 1818 as a trapper and Indian trader and
finally went there to reside in 1835, and with the exception of three or four years residence in Milwaukee after the revulsion
of 1837 he ever after continued to reside in Sheboygan. He was at the time of his death about sixty five years of age; and
when his remains were recovered they were conveyed to Sheboygan where they were interred with Masonic and civil
honors.]
There was one victim to the terrible accident on Lake Michigan whose loss should call forth more than a passing notice
when the writer of this article first came to the west he found among the few eastern adventurers who had already preceded
him an active energetic and persevering spirit in the person of William Farnsworth He was at that period engaged in the
prosecution of the fur trade and resided in a place now known as Marinette on the Menomonee river. The family name is
highly respected and well known in northern New York and Vermont and some of its numerous heritors with the ScotchAmerican disposition so characteristic of the locality in which they were born had followed the track of the early Jesuits into
the western wilderness.
The subject of this sketch first came to Mackinaw and Green Bay nearly forty years ago as a clerk of the American Fur
Company of a bold enterprising and independent character. He chafed under the restraints which were held with an iron
grasp by their agents over all persons in their employ and soon found himself at the head of an establishment in opposition
to the regular clerk of the company. At that period it was no easy task to undertake the prosecution of a trade with the native
tribes of this region except with the countenance at least of the government agents and the great fur company with John
Jacob Astor, and his immense wealth at its head, exercising almost despotic sway over them as well as all others in the
region now known as the state of Wisconsin. Everybody was in their interest and their influence with the Indian tribes was so
powerful that the man who undertook the hazardous task of thwarting their plans for profit did so at the peril of his property
and even of his life.
But nothing daunted, Farnsworth secured his outfit of goods and provisions for a winter supply and planted himself alone in
the heart of the Menomonee country. He had scarcely located and sheltered himself in a rude log cabin when a large
delegation of the head men of the tribe called to pay him a visit and to warn him that he must quit their country without delay
or that his stores would be sacrificed as their lawful prize and resistance would cost him his life. There were fifteen or twenty
91
of these stalwart sons of the forest seated around his cabin when these threats were uttered while he was attended by only
a single man so terrified that his assistance could not be relied on if force alone were to decide the contest in this dilemma.
Farnsworth seized a keg of powder placed it in the centre of the room and fixed a stump of burning candle in the orifice at
the top. He then addressed them in a calm but determined tone of voice that he knew they were “braves" — that he also was
a “brave" of the white men; and if his property and life must be sacrificed they must all suffer the same fate. No truly brave
man should ever fear death. Nothing further was said but as the candle had nearly burned out one after another of the
Indians left the house in great haste, and the trader having got rid of his visitors extinguished the lighted candle.
The sequel of the matter was that he continued his trade through many winters unmolested, and his powder plot or scheme
by which the threats of the Indians were counteracted and which convinced them of his fearless courage and resolute
determination to pursue his vocation and stay among them as a trader made a large portion of the tribe his devoted friends.
The danger of his position however and the difficulties he had to encounter continued for many years for there was then no
civil law by which rights could be enforced or wrongs redressed; but the establishment of our territorial government and the
immediate influx of a large population eventually destroyed the Indian trade and Farnsworth with others abandoned his old
trading post, emerged into civilized life and engaged in other pursuits.
For the last twenty-five years he has been a resident of Sheboygan having been one of the first proprietors and settlers at
that place the first lumbering establishment on Menomonee River was started under his auspices as well as the first upon
the Sheboygan river and in all his plans of business a strength of will and a determination of character were exhibited which
under most un propitious circumstances would ordinarily insure success we have spoken of him only as the fearless and
enterprising pioneer we can also bear our personal testimony to the cordiality of his friendship and if his enmities were many
and implacable we ac count for them rather as the fruit of the constant and unscrupulous warfare always attendant upon
rivalry in the prosecution of the fur trade than springing from natural bitterness of disposition or a cold and selfish spirit at his
old home on the Menomonee we have often at an early day partaken of his generous hospitality and in later years have
looked back with unalloyed pleasure upon many hours of social intercourse without one un pleasant thought to embitter the
recollection of his uniform kindness and liberality.
His course in life has been varied and interesting he abandoned the pleasures of civilized society to brave the hardships and
privations of the frontier; he staked without fear, life fortune and hope in an unequal encounter with a powerful rival for
pecuniary profit. He devoted a life time to the slow progress which converts a wilderness to civilization, and when all his
hopes were ripened into fruition reposing in fancied security from harm he fell a victim to dangers he had so often and
habitually courted. Yet despised when the lives and sacrifices of those adventurous spirits who penetrated and reclaimed
the forests of Wisconsin are recorded by the future historian the name of William Farnsworth will be entitled to a prominent
place.
In submitting the preceding sketch to Judge Martin in 1879 for revision or addition he returned it with the following remarks:
No one could have dictated the notice of Farnsworth but my self as no other person answers the requisite description of
having visited his old home at Menomonee at an early day and partaken of his hospitality. I first went there with him in the
fall of 1828 and staid some days; and again in 1829 with a party of officers from the Ft. Howard garrison staying on a frolic
three or four days. Again in the summer of 1830 or 31 he invited me to see the 'raising' of his mill — the first one on the river
when I spent several days. In fact I was the only intimate he had in those days, and the exploits referred to were received
from his own lips. I learned more from these visits than from any other source of the methods of managing Indians of the
Indian trade and of the unscrupulous manner in which opposition traders treated each other .
When Farnsworth first went to Sheboygan in 1834 or 35, [William] Payne was there and had "squatted" upon a mill-site near
Sheboygan Falls and had commenced the erection of a mill. A party consisting of Farnsworth and others of whom I was one
bought him out and completed and run the mill. At the first land sale in 1835 we could not secure a preemption not having
been there and improved the property. In June 1834 as the law required the land was that fall purchased by me at public
sale. No one bidding against me, as an actual occupant of the land.
Payne left there for Milwaukee after selling and I don't know what afterwards became of him. He was never an Indian trader
in the true sense of the term; but probably had a small quantity of goods with which to conciliate the Indians when he came
and sat down on his claim and to supply his employees. There was no white man at Sheboygan when I was there in July
1833 on my return from Milwaukee.
Ref. Recollections of Wisconsin, by Col. Ebenezer Childs, Wis. Hist. Coll. iv, 156 and xx,
345, 358. Also Early History and Condition of Wisconsin, by Henry S. Baird, Wis. Hist. Coll.
ii, 84 and xx, 345. [saved on disk to OMDHS archives]
----< Dr. Lyman Foot(e) made friends readily. He attained a large practice. Many would send
for him who had always depended upon home remedies. His first wife was a delightful
person, although somewhat retiring in manner. Two of their sons were born at the old fort.
Dr. Foot was ordered to Fort Winnebago, where his wife died. After a few years he came
here and married Miss Mary Cooper (in 1836), who made an excellent mother for his
children, who became very fond of her. She was much beloved by her friends. When Dr.
Foot was ordered to Fort Winnebago, Dr. Satterlee succeeded him. Dr. Foot died 24 Oct
1846 at Port Lavaca, Texas.
“The Army Medical Department, 1818-1865,” by Mary C. Gillett .
92
http://143.84.107.69/booksdocs/civil/gillett2/amedd_1818-1865_pic20.jpg
(Photo courtesy of National Library of Medicine.)
The shortage of physicians was increasingly irritating to Lawson when he became Surgeon General. To the Secretary of
War in 1839 he bristled, "Now a days an officer cannot march eight miles with a Sergeants Guard without having a Surgeon
attached to his Command, in other words without his own special staff." In 1840 he lashed out at Lyman Foot, then the
Medical Director in Florida, apparently because Foot, in letting surgeons leave after only two years of service, was adding to
Lawson's difficulties in providing adequate medical support. Lawson brushed aside Foot's statement that he understood that
two-year assignments were official policy, and accused Foot of being concerned only with popularity. When, a few months
later, the general then commanding in Florida publicly and wholeheartedly praised Foot's work, Lawson raged at what he
said was interference with his management of
his department
. . . The facilities available for the patients of
the Madison Barracks' [at Sacket’s Harbor,
NY] surgeon were, like so many in the North,
old and inadequate. They consisted of three
rooms located at the far end of the enlisted
men's barracks. One room was used as a
dispensary, the other two were used as wards.
One ward was approximately 400 square feet
and the second almost twice that, but
chimneys took up much of the space in both.
As a result, the facility could hold only
eighteen beds, two or three of which were
regularly used by hospital attendants. On the
basement level of this wing were two "matron's
rooms," a "bathing room," and a "kitchen and
eating room."
The post surgeon at Madison Barracks in 1838 emphasized that the rooms occupied by the sick there were never intended
to be used as a hospital and so "of course [were] extremely defective in arrangements as well as in other important
particulars." Among the defective arrangements were those for ventilation. Furthermore, in the surgeon's opinion, hospitals
should also be entirely separate from barracks. By 1839, however, the construction of a new and separate hospital, built of
limestone and designed by the Surgeon General's Office with modifications by the post surgeon, was underway. The main
body of the building contained the ward for the sick, while a bathing room occupied one wing and a morgue a second. Only
the site itself appears to have been criticized: it was judged too near a freshwater stream and too exposed to the wind during
long winters. Furthermore, a steep ravine that lay between the hospital and the barracks made the hospital inaccessible
during the heavy snows characteristic of that part of the country.
http://books.google.com/books?id=0xYaAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA331&lpg=PA331&dq=%22lyman+foote%22&source=bl&ots=3OU
z-ioLPU&sig=JRdZtPI8QhO0A_oQN7A0KfEC5U&hl=en&ei=qj2MStyTG5D6MIrgxZMO&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&
q=%22lyman%20foote%22&f=false page 267.
DOCТOR LYMAN FOOTE, M.D., of the Army of the United States, b. 12 Apr 1796 Wallingford, CT;
d. of Fever and Dysentery at Port Lavacca, Texas, 24 Oct 1846, aged 50. He was a graduate of
the Medical Department of Yale College. He was twice married.
1. To Ann Treadwell Platt, daughter of Isaac C. Platt, of Plattsburg, NY, 26 Aug 1821; b. 15 Nov
1803; d. at Fort Winnebago, Michigan Territory, 6 Oct 1832; buried at Fort Crawford (soon after
the birth of Mary Ann on 22 Sep 1832). These Platts were descendants of the Founders of
Plattsburg, NY. [Isaac C., son of Charles, son of Zephaniah (Sr.) Platt; Zephaniah Jr. was a
member of Holland Lodge No. 8, NYC, in 1803].
2. To Mary Morris Cooper, daughter of Isaac Cooper and Mary Ann Morris, of Cooperstown, NY,
12 Sep 1836. Grand daughter of William Cooper [for whom Cooperstown, Otsego, NY, is
named – portrait at right] and Elizabeth Fenimore. Isaac was the brother of the author, James
Fenimore Cooper.
Ref: http://external.oneonta.edu/cooper/articles/nyhistory/1917nyhistory-cooper.html
Dr. Foote served at Fort Winnebago, Territory of Michigan, from 1834 to 1839.
Children,—by his first wife.
3206 Henry Smith,
b. 07 Jul 1823 West Point, NY; d. 24 Mar 1827.
3207 Ann Platt,
b. 23 Aug 1824 Fort Brady, MT; d. 18 Sep 1825.
3208 Isaac Platt,
b. 23 Sep 1825 Fort Brady, MT; a Graduate of Geneva College, NY; d. 1880, Plattsburg, NY
3209 Zephaniah Charles, b. 01 Feb 1827 Plattsburg, NY; a Graduate of Geneva College, NY
3210 Henry Davis,
b. 27 Mar 1829 Fort Howard, Green Bay; d. 9 Jun 1830.
3211 Caroline Adriance,
b. 03 Jul 1830 Fort Howard, Green Bay.
3212 Mary Ann,
b. 22 Sep 1832 Fort Crawford, Prairie du Chien. Territory of Michigan; d. 1877.
Children,—by his second wife.
3213 Lyman,
b. 30 Aug 1837 Fort Winnebago; d. 25 Sep 1838. bur. at Soldiers Cemetery, Fort Winnebago.
3214 Margaret,
b. 19 Sep 1839 Fort Winnebago; d. 20 Sep 1839.
93
3215 Francis Waite,
3216 Morris Cooper,
3217 Jessie Silliman,
b. 08 Jan 1842 St. Francis Barracks, St. Augustine, FL; Capt. d. 3 Oct 1878; bur. Cooperstown
b. 16 Sep 1843 Madison Barracks, Sacketts Harbor, NY
b. 01 Aug 1846 Madison Barracks, Sacketts Harbor, NY.
DOCT. LYMAN FOOTE, of Sacket's Harbor, NY, was born in Wallingford, 1796. Professor Benjamin Silliman, of Yale College,
in whose family he resided for eight years, took great interest in his early education, and in his subsequent career. After
receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine at Yale College, in 1816, and after a brief practice in a town in Connecticut, he
received in August, 1818, from Hon. John C. Calhoun, who was at that time Secretary of War, an appointment as assistant
Surgeon in the army of the United States. In time, Dr. Foote was promoted to Surgeon in 1831, and at his death, he was
fourth in rank in the army. He was in active service in the Black Hawk, Florida and Mexican Wars, and during the progress of
the last, died at Port Lavacca, in Texas, on 24 Oct 1846.
Dr. Lyman Foot(e) was the son of:
2412 LYMAN HALL FOOTE, b. 29 Jun 1773, was first of Branford, Northford Society, CT, then of Chatham, NY, and afterwards
of Hudson, NY; He married 1793 to Lucretia Page, daughter of Amos Page, of Branford, b. 14 Feb 1774; d. Mar 1813,
Chatham, NY, aged 39. Lyman died at Hudson, NY, Apr 1826, in the 53d year of his age; interred in Chatham, NY.
Children.
2911 Selina,
b. 27 Dec 1794 Northford, CT. Married Elijah Goodenough, of Chatham, NY; d. Jun 1843.
2912 Lyman,
b. 12 Apr 1796 Wallingford, CT.
2913 Rebecca R., b. 03 Aug 1797 Northford, CT.
2914 MalachiT.,
b. 10 May 1799 Northford, CT.
2915 David A.,
b. 29 May 1805 Northford, CT. Married Mary Curtis, of New Lebanon, NY; resided in Branford, CT
2916 Hannah,
b. 24 Jun 1807 Chatham, NY. Married Roswell Page, of that town; resided in Bridgeport, CT.
2917 Lydia,
b. 08 Mar 1809 Chatham, NY. Married George Whitlock, of Hudson, NY; resided in Jersey City, NJ.
2918 Gerard,
b. February 17, 1811.
Son of:
2098 CAPT. ISAAC FOOTE, of Branford, North Branford Society, CT, was twice married; died 14 Mar 1818, aged 70.
1. To Lydia Tyler, daughter of Peter Tyler, of the same town, 24 Apr 1768.
2. To Phebe Benton, of North-Guilford, CT, 20 Sep 1796. died Dec 1846, aged 80.
Children,—by his first wife.
2410 Isaac,
b. 17 Dec 1759; d. unmarried, 25 Jun 1 796, aged 27.
2411 Malachi,
b. 14 Apr 1771.
2412 Lyman Hall, b. 29 Jun 1773.
2413 Rebecca,
b. 08 Dec 1775.
2414 William,
b. 11 Oct 1799.
2415 Lois,
bap. 25 Apr 1784.
2416 Lydia,
b. 15 Dec 1785.
Children,—by his second wife.
2417 Isaac,
b. 21 May 1799.
2418 Frederick, was married, had family, and lived on the homestead in North Branford.
Son of:
1960 MAJOR ISAAC FOOTE, of Branford, Northford Society, CT, was married to Mary Hall, daughter of John Hall, of
Wallingford, CT.
He died in Greenbush, NY, 7 Oct 1755, in the 39th year of his age. His widow, Mrs. Mary Foote, died in Branford, CT, 6 May
1792, in the 74th year of her age.*
Children,
2095 Rebecca,
born April 25, 1739.
2096 Lois,
born October 30, 1740. Died September 21, 1751, in the 11th year of her age.
2097 Abigail,
born 1744. Died in early life.
2098 Isaac,
born December 4. 1747.
2099 Sally,
bap. November 8, 1753. Married a Baldwin. She survived him.
Son of:
1911 Doctor Isaac Foote, of Branford, Northford Society, CT, was married to Rebecca Dickerman, daughter of Lieut.
Abraham Dickerman, of New Haven, CT, 1709. She died 15 Oct 1757, aged 77. Isaac died 11 Feb 1758, aged 85.
Children:
1958 Jacob,
b. 19 Feb 1710; d. 8 Jul 1731, unmarried.
1959 Hannah,
b. 28 Feb 1712.
1960 Isaac,
b. 16 Jul 1717.
Son of:
2 LT. ROBERT FOOTE, B. 1627; first of Wethersfield, CT, then of that part of New Haven, CT, now known as Wallingford, and
in 1668, and thereafter, until his death, of Branford, CT, was married to Sarah _____, 1659. After his death, his widow was
married to Aaron Blachley, of Branford, CT, in 1686. They subsequently removed to Guilford, CT. Robert Foote died very
suddenly, 1681, aged 52.
Children.
1904 Nathaniel, b. 13 Apr 1660.
Birth recorded on New-Haven Records.
94
1905 Sarah,
1906 Elizabeth,
1907 Joseph,
1908 Samuel,
1909 John,
1910 Stephen,
1911 Isaac,
b. 12 Feb 1662.
Birth recorded on New-Haven Records.
b. 08 Mar 1664.
Birth recorded on New-Haven Records.
b. 06 Mar 1666.
Birth recorded on New-Haven Records.
b. 14 May 1668.
Birth recorded on New-Haven Records.
b. 24 Jul 1670.
Birth, recorded on Branford Records.
TWIN; b. 14 Dec 1672. Birth, recorded on Branford Records.
TWIN; b. 14 Dec 1672. Birth, recorded on Branford Records.
Son of:
1 Nathaniel Foote [8th grgf], b. 21 Sep 1592, of Shalford, Essex, England; d. bef 20 Nov 1644, Wethersfield, CT, aged 52;
m. Jan 1615 Elizabeth Deming, b. 1595, England; d. 28 Jul 1683, Wethersfield, CT. aged 88
Fort Winnebago - 1830
http://www.wsdar.com/fwsq/fwsq_index.htm
Fort Winnebago Surgeons' Quarters, Portage, Wisconsin
Although not within the military stockade, the
Surgeons' Quarters is the only remaining building of
Fort Winnebago. The other buildings and stockade
were destroyed by fire caused by tenants after the
Army had left the area.
Built between 1819-1824, the Surgeons' Quarters is
a true example of the log houses built by French
settlers in early Wisconsin. It was built by Francois
LeRoi, who had controlled the portaging operations
between the two rivers. With increased competition
from the American Fur Company and others at the
portage, LeRoi sold the log house to the U.S. Army in
1828, who used it as a sutler's store for six years,
then modified it to be used by the fort's medical
officer. A hospital was built nearby that same year.
Surgeon Lyman Foote, who arrived in 1834, was
probably the first doctor to occupy the Surgeons'
Quarters; his predecessors had been housed in the Officers' Quarters in the fort itself. Surgeon Foote served at Fort
Winnebago for five years. His successor, Surgeon C. H. Laub, remained until the last garrison left in 1845.
95
http://books.google.com/books?id=XTUPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA391&dq=%22Dog+Train+of+the+Northwest%22#v=onepage&q=&f
=false page 391
DOG TRAINS OP THE NORTH W EST—WITH A PRINT. Extract of a Letter from Dr. LYMAN FOOT, from Cantonment Brady, Sault
St. Marie, Lake Superior, to the Editor.
Thinking it might be some amusement to you, to see the mode of travelling in the Northwest, Mrs. Foot, has sketched a dog
train, which I enclose you. Three dogs will carry a man and his provisions. The traders travel all over the wilderness with
them, over unbeaten snow, generally following the course of rivers.
As night approaches, the traveler seeks a thicket, to protect him as much as possible from the wind. He then dig* an elliptical
hole in the snow, with a snow shoe, at one end of which a fire is built. The bottom is covered with evergreen boughs, on
which he spreads a blanket, and wraps himself up, with his feet to the fire. If the night is stormy, large evergreen boughs are
placed across the hole, supported by the walls of snow on each side. Thus the traveler and his dogs sleep comfortably, in
the coldest weather.
A more particular notice contained in a letter from Dr. Foot, to the Editor is subjoined:—
The dogs are easily trained to turn, halt, and go by word of command. The whip is only meant to crack at them or give any
one of them a severe whipping if he is obstinate. When the traveler wishes his dogs to turn to the left, he says "chuck," or
"chuch," and cracks his little whip on the right side of his train; if to the right he says "ge," and cracks it on the left side. When
they wish them to start or quicken their gate, he says " march," or "avance;" (avancez,) when they wish to turn short about,
they most commonly get out, or put one foot out, slew the train partly round and say, " vena isse," (venez ici) or as the
Canadians pronounce it" vena issit," making a motion with the little whip at the same time. It is astonishing to see with what
facility dogs are taught and managed. I own a train of dogs, one of which I broke myself. They are a great amusement to me
in winter. I frequently ride over the river, and a mile or two round for amusement, and have, with three dogs, taken my wife
and little boy a mile, to make calls on a genteel family, over the river, (a Mr. Erwatingen,) who has resided here ten years,
carrying on the fur trade.
As to the traveler's sleeping, you will hardly believe what I tell you. Those who travel with trains, think no more of sleeping in
the woods, in the coldest nights, than you would of sleeping on your dining room carpet.
http://books.google.com/books?id=KvrRAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA366&lpg=PA366&dq=%22lyman+foot%22&source=bl&ots=pcEpWNSz&sig=ZGWbDuEG43t10t_jWRQ1z7fsr0c&hl=en&ei=CSOOSszhNJCalAf45Oi2DA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum
=5#v=onepage&q=%22lyman%20foot%22&f=false page 366.
Severity of cold at Plattsburgh* on Lake Champlain.
Extract of a letter to the Editor, dated March 17, 1821, from Dr. Lyman Foot, surgeon in the United States Army.
It is now snowing violently and has been snowing for thirty six hours; the inhabitants here call it the "equinoxial storm." The
weather has been very cold at this place, during the last winter. The lake Champlain is now passable on the ice in every
direction; I have seen ice cut out of the lake this winter, which I should judge to be three feet thick. The thermometer on the
25th of January last, at Reveillee stood 23° below 0. Notwithstanding the intense cold here, we do not suffer so much as you
would naturally suppose. Every one prepares for it, and no one ventures out without being properly guarded. On that
extremely cold day, Jan. 25th, wrapped in buffaloe skins, furs, &c. J drove six miles in a sleigh without any inconvenience.
96
Fort Brady, Sault St. Marie, Michigan Territory
Dr. Foote was stationed here ca 1824-1825, when two of his children were born here.
It was at this fort that he was noted as ‘allegedly’ having requested three Indian heads
so that he could examine the skulls.
http://search.alouettecanada.ca/results?site=Maritime%20History%20of%20the%20Great%20Lakes&itype=Woodcuts&sort=
score+desc&
http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/statepostalhistory/Missouri-Western_Frontier.pdf
This shows a faint strike of the rare circle JEFF.BARRACKS/MO. townmark with the date in manuscript [30 Apr 1830].
Originating in Poland, Ohio, it traveled a very circuitous route to Kankaskia, Illinois. It was carried privately from Poland to
Jefferson Barracks, where it was placed in the mail.
The back has this notation: “Mr. Stoddard failed to take the contemplated journey & I have forwarded this by Lyman Foot
M.D. of the U.S. Army, who is stationed at Jefferson Barracks.”
The letter bitterly complains of Andrew Jackson’s closing the United States Bank
[Note: Lyman was replace by Dr. Beaumont in 1834]
97
“Life of Benjamin Silliman, M D., LL., D., late professor of chemistry, mineralogy, and geology in Yale College. Chiefly from
his manuscript reminiscences, diaries, and correspondence,” by George Park Fisher.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/textidx?c=moa&cc=moa&sid=95e3f6e828e116b80d4cccd93c806bc1&view=text&rgn=main&idno=AJN6803.0001.001
Before I went to England, I depended on accidental assistance, by hiring one and another to do the work. But in the autumn
of 1806, being at Wallingford, Mrs. Noyes recommended to me a lad of about twelve years of age, by name, [Lyman] Foot,
who soon after came to me at the College, and a sleeping-room was prepared for him in the attic of the Lyceum, in which
building was my own chamber. He did the work of the laboratory as far as he was able. During the autumnal, winter, and
spring seasons, after my return from England, in June 1806, I had my breakfast and evening tea in my chamber, - until
October 1809, when I had a better home, and this lad arranged everything satisfactorily for my comfort, while his own food
was taken in the college hall. In the summer I boarded at Mr. Twining's, in the town. Foot grew in usefulness, as in stature
and intelligence; he was studious and exemplary, and became a useful assistant in all my departments, but particularly in
chemistry. He remained with me nine years, studied medicine and surgery, received a diploma from our medical institution,
and after a short term of service in rural practice, he became surgeon in the army by the recommendation of the Professors
addressed to Mr. Calhoun, then Secretary of War. Three of us, - Mr. Day, Mr. Kingsley, and myself, - in addition to President
Dwight, had been instructors of Mr. Calhoun in Yale College, and he paid more attention to our recommendation than to that
of our demagogues, who presented their own favorites.
Dr. Foot reared an interesting family, from whom he was separated by active service in the war with the Seminoles in
Florida, and in the Black Hawk war in the region of the northern Mississippi. When more than fifty years of age, he was
ordered to join the army in the Mexican war, but his constitution, already impaired by severe service in savage warfare,
yielded to the deleterious effects of the climate, and he died of dysentery at Port La Vacca, in Texas. From the situation of a
poor boy, of unfortunate parentage, he rose by his merit to the rank of second surgeon, in point of age, in the American
army. President Dwight and the Professors gave him their friendly influence, and the medical professors gave him the fees
of their respective courses, in consideration of his merits and of his inability to purchase their tickets. After the resignation of
Dr. Foot in 1815, and until 1821, I had no regular trained assistant.
The American journal of science and arts - Google Books Result
Fort Winnebago, MT May 20, 1835. ART. II. Remarks on Indian Summers, by Dr. LYMAN FOOT, of the United States Army.
http://www.wisconsinwaterhistory.org/timeriver/upper_fox/lower_grand_swan_lake/index.htm
How Indian Summer Got Its Name
The Native Americans relied on their surroundings for almost everything. They watched the weather very closely. They knew
when some changes occurred, a new season was coming. When the Great Spirit sent the cool rains of fall, they knew it
would soon be time to move to their winter hunting grounds.
The Indians knew that nature was lulled into a sleepy time when the end of summer was near. They saw their brothers and
sisters of the forest begin gathering and storing the fruits and nuts, fish and food from the fields. They knew when the
shadows grew long and birds began flying south that winter was approaching, and they, too, must be ready for it.
In the 1830s, there was someone else watching mother nature, too. A medical officer stationed at Fort Winnebago kept track
of weather and temperature in his spare time. After watching the Menominee, Winnebago and Chippewa tribes during his
travels, Dr. Lyman Foot noticed the Indians didn't hurry to gather their crops before the first frost as the Europeans did. In
fact, it was a time when they hunted the least.
The Indians knew a few weeks of warm weather would follow the rains giving them extra time to harvest food and prepare
for their journey to the winter hunting grounds.
Dr. Foot called this weather "Indian Summer." He watched the Indians and weather for so long, he wrote a story about this
weather. The story has been repeated many times. Dr. Foot believed Indian summer was caused by west and northwest
winds following the rainy period. The red sunsets everyone saw were caused by the "smokey atmosphere" created by
prairies burning in the area. In fact, Dr. Foot wrote that the red sunsets were disappearing in the eastern United States
because of growing human settlements. The forests were being cleared to make way for that growth, and there were less
trees and prairie burning in the fall. Dr. Foot wrote in his story that, for the people of the eastern U.S., Indian summer had
disappeared!
http://www.scls.lib.wi.us/por/jones/images/00000032.pdf
Dead and Paper Towns
Wisconsinapolis was the name of an ambitious town site on the north shore of Swan Lake [to the ‘right’ of the Soldiers
Cemetery of Fort Winnebago], near its western end and located on Section 1, Town of Pacific, and Section 36, Town of Fort
Winnebago. It was executed by C. McDougall and Dr. Lyman Foot, the army surgeon of Fort Winnebago, and filed January
3, 1837. Wisconsinapolis joined the military reservation on the west, and gave it the advantage of a sort of official air in the
competition for the seat of the territorial government.
A public square was laid out near the middle of the plat 824x912 feet, and another a little to the east of the ponds adjacent to
Stone Quarry Hill, Section 36. These little lakes were designated "good water." There does not appear to have been any
conveyances of lots in this town plat, nor does it seem to have been ever formally vacated. "The journals of the Territorial
Legislature, however, do show that when the location of the territorial capital was under consideration in the legislative
Council in 1836, Wisconsinapolis received on one ballot six of the thirteen votes. This was probably more complimentary
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than in earnest, for Wisconsin City, in the Town of West Point, received a like vote, as did Portage; and a dozen other points
were complimented in like manner on subsequent ballots, Madison being finally selected."
Soon afterward another scheme was launched to boom Wisconsinapolis, Winnebago City, Baltimore City, et al. The scheme
was the building of a canal from Swan Lake to Lake George, and thence down Duck Creek to the Wisconsin. This was
calculated to get on the nerves of those who supported the Portage Canal. In 1838 the Territorial Legislature passed an act
incorporating the Marquette & Swan Lake Canal Company. James Duane Doty, Lieutenant Hovey, of Fort Winnebago, and
others, were the incorporators, and it is believed that the fine hand of Mr. Harkness was also concerned. But the schemers
made no more progress in connecting the cities of Swan Lake with Baltimore City, near the mouth of Duck Creek, than to
build a little tavern at the west end of the lake and run a ferry across its neck to the site of Wisconsinapolis.
EASTERNER LOOKING FOR WISCONSINAPOLIS
Henry Merrell relates that upon one occasion an eastern gentleman, who had heard inspiring tales of these cities around
Swan Lake, came into his store at Fort Winnebago and inquired at what hour steamboats left for Wisconsinapolis. He was
told that at the time boats were very irregular, but he could direct him to the place. The man then inquired which was the
best hotel. Mr. Merrell declined to answer that question, as he did not wish to injure his popularity as a business man by
showing partiality in the case. A few hours afterward, when he returned from the city, where no building larger than an Indian
wigwam had ever been erected and where twenty-five white men had probably never set foot, he drove rapidly by, neither
looking to the right nor the left.
Augustin Grignon (1780-1860) was a fur trader; b. Green Bay, the third son
of Pierre Grignon, Sr., and Domitelle Langlade Grignon. When his father died,
Augustin and his brother, Pierre, Jr., continued the operation of the Green Bay
store and traded during the winters. About 1805 Augustin married Nancy
McCrea, daughter of a Montreal trader and a Menominee Indian woman, and
through his wife's tribal inheritance and a purchase from Paul Ducharme in
1813, he acquired an estate of 1,520 acres north of the rapids at Kaukauna.
Here he made his home from about 1805 to 1834, trading and farming. In
1820-1821 he and Pierre, Jr., built a flourmill and gristmill at Kaukauna. In
1836 at the Treaty of the Cedars, Augustin Grignon and his eldest son,
Charles Augustin Grignon, secured payment of $16,000 owed them by the
Menominee tribe. In 1834 Augustin transferred his Kaukauna land holdings to
his sons, and from about that time until his death lived at Butte des Marts.
There, in 1857, Lyman C. Draper transcribed Augustin’s Recollections, a
highly valuable source of early Wisconsin history, which may be read at:
http://www.thenavarres.com/genealogy/histories/Grignon-Augustin%20%20Recollections.pdf
The following are the dates of the births of the children of Pierre Grignon, Sr.,
by his marriage with Domitelle De Langlade: Pierre Antoine, born 21 Oct 1777; Charles, 14 Jun 1779; Augustin, 27 Jun
1780; Louis, 21 Sep 1783; Baptist, 28 Jul 1785; Domitelle, 21 Mar 1787; Marguerite, 23 Mar 1789; Hypolite, 23 Mar
1789; and Amable, Dec 1795.
http://www.scls.lib.wi.us/por/jones/images/00000007.pdf
GRIGNON, OR FRENCH CLAIM NO. 21
Two months before the Indian uprising under Black Hawk a tract of land was conveyed by the general government to
Augustin Grignon, son of the Green Bay founder of the family, whose home was at Kaukauna, near the present Appleton.
He was born in 1780 and became famous in the development of the Fox River valley, building its first sawmill and becoming
interested in numerous townsites from Green Bay to the portage. He had served in the War of 1812 as a lieutenant in the
American army, and was a captain in the Black Hawk war. The land of Mr. Grignon was patented to him by President
Andrew Jackson April 26, 1832, and consisted of about 648 acres of the territory embraced by what are now the First ward
of the city of Portage and portions of the Second, Third and Fourth wards-in other words,Winnebago Indian lands. The
balance of Portage was still Indian territory until 1849, the year of the session of the Menominee lands.
The land was generally known as the Grignon Tract, or French Claim No. 21, and to real estate men of the present as Webb
& Bronson's plat of the town of Winnebago. The main road of the portage bounded the tract on the south, and the Indian
agency building was near its northern boundary, west of Fox River. On the opposite shore was Fort Winnebago in all the
pride of its two years. The angle in the tract, at its most northerly point, is near the junction of Conant and Adams streets,
and was mentioned in the deed as "the corner of the pickets which surround the grave of the late John Ecuyer." The tract
probably could have been conveyed to John B. L'Ecuyer, but he had conveyed his rights virtually to Mr. Grignon, who had
occupied for a time the lands in question, as well as a number of his relatives. The northern line of the Grignon tract included
not only L'Ecuyer's grave, but the old Indian burying ground, upon which [Pierre] Pauquette was about to erect the first
church between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. The deed issued from the general land office at Detroit and was
clear of any complications, save "any right or claim which the said heirs of John Ecuyer, deceased, may have in and to the
same.
http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA247&dq=%22%20Collections%20of%20the%20State%20Historical%20Society%20of
%20Wisconsin%E2%80%8E%22&lr=&id=m-M7AAAAIAAJ&output=text page 247
Augustin Grignon, living at Grand Kaukalin, was less at the Bay; and speaking but little English, though understanding and
reading it quite well, my acquaintance with him was limited. About the year 1830, he built and established himself at the
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Grand Butte des Morte, leaving his place at the Kaukalin to the care of his sons. His chief attention was given to Indian
trade, although he opened a good farm at the Grand Butte, as he had previously done at the Kaukalin. His education in the
mercantile line, at least that pertaining to the trade of the country, had been thorough; and he was noted for his penetration
and excellent judgment, and for his suavity with all. The natives held him in the utmost reverence; in fact he was the only
man in the trade who could ever cope in the least with John Lawe in influence with the Indians. Spending much of his time in
the Indian country, and speaking but little of the English language, he had but slight connection with civil life, held few public
offices; but he was regarded with much respect, as well by his own people, as the Americans and gentlemen of the army. He
was always to be met at social gatherings of the higher order, _an honored guest. Although not taking the same active
measures with his brother Louis, in educational matters, he failed not to perceive their importance, and took good care to
secure them -to the fullest extent possible in the country, for his children.
Augustin Grignon was noted for his almost princely hospitality. No man, woman or child ever met a frown at his door, or went
hungry away. His home was indeed one to the weary wayfarer; and we would invariably say, "only let us reach Augustin's
before dark, and we shall be happy"—and so indeed we were. His house was often crowded at night with travelers to the
great inconvenience of himself and family; but the cordial welcome, the bland smile and the bountiful good cheer, never
failed, and all without fee or reward, except that rich one felt by every good man conscious of a generous action. His death
occurred in 1860, at the good old age of eighty years.
http://www.scls.lib.wi.us/por/columbia/images/00000009.pdf
Alexander Seymour Hooe, of Virginia, was a cadet from 1823 to 1827, when he entered the army as a Brevet Second
Lieutenant. He became First Lieutenant in 1833; a Captain in 1838; Brevet Major, for gallant and distinguished conduct in
the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, May 9, 1816; lost an arm in August following; died at Baton Rouge, La.,
December 9, 1847.
http://www.archive.org/stream/asothersseechica000174mbp/asothersseechica000174mbp_djvu.txt
Lieutenant John D. Hopson was born in Vermont and entered West Point September 24, 1818. He was the Treasurer of
Menomonie Lodge ‘at the close of the year’ in 1825.
Lt. Hopson was a Cadet at the Military Academy, 24 Sep 1818 to 1 Jul 1822, when he was graduated and promoted in the
Army to 2Lt , 3rd Infantry , 1 Jul 1822. He served in the garrison at Ft. Dearborn, Illinois, 1822-23; on frontier duty at Ft.
Howard, Wis., 1823-26; and in garrison at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. He was promoted to 1Lt on 23 Sep 1827 and on
Recruiting service, 1828-29. He died 17 Dec 1829 at Louisville, KY, aged 31.
http://www.gunstonhall.org/library/masonweb/p27.htm#i1350
Thornton Alexander Seymour Hooe, was born at King George Co., Va., 4 Feb 1806. He was the son of Alexander Seymour
Hooe and Elizabeth Mary Ann Barnes Mason. He married Emilie Rolette on 8 June 1830, b. 9 Sep 1811; daughter of John
Joseph Rolette and Margaret DuBlis.. Thornton died 8 Dec 1847 at age 41.
Children:
Alexander Thorton Seymour Hooe Jr. b. 9 Aug 1832
Josephine Mason Hooe+
b. 8 Apr 1834, d. Aug 1910
Richard Mason Hooe
b. 14 Jan 1836, d. Mar 1836
Emilie Mason Hooe
b. 14 Jan 1837, d. 1919
Harriet Virginia Hooe
b. 1839, d. 1904
-------Irwin, Robert, jr. was a merchant who arrived at Green Bay in 1817; his younger brother, Alexander, came with their father,
Robert Irwin, Sr., in 1822-23, and all three became prominent in the business and social life of the town. Robert Irwin, Jr.,
the Indian agent, died at Fort Winnebago in July, 1833, but his body was taken to Fort Howard for burial.
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Robert Irwin, Jr., was not only among the earliest of American settlers in Wisconsin, having located and commenced
business at Green Bay in 1817, but was in public life, in one capacity or another, from that day on till his death in 1833.
He had the unreserved confidence of Governor Cass, who appointed him in 1820, a justice of the peace for Brown County—
at that time a most important trust—a position which he held for many years, and the duties of which he discharged with
marked ability, and eminent satisfaction to the citizens of the county. Very soon after his arrival at the Bay, he received the
appointment of postmaster, which position he held for a long period, with equal credit to himself and the appointing power.
For several years after his settling at Green Bay, there were large military garrisons at Camp Smith and Fort Howard, the
officers of which held Mr. Irwin in the highest esteem, ever extending to him entire confidence, and ranking him first among
the citizens of the country.
A man of a plain English education only, he nevertheless exhibited extensive information on general subjects, and especially
on our American system of government. He was a close student, reading much in works of jurisprudence; few of the legal
profession even, read with equal care, or mastered the ethics of Blackstone as he did. Having the entire confidence of his
neighbors, his advice was ever sought on questions of difference; and at that early day, ' before higher courts were
established, he was made an umpire in all neighborhood contests, by which hundreds of questions were compromised
through his advice. His decisions were always final —no one ever thought of appealing from them. Of most felicitous,
engaging and courteous manners, every one was his friend; which gave him almost unbounded influence with men of all
grades and parties.
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Always mindful of the best interests of his new home in the land of his adoption, he was foremost in all public enterprises.
The early history of Brown County is marked by his acts of public spirit, in the many projects for the improvement of the
settlement—such as roads, schools, and religious instruction and institutions.
On the first organization of Michigan with a legislative council in 1823, he was chosen with one consent to represent the
Upper District west of Lake Michigan, which he continued to do till he resigned his trust in 1830. When the Black Hawk War
broke out in 1832, no little alarm was felt among the inhabitants of Brown County. Mr. Irwin was chiefly instrumental in
organizing a volunteer company for defense of the country; and received a Captain's commission from Governor Cass.
Other parties were ambitious of taking the lead, and going to the front in command of the company. These rivalries were
likely to create heat, and perhaps division in the ranks; and Mr. Irwin, regarding harmony and good feeling paramount to his
individual distinction, gracefully yielded the preference to others, and retired from the command.
As in the case just named, so in other departments of life, and especially those of a political nature. Mr. Irwin was not without
rivals for public favor; in some cases, competition begat heated controversies, in all which he was remarkable for entire
retention of flood temper, fair, open dealing with his adversary, and never forgetting the high hearing and amenities of a
gentleman.
Mr. Irwin was not only a good citizen, honored and esteemed by his neighbors; but he was, in the true sense of the word, a
"good man," who lived in the daily exercise of Christian charity and good works; and though not a member of any church. yet
those who knew him best, regarded him as a true Christian, not only holding to, but practising the Christian faith, with full
intent, at no distant time, of bearing personal testimony to his belief, by an open profession before the world.
Honored with the appointment of Indian agent, in 1833, he immediately repaired to the station at Fort Winnebago; and
although in delicate health, proceeded at once with the highest enthusiasm, in an endeavor to soften the manners and
meliorate the condition of what was then the fiercest of all our savage tribes, the Winnebagoes. Having a relapse of a severe
illness of a few months previous, he declined rapidly. Though but a short time resident of that post, his engaging manners
and natural sweetness of temper, brought around him many friends, who ministered to him in kindness, alleviating as far as
possible his sufferings. He yielded his breath on the ninth of July, 1833. He died as he had lived, in love and charity with all,
and an unfailing exercise of that faith which perceives "the silver lining behind the cloud." and recognizes a Divine Saviour of
the world. He was summoned from his labors in the prime of his manhood, in the thirty-sixth year of his age. His widow, Mrs.
Hannah Irwin, survives, living in good health, with her daughter, Mrs. Wm. Mitchell, at Green Bay.
The following obituary notice of Mr. Irwin, which appeared in the Green Bay Intelligencer, of December eleventh, 1833. was
written by the Rev. Richard F. Cadle, who had for several years, maintained close personal relations with him:
The subject of this sketch. Robert Irwin, Jr., was born at Greensburg.* Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, December
twenty-fourth. 1797. During the late war. two thousand of the Pennsylvania Volunteers offered their services to the
His widow Mrs. Hannah Irwin, of Green Bay. states that he was born at Carlisle. Pennsylvania, before the removal of his
parents to Greensburg. L. C. D.
President of the United States, who having been accepted proceeded to the frontier. Mr. Irwin. though then young, was one
of this number. This devotion to his country was further shown by his association with those who volunteered to cross the
Niagara River, and he was actually in the boat when the order to return was received.
In 1816. he removed to Detroit, and in the following year to Green Bay, where he engaged in mercantile business. While
settled at that place, he was commissioned to act in numerous public capacities. He was a member of the first four
Legislative Councils of the Territory; being one of the two members chosen to represent the Northern counties of Michigan,
whose views and feelings he faithfully expressed, and whose interests he ever duly advocated. He spoke frequently on the
various matters of private and public interest submitted to the body: and always with a full understanding of the subject,
discussing their merits with unstudied ease of manner, and a ready selection of the most approved language. His resignation
as a member of the Legislative Council was tendered to the Governor of Michigan, September twelfth, 1830, in consequence
of the impracticability of leaving his business at the season of the year to which the Council stood adjourned. In the latter
part of 1831, being at Washington, he was selected by the Secretary of War to aid in the negotiation about to be
commenced by Gov. Porter for the adjustment of difficulties between the Menomonee and New York Indians.
In September. 1832, he was attacked with bilious fever from the effects of which he never entirely recovered. During the
following winter, he suffered continually from debility and general derangement of his system. Having received an
appointment under the Indian Department at Fort Winnebago, he proceeded to that station in the latter part of June; and on
the first of July, entered on the duties of the new office conferred upon him. On the next day he was visited with a disease
with which he had been for several months more or less afflicted, and which, though he was sometimes encouraged with the
hope of its being under the control of medicine, terminated fatally on the ninth of July, in his thirty-sixth year.
As a personal friend of Governor Cass, no ordinary judge of merit, we may well presume that Mr. Irwin possessed qualities
entitling him to respect and regard. In domestic and private life, his character appeared to great advantage. He was
uniformly cheerful, gentle, and unassuming among his friends; and the spirit which prompted the manifestation of those
tempers, rendered his household purely a happy one.
http://www.thenavarres.com/genealogy/histories/Grignon-Augustin%20-%20Recollections.pdf
John Lawe, an early settler, was a native of York, England. His father was a captain in the English army, and his mother an
English Jewess, a sister of Jacob Franks, who had come to the Bay as early as 1795, as a clerk in the trading
establishment of Ogilvie, Gillaspie & Co., of Mackinaw, who had a store at Green Bay. John Lawe was educated at
Quebec, and Joseph Rolette *, so well known as a trader and early settler at Prairie du Chien, was one of his school101
mates. When his uncle, Mr. Franks, had been about three years with Ogilvie, Gillespie & Co., he ceased serving as clerk,
and went to Canada and obtained a stock of goods. He returned to the Bay and opened a store, bringing his nephew, John
Lawe, with him, then a young man of sixteen years. This was in the summer of 1797. Lawe engaged in his uncle's employ,
and the following winter was sent with a, supply of Indian goods, accompanied by Louis Bauprez, to Fond du Lac river,
which was then known among the French and traders by that name; and took possession of the old trading post, about a
mile and a half above the mouth of that stream, on its eastern bank. This had been a winter trading post for many years;
Laurent Ducharme, who one year caught a large number of ducks there, by means of a net, which he salted and preserved
for winter's use, was about the earliest trader at that point; then one Ace, a Spaniard, and subsequently one Chavodriel, and
still later Michael Brisbois, and I wintered there two winters. The Indians, whose trade was here sought, were the
Winnebagoes, who had a village where Taycheedah now is, three miles east of Fond du Lac City, and had other villages
along Rock river. Mr. Lawe afterwards spent several winters at different points, among the Indian hunting bands, between
Green Bay and the Mississippi, and up to the time when his uncle left the country, and went back to Canada, which was
about the commencement of the war of 1812, leaving Mr. Lawe as his successor as a merchant and trader, and he
continued more or less, in the Indian trade as long as he lived.
During the war, Mr. Lawe was a Lieutenant in the Indian Department, under the British, and the only active service I
remember of his, was his going, under Col. Robert Dickson, near the close of the war, to Mackinaw, my brother Louis
Grignon being also along, and taking part in the repulse of the American Col. Holmes, at Mackinaw. Sometime after the
organization of Brown county, he was commissioned an Associate Judge of the county. His death occurred at Green Bay,
February 11th, 1846, in his sixty-sixth year. When twenty years of age, he was married to Miss Therese Rankin, whose
father was an Englishman, and her mother of the Chippewa band, who wintered on the Pishtego river, and were frequently
at Green Bay. Several children were the fruit of this marriage.
Judge Lawe was a man of ordinary height, but became very portly; he was possessed of great enterprise, and was shrewd
and successful in his business operations.
His daughter, Marie M. Lawe, married James Madison Boyd, born Washington D.C. Jan.13,1816. He served as a
lieutenant, during the Black Hawk Mar. After the war, he acted as interpreter for his father until I839. He was the son of Col.
George Boyd, who married Harriet Johnson, sister of Louise Caroline Johnson, the wife of President John Quincy
Adams.
* Note: Joseph Rolette was the father of Emilie Rolette, who married Lt. [Bro.] Alexander Seymour Hooe.
For more on these interesting families (Hooe, Boyd, Lawe, &c) you may read the account of Mrs. Baird (wife of Bro. and
Grand Master Baird) at
http://books.google.com/books?id=8dk7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA233&dq=%22alexander+s.+Hooe%22&lr=#v=onepage&q=%22al
exander%20s.%20Hooe%22&f=false, a copy of which is in the archives of the OMDHS.
John Lawe
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%20Wisconsin%E2%80%8E%22&lr=&id=m-M7AAAAIAAJ&output=text page 247
In all matters pertaining to trade and business in general, no man had influence at his time equal to John Lawe, and no man
exercised it less offensively. When I arrived, he had been in the country nearly thirty years, having come out from Canada in
his boyhood, with an uncle named Jacob Franks. This Mr. Franks engaged vigorously in business at the Bay for some years,
but finally on the breaking out of the War of 1812, + concluded to return to Montreal, which he did, leaving Mr. Lawe his
successor in business, and to whom he turned over his property, receiving from Lawe, however, a considerable amount of
real estate in Montreal in exchange for the property at the Bay; in which transaction Franks had the lion's share. Lawe by this
time had come to be nearly thirty years of age, and pretty thoroughly acquainted with the mysteries of the Indian trade.
+ July 23, 1805. Jacob Franks deeded to John Lawe a tract of about four hundred acres of land, which Mr. Franks first
improved in 1702, situated on Devil River. about four miles from Fox River. and on which tract a saw and grist-mill were
being built the time of the conveyance. in 1805. These facts may be found In the American Estate Papers, Land Claims. Vol.
IV., 711, 712, 714: and may possibly indicate an earlier date of Mr. Franks leaving Green Bay than Mr. Grignon in his
memoir, and Gen. Ellis, in this sketch, had supposed.
There was always a sharp rivalry for this trade between Lawe and the Grignons: and. although Lawe, without any associate
in business, had to compete with that family, all inter-married with the natives, yet he held his own, maintaining his equality,
if not supremacy, to the last. He had the exclusive trade of the west shore of Green Bay, and thence to Lake Shawano and
Wolf River. The Indians regarded him with paternal affection; no persuasion of any person whatever, could shake their
confidence in, or alienate them from him. They took their credits in the fall for their hunts; and. in the spring, their peltries,
game, sugar, whatever they accumulated, much or little, was faithfully brought in and laid at his feet. Nor must it be
supposed that Lawe was capable of taking, or allowing his retainers to take advantage of the simplicity of these natives, in
his exchange of wares; far from it. There has been great misapprehension of the manner of conducting Indian trade in this
particular; it having been supposed that the traders took what they pleased, and kept no account with the natives. This in
general is a great mistake—at least with traders of any character. As to Judge Lawe's practice, the Indians on taking his
credit in the fall, high or low—each individual—had an account, bona fide, opened with him on his books, just as formal and
precise in all respects as in case of the sharpest white man, in which he was debited his blanket, stroud, calico, powder,
shot, thread, pipes, tobacco, and flints, as carefully as possible. And on his appearance in the spring with his peltries, he
was duly credited with payment, not in the gross or by the lump, but every skin was counted, separating the prime from the
poor—the otter, the mink, muskrats, fishers, bear, deer, etc.. from each other, with exactness, with different prices,
according to value, and the whole set down in detail, so that at the summing up, the Indian knew exactly how his account
102
stood, and could judge for himself of the fairness or otherwise of the transaction. Other traders probably did the same; at
least they professed to. But certain it is, that Judge Lawe enjoyed and retained to the end of his days, the entire confidence
of his Indian customers.
The Indian trade, if it was profitable, had its drawbacks as well; especially was it so in Judge Lawe's case; for every winter,
at least once, regularly, large numbers of the old, decrepit, and poor, among the Indians would come in. Their chief resort
was to Lawe, and he had no escape from dealing out rations till they we?" comfortably fed. This was no small expense
annually, and so much deducted from the profits.
If John Lawe's character for charity to the natives became a "byword," it was scarcely less so as to the poor and destitute
among the whites and half-breeds. Was there a wretched, sick, dying outcast, you would be sure to trace him, or her, or
them, to their last refuge in the house of John Lawe; nor were they ever "sent empty away." It might have been the most
unworthy, or one who had requited him always with only wrong and injury—it made no difference; in him they only found
charity, forgiveness, and the tenderest succor. His house was known as the "house of refuge;" it was never empty. Visit it
when you pleased, you would find some, many or few, of the aged sons of want being taken in, fed and eared for, by this
kind-hearted Indian trader. Nor did he let his "right hand know what his left hand did" in this behalf. No greater day of
mourning and sorrow occurred to the destitute poor of Green Bay, than that in which John Lawe was carried to his last
resting place, and his house, that house of refuge, closed.
It was not alone the natives or the poor of either class, who appreciated John Lawe; the well-to-do, and men of business,
knew his worth as well. He was chosen to most important trusts; put forward in every public enterprise, consulted in every
movement involving the prosperity of the settlement, and never failed of meeting public expectation, and rendering complete
satisfaction to his constituents; and to the hour of his death, his first implacable enemy was never seen.
He sought to live in much retirement. To this end he had picketed in, with cedar posts, about nine feet in height, sharpened
at the upper end, about five acres of choice ground, in the front of which stood his house and store, and in the back part of
the enclosure was his office. This ground he had gardened in a very successful manner; his friends were often admitted
there. Taking me one day into this enclosure, after viewing his garden, he asked me into his office, where I witnessed a
piece of his clerical talent, with surprise and admiration. His clerk had been engaged some days making out quarterly returns
to the Mackinaw Fur Company; he had become confused, perplexed, brought to a stand-still, not being able to make his
accounts balance. He called the judge's attention to the matter. The records were on foolscap, with four long columns of
figures, each column footed. The judge took one of them in hand, and commenced casting up the figures; in which he did
what I had heard of as among the possibilities, but which I had hardly credited, and that was, to carry up the whole score of
figures of the four columns, all at once; and that much faster than I could one of them alone. In the first footing he detected
an error, and caused it to be corrected; and in ten minutes he had footed as many columns, detecting several errors, which,
when corrected, made the balances all right.
I will give one more anecdote, illustrative of his endurance. In 1845. I made the annuity payment of the Menomonees, at
Lake Poyagan, amounting to twenty-six thousand dollars in silver. Lawe was on the ground collecting his credits, which were
large At the conclusion, on the second day, about eleven o'clock, he was sitting in his tent, on his wooden chest, containing
between eight and nine thousand dollars, and was ordering his men to strike .the tent and leave for Green Bay. He had a
Mackinaw boat and four men with his equipage. He left Poyagan with a west wind, and under full sail, went down the lake,
Fox River, past Oshkosh into Lake Winnebago, and half way to Neenah before dark. He pursued the voyage through the
night, which was a dark one, sitting on his chest of specie, running the rapids between the Little Butte and Depere before
morning. It must have been a fearful ride, and, for one of his years, and fatigue—he had not slept for two days and nights—
must have been one of great peril. I found him the next day at his house, calm as a summer cloud, not dreaming that he had
done anything unusual, or worthy of remark.
On his first appearance at the Bay, his figure was quite slender, —he could span his waist with his hands. In middle life he
was quite portly, weighed over three hundred pounds. He was strictly moral in his habits, chaste in conversation, abstemious
in appetite; his example was worthy of imitation. He was a member of the English Episcopal church, though, since his death,
some of his Catholic friends erroneously claim that he held their faith. He has left a name and fame which shall bloom
perennial, so long as Green Bay shall be known, and the memory of her worthy founders be held in remembrance.*
John Lawe was horn in York. Rugland, in 1780; his father having been a capta'n in the English army, and his mother a
Jewess lady, a sister of Jacob Franks, a pioneer settler at Green Bay. Franks went there as early as 170'J, as a clerk in the
trading establishment of Ogilvie, Gillespie & Co., of Mackinaw, who hail a store at the Bay; and, in the summer of 1707.
Franks went to Canada and obtained a stock of goods, with which to commence trading on his own account at Green Bay,
bringing out his young nephew. John Lawe, with him. Mr. Lawe became a successful clerk and trader. eventually succeeding
his uncle, and served the people in many public capacities. He died at Green Bay, Feb. 11th, 1846, in the sixty-sixth year of
his age. L. C. D.
-----Captain Lowe
The present compile would suggest that the ‘Capt. Lowe,’ noted as a member of Menomonee Lodge would be Captain
Gideon Lowe, whose biographical information is as follows:
http://www.scls.lib.wi.us/por/jones/images/00000006.pdf
Previous to the evacuation of Fort Winnebago in 1845, Colonel Cutler, Major Green, Colonel McIntosh, Captains Low and
Jewett and Lieutenant Mumford were in command; but they were not the characters of greatest interest to the people of
Columbia County. For instance, there were Capt. Gideon Low and Lieut. Horatio P. Van Cleve, who came from Fort Howard
in the early '30s. Both Lieutenant Davis and Captain Low served in the Black Hawk War, the latter {Capt. Low] being
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ordered to Fort Atkinson. After the danger was over he returned to Fort Winnebago, where he remained until 1840. He then
resigned and took charge of the Franklin House, which he had built two years before, and until his death at the agency ten
years later was known as the most popular landlord of the portage. Captain Low was buried in the fort cemetery but his
remains were finally removed to the burial lot of his son-in-law, Henry Merrell, in Silver Lake Cemetery.
[Henry Merrell was at Fort Winnebago also; he was a sutler there in 1834, and afterwards became the agent of the
American Fur Company, filling many positions of honor and trust; he was the first senator from this district when the State
was organized, and his descendants have converted the site of the old military fort from its warlike appearance to the more
peaceful one of a well-appointed farm. Henry had married Gideon’s daughter, Elizabeth Low, in early 1842.]
Jacob Low, the only son of Gideon, was a New York merchant and sea-faring man in his earlier years, but in 1843 joined the
captain at Fort Winnebago. There he became an Indian trader and a few years afterward moved to his farm in that section of
the county which now bears his name, Lowville Township, Wisconsin. Afterward he blossomed into a successful politician
and office holder, and died at his home in Lowville during 1875.
------Dr. R[ichard] S[herwood] Satterlee was the Senior Warden of Menomonie Lodge in 1824 at Ft. Howard.
http://history.amedd.army.mil/AMEDDBiogs/medcorps/Satterleebiog.htm
Richard Sherwood Satterlee, b. 6 Dec 1796; d. 10 Nov 1880, Brevet Brigadier General, U. S. Army, was born in Fairfield,
Herkimer County, NY, the son of Major William Satterlee, an officer of Connecticut troops in the Revolutionary War, and
Hannah Sherwood, of English Puritan descent. His native town was the seat of Fairfield Academy, with a medical school and
faculty which in Satterlee’s youth ranked with the best in the country. It is probable that he obtained his education in this
institution though the list of graduates of the medical school does not carry his name. He was licensed to practice in 1818
and located in a rural neighborhood in Seneca county.
He moved on shortly to Detroit, Michigan, where he practiced medicine and was employed at times as attendant upon the
garrison of Detroit Barracks. His association with the military gave him a wish for the army medical service. In furtherance of
this idea he accompanied Governor Lewis Cass to Washington and through his influence obtained appointment as an
assistant surgeon, from 22 Feb 1822. He was stationed successively at Fort Niagara, NY, Detroit Barracks, Mich., and Fort
Howard, Wis. [then in the Michigan Territory], until June 1825. At that time he was transferred to Fort Mackinac, Mich.,
where he served until Nov 1831. While at this station he went to Detroit in June 1827 and married Mary S. Hunt, sister of
the Hon. John Hunt, one of the judges of the state supreme court. With Indian difficulties increasing in Wisconsin he was
transferred from Fort Mackinac to Fort Winnebago in that state in Nov 1831, and with the troops from that post participated
in the pursuit of the Sac and Fox band in the summer of 1832, which ended on 2 Aug in the fight where Bad Axe creek
enters the Mississippi river. The Black Hawk war, thus ended, entailed relatively few battle casualties, but was notable for
the prevalence of disease, particularly cholera, among the troops.
Satterlee served at Fort Winnebago until Sept 1833 when he was transferred again to Fort Howard at Green Bay. In the
meantime he had been promoted to the grade of surgeon on 13 Jul 1832. In Oct 1837 he left Fort Howard for duty in
Florida, where he was assigned as chief medical 0fficer of the brigade, commanded by Colonel Zachary Taylor, engaged
in a campaign against the Seminole Indians. On 25 Dec he served his command at the battle of Okeechobee, and was given
an official commendation by Colonel Taylor for his care of the wounded. His report upon this engagement stresses the
difficulties encountered in the transportation of a large number of wounded to a distant base. After a trip with troops to the
Indian Territory with captured Seminoles in Sep 1838, Satterlee was transferred to Plattsburg Barracks, NY, but after two
years in this station he was again sent to field duty in Florida, where he remained until the end of the Seminole disturbances
in 1842. Then followed four years of duty at Fort Adams, RI, and then the Mexican War. Satterlee accompanied troops to
the rendezvous of General Scott’s army at Lobos Island and here in the reorganization of the army he was assigned to the
post of medical director of General Worth’s division of regular troops. In this capacity he took part in the siege and capture of
Vera Cruz and in the advance upon Mexico City. In this campaign he directed the medical service of the division at the
battles of Cerro Gordo, Cherubusco, Molina del Rey, and Chapultepec. On 5 Jul 1847, he sent from Puebla a detailed report
upon the health of the army.
After the occupation of Mexico City he was advanced to the position of medical director upon the staff of General Scott, in
which capacity his great responsibility was the organization of general hospitals to take over the functions of the division
hospitals which had been operating during the advance. The details of organization of these hospitals which occupied a
large group of public buildings, were assigned to Surgeon Charles S. Tripler, who had been medical director of General
Sykes’ division. With the signing of the treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo and the departure of General Scott, Satterlee remained
on the staff of General William O. Butler until with the evacuation of the troops he was returned to Fort Adams in June
1848. Here he served until, pursuant to orders, he embarked on 21 Dec 1853, on the steamship San Francisco which was
carrying the Third Regiment of Artillery to San Francisco, California, by way of Cape Horn. On the evening of the twenty-third
the ship ran into a tropical hurricane and the following forenoon a gigantic wave carried away the entire superstructure of the
boat and with it four officers and about 130 enlisted men of the regiment. The boat, entirely disabled and leaking badly,
drifted for four days when the bark Kilby took off something over 100 passengers including most of the officers and the
families. The storm increasing through the following night the two boats lost contact and again the San Francisco drifted for
another nine days before the remainder were taken off by the steamers Three Bells and Antarctic. In the meantime suffering
upon the wrecked boat was intense, with numerous deaths from disease and exposure. The San Francisco sank soon after
the last rescues.
With some of the regimental officers, Satterlee and Assistant Surgeon Horace R. Wirtz, also aboard, were subjected to
criticism for having quitted the boat and left the bulk of the enlisted men aboard. In their behalf it must be remembered that
there was every expectation that all on board would be taken off by the first rescuing boat and that only the recurrence of the
storm prevented. Landing in New York with the other survivors, Satterlee’s orders were changed and he was assigned to
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duty in that city as attending surgeon and medical purveyor. He continued at this post of duty up to and through the Civil
War. The amount of his purchases and issues ran into many millions of dollars and so satisfactory was this service that he
was given in turn the brevets of lieutenant colonel, colonel, and brigadier general, the latter in 1864. The accompanying
citation commended him “for diligent care and attention in procuring proper medical supplies as medical purveyor and for
economy and fidelity in the disbursement of large sums of money”.
When in 1862 Surgeon General Finley was removed from his office, Satterlee was left the senior officer of the corps. His
candidacy for the succession received the active support of General Scott, but Surgeon William A. Hammond was given the
place. A reorganization of the medical department of the army in 1866 caused his appointment as Chief Medical Purveyor
with the grade of lieutenant colonel to date from July 28 of that year. He continued in charge of the supply depot in New York
City until he was retired by direction of President Johnson on 22 Feb 1869, and continued his residence in that city until his
death there on 10 Nov 1880, in his eighty-fourth year. His funeral was held at the Church of the Holy Communion on Sixth
Avenue.
Very little has come down to us in regard to General Satterlee’s personal qualities. He is credited with high professional skill
and judgment and he had well recognized gifts in administration. His portraits show him a handsome military figure, with a
fine face, indicative, however, of sternness and austerity of character.
(A. C. Wildey, Geneal. of the Descendants of Wm. Chesebrough, 1903; W. B. Atkinson, The Physicians and Surgeons of the
U. S., 1878; R. F. Stone, Biog. of Eminent Am. Physicians and Surgeons, 1898; H. E. Brown, The Med. Dept. of the U. S.
Army 1775-1873, 1873; T. H. S. Hamersly, Complete Army and Navy Registers of the U. S. 1776-1879, 1888; Army and
Navy Journal, Nov. 13, 20, 1880; N. Y. Times, Nov. 11, 1880).
http://www.archive.org/stream/squibbsmateriame00newyiala/squibbsmateriame00newyiala_djvu.txt
Edward R. Squibb (pictured left) in 1864 alongside
medical purveyor Richard S. Satterlee
In 1857 Dr. [Edward Robinson] Squibb resigned his
naval position. Soon after its establishment
Congress closed the laboratory which had been
established at the Naval Hospital. The War
Department, however, impressed with the utility of
the laboratory as established by Dr. Squibb and with
the unequalled quality of the drugs produced by him,
sought to re-establish it but failed on account of
political opposition. It was then that Dr. R. S.
Satterlee, Chief Medical Purveyor of the Army,
persuaded Dr. Squibb to establish a laboratory of
his own. Dr. Satterlee assured Dr. Squibb that if he
would make drugs of as good a quality as he made
in the Naval Laboratory, the U. S. Government
would buy of him such products as it might need.
Consequently in 1858 The Squibb Chemical and
Pharmaceutical Laboratories were established and
The House of Squibb was founded.
------
Captain Henry Smith
“Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Volume X,” by State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1909. page
150.
http://books.google.com/books?id=VzYUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA150&lpg=PA150&dq=%22Capt.+Henry+Smith%22&source=bl&ots=GivDnRYEH&sig=0cmW5HaxvH0xpMMyvY1b3WlUkXs&hl=en&ei=V8eQSoGiIYGolAfFkI2rDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=one
page&q=%22Capt.%20Henry%20Smith%22&f=false
Indian Campaign of 1832
By Capt. Henry Smith, of Atkinson's Brigade
Henry Smith, the writer of the following valuable narrative of the Black Hawk War—the first detailed sketch of that contest
that ever appeared in print—was of Scotch-Irish descent, born at Stillwater, NY, 25 Sep 1798. He became a cadet at the
Military Academy In May 1813; and graduating, entered the artillery as third lieutenant, in Mar 1815. He was promoted to a
second lieutenancy in the Second Infantry, in June, 1816. He served as adjutant in 1818-19; regimental quartermaster, in
1820-21, serving as such at Green Bay In 1822; first lieutenant and assistant quartermaster in 1823, in which year he was
assigned to the Sixth Infantry. He served as an aide-de-camp to Maj. Gen. Scott In 1823-26, and was promoted to the rank
of captain, In July of the latter year, and acted as quartermaster from Apr 1826, to Oct 1830.
During the Black Hawk War, in 1832, he served at the head of his company in Gen. Atkinson's brigade, and had the best of
opportunities to learn all the leading facts and events connected with that frontier service. He resigned from the army in Nov
1836. From that time until 1840, he served as a civil engineer, superintending United States harbor improvements on the
105
lakes, in New York, Ohio, and Michigan. He was a member of the Michigan assembly In 1837 and 1840; disbursing agent of
the Indian department in 1838; major-general of the Michigan militia In 1841-46; and mayor of Monroe, Michigan, in 1846.
On the 3d of March, 1847, he was appointed quartermaster In the army, with the rank of major, serving first at Detroit, and
then on the staff of Gen. Scott In Mexico. Courageous and high-spirited, he promptly repaired to the front at Vera Cruz, fully
conscious of the danger of the climate at that season of the year, where he soon fell a victim to the yellow fever, 24 Jul 1847,
in his forty-ninth year.
Capt. Smith's paper on the "Indian Campaign of 1832," was written in 1833 at the request of the conductors of the Military
and. Naval Magazine, published at Washington; and appeared in August of that year, as written "by an officer of Gen.
Atkinson's Brigade." It was thus prepared while the recollections of that frontier service were yet fresh In his memory. He left
a copy in manuscript, which was furnished by his daughter, Mrs. A. W. Snyder, of Rockford, Illinois, to the Journal of that
city, in which it appeared August 12th, 1882, and copied Into the Milwaukee Republican-Sentinel, of the following 17th and
24th of September. These two copies have been carefully collated, and errors corrected. It will prove a valuable addition to
the history of the Black Hawk War. His public services, for a period of thirty-four years, were varied and eventful, and alike
honorable to himself and useful to his country.
Early in life he married Miss Elvira Foster. She died at Watertown, NY, in 1879. Seven of their children yet survived—five
daughters and two sons; one of the latter is Hon. Winfield Smith, of Milwaukee, formerly attorney-general of the State. Maj.
Smith was about five feet, six Inches in height, of about one hundred and sixty pounds weight, with ruddy complexion, gray
eyes, and brown hair—of handsome appearance, erect, and of military bearing.
It is justly said of him, in the U. S. Biographical Dictionary for Wisconsin, that "he was an able and accomplished officer,
understood thoroughly the details of his profession, was governed by a high sense of honor, frank, generous and upright. A
gentleman of fine talents, and varied information, agreeable in society, and had many warm friend* among the leading men
of the nation. He was ardent in his family attachments, constant and devoted in his friendships, an exemplary member of the
Episcopal church, of spotless reputation, esteemed and respected by all who knew him." L. C. D.
Gentlemen:—It would give me pleasure to comply with your request on the subject of the recent Indian hostilities, were I not
perfectly sensible of my incapacity to interest you and your readers. As it is, flattered by your solicitation, and acknowledging the
obligation to contribute my mite to your valuable work, authentically, I undertake the task.
"To begin then, with the beginning"—The Sauks and Foxes forming one nation of Indians, occupying until 1831, more or less of the
country on both banks of the Mississippi for about one hundred and fifty miles above and below Rock Island, have always
manifested as a people, hostile feelings toward the people of the United States. During the war with Great Britain, they were active
allies of the English; repeatedly and—as they boast—always successfully engaged against us. Several detachments of our army
and militia, one under command of Col. Z. Taylor, now of the First Infantry, were previous to 1815, defeated by this warlike people.
Since the latter date, the hostile feeling has been openly shown only by a portion of the combined nation called the "British! Band,"
of .which a chief called Muckut- taymickekawkaik, the celebrated Black Hawk, was the head. This band occupied the territory on the
east bank of the Mississippi, principally along the Rock River, and ordinarily numbered about four hundred warriors.
By treaty, duly signed and ratified, the Sauks and Foxes, previous to 1831, conveyed this portion of their country east of the
Mississippi to the United States, and our settlers advanced to the shores of Rock River, the Indians so far acknowledging the treaty
as to cross the Mississippi, where the majority of them, if not all, took up their residence for a time.
In the spring of 1831, Maj. Gen. Gaines, commanding the Western Department, learned by express that the Indians, in great
numbers, had recrossed the river, commenced a system of aggressions on the whites, and by threats, and in some instances of
violence, had driven off many families, and bade fair to break up the settlements along the frontier of Illinois. The general promptly
moved with such troops as he could find disposable—the Sixth, and a small portion of the Third Infantry—to the scene of difficulty.
Here he found the tone of the Indians so high, and their deportment so insufferably insolent, that apprehending the necessity of an
immediate resort to blows, he called on the governor of Illinois for an auxiliary force of mounted militia, and made preparations to
enforce the demand he had already made of the Indians, to evacuate the ceded territory. After much delay and unusual display of
reckless audacity on the part of the Indians,1 they finally crossed again to the west side of the river, and made and executed a treaty
solemnly pledging themselves never to land again on the east bank of the Mississippi without the consent of the President of the
United States, and the Governor of Illinois.
----1. The Indians came openly armed into council with the general—a proceeding, it Is believed, without precedent among them. They
used In speech the most violent and threatening language and gestures. Had not the general felt commission for their infatuation, he
would probably have chastised them on the spot.
Within four months after signing this treaty, a numerous war party of this very band ascended the Mississippi, landed on the east
bank, and within the limits of the American village of Prairie du Chien, attacked a body of Menomonees— a nation distinguished for
their unalterable friendship for the United States—and murdered, it is believed, twenty-eight persons. It was for the purpose of
demanding and obtaining the leaders of this outrage on our flag, that Brig. Gen. Atkinson was ordered with his regiment, the Sixth,
to ascend the Mississippi in the spring of 1832, and the circumstances have shown that the secretary of war,1 with the acuteness of
judgment for which he is distinguished, aided by a thorough knowledge of the Indian character, clearly foresaw the result to which
the disposition of the Indians would lead, yet very few others anticipated any occurrences .more bloody than those of the preceding
year.
On the 8th of April, 1832, the force under Gen. Atkinson, six companies of the Sixth Regiment, numbering about two hundred and
eighty in the aggregate, embarked at Jefferson Barracks, and proceeded up the Mississippi. At the Des Moines rapids two hundred
miles above, it was first learned by the detachment that the Indians meditated not only resistance to the demand for the surrender of
the murderers, but the seizure and holding the territory—the debatable land—already twice or thrice ceded by them. Accounts here,
106
made the number of warriors between six and eight hundred, who had ascended the Mississippi toward Rook Island. Gen. Atkinson
arrived at Rock Island about the 12th of April; and there ascertained that on that day or the day before, the Indians had entered the
mouth of the Rock River, and were ascending it.
The general here received correct and undoubted information of their numbers and condition. Different traders and others had
carefully counted them, and reported the number of efficient warriors to be about six hundred and fifty, consisting of Black Hawk's
"British Band," the friends of the war party who had committed the murders at Prairie du Chien, and about one hundred and twenty
Kiekapoos; they were subsequently joined on the Rock River by the Prophet's band. About four hundred and fifty of this force were
mounted, and it is but justice to say they were very efficient cavalry on hardy and generally well-trained horses—they never came
into contact with our militia, both mounted, that the Indians did not come off victors, whatever might be their inferiority in numbers.
1. Hon. Lewis Cass.
Under their intention of holding the country, they had brought with them their families and movables of every description.
Gen. Atkinson immediately summoned such of the chiefs of the Sauks and Foxes as had not participated in the movement, at the
head of whom was Pashepawko, Wapello and Keokuk; demanded of them such of the murderers as were in their power, and
warned them of the consequences which would result on their joining or aiding the invading band. Tie murderers (three, being all
within the control of these chiefs) were promptly surrendered, and the general was assured of the fidelity of the chiefs to the
government of the United States. The conference was concluded by an order from the general for the friendly Indians to return to
their home, west of the Mississippi, and remain there.
Two messengers, a friendly Sauk chief, the son of Tayemah, and a half-breed whose father was a Frenchman and mother a Sauk
woman, were dispatched to the Black Hawk by Gen. Atkinson, not only officially ordering him and his people, in the name of the
president, to return, but individually advising him of the consequences of his persisting in his present enterprise. The demand for the
surrender of the murderers was also made. Up to this time, it appeared to have been the general belief of the officers of the army,
as it certainly was with the writer of this narrative, that the Indians—almost always "more sinned against than sinning"—would under
the forbearing, dignified and determined course pursued by the general, be brought to a sense of their conduct and situation, and
induced to comply with the demands of the government. But we were soon undeceived; the messengers returned greatly alarmed,
after having been abused and insulted, and compelled to escape at the risk of their lives. They brought from the Indians the most
insolent and bullying replies to the general's message, generally, in effect, ridiculing his demands, and challenging the Americans to
come against them.
About this time Henry Gratiot, Esq., the sub-agent for the Winnebagoes of the mining country, obeying the impulse of his duty,
intrepidly proceeded to Black Hawk's camp, near the Prophet's village, for the purpose of holding a council with the chiefs, to
ascertain their object, and to warn them to return. The Indians not only refused to hear him, but tore down his flag, raised the British
flag, and took Mr. Gratiot prisoner. There is little doubt that his fate would have been sealed but for the interposition of the
Winnebagoes, who purchased him of the Sauks, and restored him to liberty. We also learned that the Sauks and Foxes had been
instigated to their present course by Wawbekashick, the Prophet, a half Winnebago and half Sank, and possessing much influence
with both nations from his assumption of the sacred character, from his talents, his inveterate hostility to the Americans, and his
cold-blooded cruelty.
Gen. Atkinson, an officer possessing all the requisites for command, military skill, undaunted courage and perseverance, together
with a knowledge of the Indian character, now commenced vigorous preparations for a campaign. He ordered such troops as could
with safety be called from the posts of Prairie du Chien and Fort Leavenworth, to reinforce him; and was, in consequence, joined at
Rock Island by four companies of the First Infantry, and subsequently at Dixon's Ferry, by two more companies of the Sixth
Regiment from Fort Leavenworth. He took measures for collecting provisions and stores and means for their transportation, a work
of exceeding difficulty, under all circumstances—and lastly he notified the governor of Illinois, Reynolds, that the Indians had
ascended Rock River in a hostile attitude. The general also took measures to secure the neutrality of the surrounding Indian nations;
or, should he deem it proper, their assistance. These preparations detained the troops at Rock Island about three weeks, during
much of which period the weather was unusually cold and rainy, and our tents quite unfit for service, and useless as a shelter.
About the 9th day of May provisions and boats having been collected, a force of nearly eighteen hundred militia arrived, fifteen
hundred of whom were mounted, who had been ordered by Gov. Reynolds to report themselves to, and receive orders from the
commanding officer of the regular troops. Our force moved up Rock River—the regular troops were then under the immediate
command of Col. Taylor, First Infantry, and the mounted militia, under Brig.-Gen. Whiteside. Gov. Reynolds also accompanied his
force in person. The mounted men were ordered to proceed to the Prophet's village, about thirty or forty miles by land, and sixty or
seventy by water; while the regular force was charged with the severe and unpleasant duty of dragging up the river our provisions
and stores in boats, one keel of ninety tons, and one of thirty, and five or six Mackinaw boats. It is unnecessary to describe this duty
better than to say, that the weather was cold, and that for many days the troops, so employed, had not a dry thread on them,
compelled to wade against a rapid stream, dragging or lifting the boats along from daybreak until night. On our arrival at theProphet's village, it was found that the mounted militia had advanced to Dixon's Ferry. About thirty miles below the last named point,
an express informed our command of the defeat of a battalion of the militia under Maj. Stillman, and the troops were hastened
forward with all possible dispatch. At Dixon's Ferry, about one hundred and twenty miles from the mouth of Rock River, we learned
the particulars of his defeat.
Maj. Stillman, commanding a volunteer battalion of Illinois militia, at his own solicitation, had been dispatched by Gov. Reynolds to
endeavor to ascertain the position of the Indians. Deceived by some individuals who assured him that they had reconnoitered the
country for forty-five miles above Whiteside's camp, and that there were no Indians within that distance, Stillman encamped an hour
before sunset, twenty-five miles from Dixon's, in a well- chosen position, on a stream since called Stillman's Run. Very soon after
pitching tents, and after unsaddling, some Indians were discovered on the open prairie, a mile or two distant. The camp entirely filled
a small open wood, which was on every side surrounded by open and clear prairie slightly undulating. The strongest fortress could
hardly have been more effectively defended than the camp in question, where a hundred men ought to have repulsed ten times their
107
number of an attacking force. On the discovery of the Indians, only two or three in number, the militia sallied out, as all agree, in
great confusion, some with saddles and some without, and pursued and captured these Indians, when some one called out that
three or four others were in sight; on which another pursuit occurred in still greater disorder. The last Indians were overtaken, and, it
is said, two of them killed unresistingly and without provocation. Very soon others were discovered advancing. Their numbers
appeared, no doubt, much greater than they really were in the dusk of the evening, and a panic seized the whites, Sauve qui pent
was the word—or rendered into backwood's English, "the devil take the hindmost," and the whole corps fled without firing a welldirected shot. They passed on the run directly through their camp, plunged into the creek, and did not halt i itil they had arrived at
Dixon's Ferry, where they came straggling in for twenty hours. Twelve of the whites and four of the Indians, including those wantonly
slain, were killed. It is asserted by the Indians, that the rout was caused by less than one hundred Indians, and the pursuit continued
through the night by less than thirty. There were, doubtless, many gallant fellows in Stillman's corps, and it is difficult to account for
this, as well as other similar affairs between the whites and Indians, save by attributing it to a want of discipline, and of material
confidence in themselves.
It may be well to add the fact, that Stillman's corps had never been for an instant under Gen. Atkinson's orders, they having joined
Gov. Reynolds at Dixon's, by a march through the country.
The army immediately advanced up Rock River to Stillman's Run, having left the defeated corps to guard the sick, wounded and
provisions at the depot at Dixon's. At Still- man's Run, Gen. Atkinson was overtaken by an express with intelligence that the corps
left to guard the depot had determined to abandon their charge and return home. He also ascertained that the enemy had moved
rapidly up Sycamore Creek,1 towards its head. The mounted force now about two thousand, was dispatched in pursuit, and the
regulars ordered to occupy the depot at Dixon's. Whiteside with his command moved up Sycamore Creek for two or three days,
pursuing the enemy, never, however, being able to get sight of them.
The first intelligence received of the run-away troops by Gen. Atkinson, was that they had proceeded across the country to the
Illinois River, and disbanded themselves or had been discharged. This was said to have been brought about from some cause
connected with the local politics of the State.
The general with his staff immediately proceeded across the country to the Illinois River, and by much exertion succeeded in
inducing a few companies of mounted men to volunteer to assist in protecting the settlements.
Within a few hours after the general's departure, intelligence arrived at Dixon's by express, that the enemy had made attacks at
different points, eighty or ninety miles apart, and committed butcheries, with all the accustomed horrors of Indian warfare. The report
of a few mounted men of the disbanded militia, who arrived, induced the serious apprehension that the general had been cut off in
his journey across the country. Fortunately our fears proved without foundation. Among the sufferers, the fate of no one created
more sympathy than that of Felix St. Vrain, Indian agent for the Foxes and Sauks, who had accompanied the army to Dixon's Ferry,
where he had obtained leave to return, and secure his family at Hock Island. On his way to Galena, with seven men, they were
attacked by a large party of Indiana tinder command of the Prophet, and Mr. St. Vrain and three others most barbarously murdered,
the others making their escape.
"The south branch of Klshwaukee.
By exertions almost incredible, Gen. Atkinson succeeded in less than three weeks in calling out a new militia mounted force, for it
was already found that the war could not be successfully prosecuted against a well-mounted enemy by infantry alone, and in
organizing it anew, and in procuring provisions for a new movement.
In the meantime, however, two companies of regular troops and a company of militia had been dispatched to Kellogg's Grove, for
the purpose of occupying the country between Rock and Fevre rivers, and dispersing a party of the enemy known to be lurking
therein. While there, the militia in returning to the camp were attacked by a party of Indians in ambush, and driven off, with a loss of
three of their number killed. The Indians lost four. After remaining at Kellogg's Grove ten days, this party were ordered to return, and
their places were supplied by a battalion of militia two hundred and fifty strong, commanded by Major John Dement who the day
after their arrival at the position, were attacked and defeated by one hundred and thirty Indians, who drove them into their stockade,
and besieged them until relieved by Gen. Posey with the residue of the brigade, when the Indians leisurely withdrew.
About this time also, Col. Dodge, now colonel of the U. S. Dragoons, with a party of twenty-eight mounted men, learned that several
murders had been committed in the neighborhood of Fort Hamilton, and pursued the murderers. Dodge and his party overtook the
enemy, who they found to be a party of fifteen in number, and after a sharp conflict, killed every one of them, with the loss of three
whites killed.
On the 28th of June, the army again advanced on the enemy. Our force consisted of upwards of four hundred regular infantry, and
Henry's brigade of one thousand mounted militia. Brig.-Gen. Brady, TT. S. A., who had in the meantime joined ,the army, and by
advice of Gen. Atkinson, assumed the immediate command of the division of regulars and militia, was left to guard the depot at
Dixon's Ferry, and Posey's and Alexander's brigades detached and disposed so as to protect the settlements.
On the 3rd of July, we found ourselves in the neighborhood of the enemy, who, however, occupied an inaccessible position in a
swamp a few miles from us. This was Winnebago swamp, in Ogle County, Ill. They had retired before us, and, in several instances,
we found in their camps scalps and heads previously taken, and left in triumph. They also always left in their camps a sort of guidepost, with a wisp of hay done up and fixed so as to indicate their destination. This, however, was mere bravado, as they avoided a
conflict, though it was eagerly sought for by our army. The force of the enemy at this time could not have been far from one
thousand efficient warriors, nearly all mounted. Our marching had become exceedingly disagreeable and difficult, wading through
swamps and morasses, our provisions and baggage on pack-horses, frequently damaged, and the former of course falling short by
the horses sinking in the swamps.
Every exertion was made to procure guides, but in vain. Such Winnebagoes or Pottawatomies as joined us or could be taken, were
either ignorant or treacherous. On the 6th of July, we reached a deep and muddy stream called most inaptly White Water, beyond
108
which we were informed by the Winnebagoes we should find the enemy. With much difficulty we forded or swam this stream, or
rather the first of three branches, and after a perplexing march of twelve or fifteen miles we arrived where the Indian guides assured
the General, with one voice, that farther advance was impossible, having arrived, as they said, and as it appeared, at a wilderness
of that description of morass called by the French, terre trembleinte. We had, it appeared, no recourse but to retrace our weary
march for the purpose of arriving at and crossing Rock River, to reach the enemy by moving up the other bank. At the mouth of the
White Water, the mounted force under Gen. Henry and Col. Dodge was dispatched with the pack-horses to Fort Winnebago for
provisions.
Under these vexations and disappointments, we had the satisfaction of knowing that our enemy was completely besieged—cut off
from all their resources. Gen. Atkinson knew that they must soon be driven by famine to give us battle, or to retreat from their
present position, where he had little doubt of overtaking them. He, therefore, took such measures as to prevent their escape. To
enable a company to guard our provisions and sick, when we should again advance, a stockade was erected, which was called Fort
Koshkonong.1
Here we learned by dispatches from Maj.-Gen. Scott to our commander, of the arrival of that officer with his troops at Chicago, and
that the Asiatic cholera was raging among them. This was the first intimation any individual of our command had received of the
existence of this disease on this continent. We also received other disagreeable and mortifying intelligence through the public prints,
and from other sources—the censure conveyed in insinuations and innuendoes by certain prints; the information from private letters,
and perhaps the tone of official dispatches, all gave us too clearly to understand, that thus far for our toil, exposure, and exertions,
we had received nothing but censure—how unjustly, every individual of the army knew and felt.
On the arrival of the provisions, a new guide—an Indian chief 2—offered to conduct the army to the enemy's camp; his services
were gladly accepted, and the army once more advanced through swamps in the direction of the foe. When again within a few hours
march of them, the night set in with the most tremendous storm of rain, wind, thunder and lightning that I ever witnessed. Before
morning an officer overtook us with information from Gen. Henry, that the enemy had retreated, crossing Rock River, and that the
mounted corps of Henry and Dodge having fallen on the fresh trail of the retreating Indian army, had taken the trail in pursuit, after
dispatching the express to Gen. Atkinson. Instantly we commenced our retrograde movement again, and that evening arrived at Fort
Koshkonong; and the next day passed around Lake Koshkonong, and forded Bock River below the lake.
1 This fort was located In the eastern outskirts of the present village of Fort Atkinson, and was first known as Fort Koshkonong, and
afterwards as Fort Atkinson. It was garrisoned by Capt. Gideon Lowe, of the regulars, with thirty or forty men, tin the conclusion of
the war, when it was abandoned, and Lowe marched his men to Fort Wlnnebago. L. C. D.
2 White Crow. L. C. D.
Our marches were forced and severe. One day we marched it is believed, nearly twenty miles, a very hot one, without water. Before
the arrival of the army at the Wisconsin, it was met by an express with information that Henry and Dodge had come up with, and
attacked the rear of the enemy near the river, and defeated them.
Rafts were forthwith constructed at the Wisconsin, and the army crossed at a small village called Helena, on the 27th of July; and
within two hours afterwards we struck the trail of the enemy. Their trail gave evidence that their numbers must be considerable.
Their order of march was in three parallel columns. Over the dry prairie, the route of each column was worn from two to six inches in
the earth; where the ground was marshy, their trail appeared like ordinary traveled roads, wanting only the tracks of the wheels.
From this time until we reached the Mississippi River, we continued without deviation to follow the trail of the enemy, having no other
guide, and led—doubtless with a view of baffling the army—over such a country as, I venture to say, has seldom been marched
over—at one moment ascending hills, which appeared almost perpendicular, through the thickest forests; then plunging through
morasses; fording to our necks creeks and rivers; passing defiles, where one hundred resolute men might have defeated ten
thousand, whatever might be their courage or capacity; next clambering up and down mountains perfectly bald, without so much as
a bush to sustain a man. It was in this march that our infantry regained their confidence in their own powers—lacking the power of
rapid locomotion to make a dash against an enemy—which had been somewhat impaired early in the campaign. They now far outmarched the horsemen, nearly all of whose horses were broken down.
The Indians were under the impression that it was impossible for us to follow them; and to that error we probably owe our ultimate
good fortune in overtaking them, or, at least, in bringing them into action on grounds of equality. We, each day, made two of their
day's marches, passing one or two of their camps. We frequently passed their dead, who, exhausted by wounds or fatigue, had
expired and fallen from their horses.
On the 1st of August, we passed the bodies of eleven, and a little before sunset, learned from a prisoner, that the enemy were but a
few miles in advance of us. Up to this time, not a man of the army knew where we were, save that we were north of the Wisconsin,
and on the enemy's track. We marched until after dark, hastily encamped, slept two or three hours, when the reveille beat, and we
were again on the march before daybreak.
On the 2nd of August, at a little after sunrise, we discovered the curtain of mist hanging over the Mississippi, and the scouts in
advance, a detachment of Dodge's corps, announced the vicinity of the enemy. We were halted for an instant, our knapsacks and
baggage thrown off and our pack-horses left. We then advanced rapidly into the timbered land, and the occasional shots in advance
confirmed the reports of the scouts. This firing was from a select rear guard of the enemy, about seventy in number.
Our order of battle was promptly arranged under the personal supervision of Gen. Atkinson, the center composed of the regular
troops, about three hundred and eighty in number, and Dodge's corps, perhaps about one hundred and fifty. The right, of the
remains of Posey's and Alexander's militia brigades, probably in all two hundred and fifty men; the left, of Henry's brigade, in
numbers not far from four hundred men—which brigade was. throughout the campaign, a most excellent body of militia, and well
commanded. The army advanced by heads of companies over two or three miles. At length, after descending a bluff, almost
perpendicular, we entered a bottom thickly and heavily wooded, with much underbrush and fallen timber, and overgrown with rank
109
weeds and grass, plunged through a bayou of stagnant water, the men as usual holding up their guns and cartridge boxes, and in a
few minutes heard the yells of the enemy, closed with them, and the action commenced.
As I have already been more prolix than I intended, I refer the reader to the official account of the battle. Suffice it to say, that
quarters were in no instance asked or granted. The official reports give the number of killed of the enemy at one hundred and fifty,
though doubtless many more were killed in the river and elsewhere, whose bodies were never seen afterwards. Our loss was but
twenty-seven. This disparity was doubtless owing to the rapid charge made by our troops, on the enemy, giving them time to deliver
but one confused fire. About one hundred and fifty horses were taken or killed. The Black Hawk, the Prophet, and some other chiefs
escaped from the action; but were subsequently brought in by the Winnebagoes, and the friendly Sauks, and delivered to the
commanding general. After the action, a body of one hundred Sioux warriors presented themselves, and asked leave to pursue on
the trail of such of the enemy as had escaped. This was granted, and the Sioux, after two days' pursuit, overtook and killed fifty or
sixty, mostly, it is feared, women and children.
The afternoon previous to the action, the steamboat Warrior, on her return from the Sioux villages above, with some twenty or thirty
IT. S soldiers, discovered the Indian army on the bank of the Mississippi, engaged in constructing rafts and other means of crossing
the river, exactly where Gen. Atkinson subsequently attacked them.
The enemy for some time endeavored to decoy the steamboat to the shore, assuring those on board that they were Winnebagoes, a
friendly tribe. A sharp skirmish was finally the result, in which several of the Indians—different reports say from seven to twentythree in number—were killed, and one soldier wounded. The boat then repaired to Prairie du Chien, and arrived again opportunely
at the close of the action the following day.
The troops moved down the river to Prairie du Chien, where they were met by Maj.-Gen. Scott, who, with his staff, had left the
brigade at Chicago, prostrated by an enemy far more terrible than the savages—the cholera; and was hastening to take part in the
campaign. The wounded were left at this place, and the army descended to Rock Island, where we arrived in fine health and spirits
on the 9th of August . Indeed, it is astonishing how perfectly healthy the troops had been during much and great exposure to the
ordinary causes of sickness. Up to this time not a death from disease had occurred during the campaign among the regular troops.
They had borne, without the slightest murmur, their fatigues and privations, and scarcely an occasion for the most trifling
punishment had been given, from the time the army took the field. It has never been the fortune of the writer, during a service of
twenty years, to witness for a length of time the conduct of any command so perfectly exemplary.
We were soon doomed to experience a sad reverse. About the 20th of August, the troops from Chicago arrived under the command
of Col. Eustis, and were encamped about four miles from the command of Gen. Atkinson. Poor fellows! we listened with sincere
condolence to the tale of their wretched sufferings from disease; few of us imagining that we should call on them, so soon, to
reciprocate our sympathy.
About the 26th of August, a case of cholera exhibited itself; this was followed by several others, and the ravages of this appalling
disease then became truly dreadful. The troops were camped in wretched tents in close order of encampment, and for several days
of continued cold rain the pestilence raged. Every man could hear the groans and screams of every other individual as often as a
case occurred, which added greatly to the horrors of the scene. The brave men who had encountered dangers and hardships in
every shape, now met an enemy which made the stoutest heart quail. During a very few days four officers and upwards of fifty rank
and file, out of about three hundred infantry, became its victims. The Rangers also encamped near them, suffered severely. It is but
rendering justice to Maj.-Gen. Scott to say, that his conduct at Rock Island during this period of horrors was worthy the hero of
Chippewa, Niagara, and Fort George—by his example, exciting confidence and courage, fearlessly exposing himself to disease and
death in its most terrible form, in his attentions alike to the officer and private soldier; while he enforced with the most vigilant care
the strictest sanitary regulations. At length the troops were moved across the Mississippi, not out of sight of their late camp, and the
pestilence ceased.
The Indians sued for peace, a treaty was made at Rock Island by which the whole country east of the Mississippi called the "mining
district," and a large tract on the west bank, probably in the whole about 8,000,000 acres, was ceded to the United States; and all
the surviving chiefs of any note who had been in arms against us, were to remain as hostages during the pleasure of the president.
And thus ended the Sauk war. About the 28th of September the troops were ordered to their respective stations.
The fear of being insufferably prolix, has induced the writer to confine himself to a general account of the campaign, leaving
minutiae to some future opportunity.
NOTE.—The editor of the Rockford Journal appended to his publication of Capt. Smith's narrative, the following outline of the route
pursued by Gen. Atkinson's troops: The line of march of the army was from Rock Island to Prophet's Town, In Whiteside County,
thence to Dixon; thence north on the east side of Rock River, passing a few miles east of Oregon, Ogle County; crossing Stillman's
Creek In the towns of Marlon and Scott, Ogle County, where Stillman's battalion was defeated; crossing the Kishwaukee River In the
town of New Milford, some two or three miles from its mouth, and passing about one mile east from the present city of Rockford.
Thence north, through the present towns of Harlem and Roscoe In Winnebago County, Illinois. The Wisconsin line was crossed
about one mile east of the city of Beloit. The east bank of Rock River was followed until they came to Lake Koshkonong, where the
river was crossed, and the army took a westerly course, passing through Dane and Iowa counties, Wisconsin, to the Wisconsin
River, at Helena, where they crossed the river. From this point the direction was a northwest course, passing through Sauk and
Richland counties, the northeast corner of Crawford County, some twenty to twenty-five miles from Prairie du Chien, and through
Vernon County, to where the Indians were overtaken at the Bad Axe River, and the final battle was fought.
This march was through an entire new country. No white man had ever passed through it before. The distance marched was about
three hundred miles, one hundred and forty of which being In Illinois, and the remainder In Wisconsin. The entire time occupied In
making the distance, Including the stoppages and delays, from the time the army left Rock Island, May 9th, until the defeat of Black
Hawk, Aug. 2d, was eighty-five days.
110
------Rev. Eleazer Williams (1788 – 1858) was an Indian missionary, self-declared "Lost Dauphin," b. Sault St. Louis
(Caughnawaga), Quebec, Canada, of mixed Indian-white parentage. He was trained for missionary work at Longmeadow,
Mass., and attended Dartmouth College. Born a Catholic and educated as a Congregationalist, Williams joined the
Episcopal Church in 1815, was allowed to do missionary work among the Oneida Indians in New York, and later (1826) was
ordained a deacon. A gifted leader, he envisaged an Indian empire west of Lake Michigan under his rule. In 1821 he
accompanied a delegation of New York Indians to Green Bay, where the eastern tribesmen effected a cession of land from
the Menominee and Winnebago on the Fox River. In 1822 Williams established his home there, strengthening his claim to a
tract at Little Rapids through marriage to a Menominee of mixed blood. The Indians eventually repudiated his leadership,
however, and as early as 1839 Williams began his pretensions that he was the "Lost Dauphin" of France, Louis XVII. Later
he claimed that Prince de Joinville, son of King Louis Philippe, asked him to sign an abdication at Green Bay in 1841. In the
early 1850's he became an open pretender, tricked his mother into signing an affidavit that he was an adopted son, and
issued manifestoes, signing his writings "L. D." (Louis, Dauphin). Williams promised his friends many royal favors when his
wrong had been righted; but, doomed to defeat, he died in poverty and obscurity at Hogansburg, NY. Many years later, his
remains were reinterred at Duck Creek, near Green Bay.
For more of his interesting story see:
“History of Brown County, Wisconsin,” Vol. I, Chapter XI, by Deborah Beaumont Martin, S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1913.
pages 105-117.
http://books.google.com/books?id=hz8VAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA139&dq=%22fort+howard%22+wisconsin%22#v=onepage&q=%
22wheaton%22&f=false
See also:
“Eleazer Willams not the Dauphin of France,” by William Ward Wight, Chicago Historical Society, 1902. 35 pages.
http://books.google.com/books?id=vCc2AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1&dq=%22eleazer+williams%22#v=onepage&q=&f=false
“The Story of Louis XVII, of France,” by Elizabeth Edson Gibson Evans, 1893. 360 pages; (which says he was Dauphin).
http://books.google.com/books?id=CqwfAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA25&dq=%22eleazer+williams%22#v=onepage&q=%22eleazer
%20williams%22&f=false
--------"Menomonee Lodge" continued its regular communications, and exercised the functions of a Lodge, until sometime in the year
1830, when it ceased to work. * * * * The discontinuance of the meetings of the Lodge was owing to several causes, but principally
to the dispersion and separation of its members. Many of them, as already remarked, were attached to the army, and these
members, in obedience to the call of duty, were obliged to repair to other military posts, to form new associations ; thus, in effect,
dissolving Menomonee Lodge, and severing the ties of friendship and fraternity which had so long existed between its members.
But is it fair, brethren, to say that "Menomonee Lodge" no longer exists? It is true, the name appears not upon the roll of the Grand
Lodge of Wisconsin; it is equally true that her records are mutilated or destroyed, and that many of her worthy members have
returned to their kindred Earth. But in spirit and truth, it still survives. The name has given way to that of the immortal and venerated
"Washington"—a name revered by all good men, and worthy Masons. That Lodge was organized on the application of the surviving
resident members of the old one, and others who had become citizens here; and it will be found that at least half of the petitioners
for the formation of the new Lodge had been members of the old one. Again, the jewels now worn by the officers of Washington
Lodge, as well as a part of the furniture and implements, were the property of old " Menomonee"— and above all, the same
principles of Brotherly Love and Fellowship actuate and govern it, which once united and harmonized our worthy predecessors.
Thus, then, in fact, "Washington Lodge" is but a revival or reorganization of the old Pioneer; and although by our present charter,
and the Records of the Grand Lodge of this State, this Lodge is numbered "21," yet its members may justly be considered as
representatives of the worthy brethren who first introduced Masonry into Wisconsin, and gave to her " a local habitation and a name.
See also:
“The American Sketch Book – A History of Brown County (Green Bay), Wisconsin,” by Bella French Swisher, 330 pages.
http://books.google.com/books?id=pCEYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=%22hunter+crane%22+%22green+bay%22&source
=bl&ots=lLPNDLxifA&sig=Pn4TfGhvVzMNyCEbJ2xDCQGXZZI&hl=en&ei=bUGASoGrIonwMYji1f4C&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=res
ult&resnum=3#v=onepage&q=%22hunter%20crane%22%20%22green%20bay%22&f=false
MONROE LODGE NO. 375
Among the older settled places in what is now the state of Michigan, was Monroe. As early as the year 1824 we find
the Masons residing at that place taking steps to secure the establishment of a Lodge there. The following petition
was sent to the Grand Lodge of New York:
TO THE MOST WORSHIPFUL GRAND LODGE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
The petitioners hereof humbly sheweth that they are ancient free and accepted Master Masons, having the prosperity of the
fraternity at heart, they are willing to exert their best endeavors to promote and diffuse the genuine principles of Masonry. For the
convenience of their respective dwellings and for other good reasons, they are desirous of forming a New Lodge in the Town of
Monroe, in the Territory of Michigan, to be named "MONROE LODGE." In consequence of this desire and the good of the craft they
pray for a Charter or Warrant to empower them to assemble as a legal Lodge, to discharge the duties of Masonry in the several
Degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason, in a regular and Constitutional manner, according to the ancient
forms of the fraternity and the Laws and regulations of the Grand Lodge. That they have nominated and do recommend Seneca
Allen to be the first Master, Hiram Brown to be the first Senior Warden, and Harry Conant to be the first Junior Warden of said
111
Lodge; that if the Prayer of the petition should be granted they promise a strict conformity to all the Constitutional Laws, rules and
regulations of the Grand Lodge.
Dated at Monroe, Monroe county, Mich. Terr'y, October 29th 1824, A. L, 5824.
This petition was recommended by Zion Lodge on November 3d, and by Detroit Lodge two days later, and was duly
forwarded to the Grand Lodge of New York, and on December 21 of the same year, the warrant was granted to
that body, and the following dispensation was given to Brother A. G. Whitney:
BY THE MOST WORSHIPFUL
MARTIN HOFFMAN, ESQ.,
GRAND MASTER OF MASONS IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
To the Worshipful Br. ANDREW G. WHITNEY, Past Master of Zion Lodge, No. 3.
WHEREAS; a Warrant has issued from the GRAND LODGE of this State, for the purpose of erecting a Lodge by the name of
MONROE LODGE, No. 375, to be held in the Town of MONROE in the County of MONROE, in the TERRITORY of MICHIGAN.
AND WHEREAS, from the distance at which those who are appointed officers of the said Lodge reside, it is inconvenient for the
officers of the GRAND LODGE personally to attend and install them into their respective offices:
NOW THEREFORE, I do by these presents authorize you to summon together as many of the brethren as may be convenient, and
with their assistance to proceed to install the Officers of the said Lodge, as named in the Warrant, into their respective offices: and
to constitute the said Lodge according to the ancient usages of the craft, in such cases established; you making report of your
proceedings to the Grand Secretary, and for so doing this dispensation shall be your sufficient Warrant.
GIVEN under my hand and private seal, at the City of New York, this Fourth day of December, Anno Lucis, 5824.
MARTIN HOFFMAN.
ATTEST,
E. HICKS. Grand Secretary.
In pursuance of the duty imposed on him by this dispensation, Brother Whitney issued the following summons to the
brethren named therein:
TO the BRETHREN hereafter named, to wit, Phillip Lecuyer, Ebenezer Reed, Charles Jackson, Wm. Fletcher, E[lisha]. T. Champlin,
Peter P. Ferry, Robert Clark, Austin E. Wing, Joseph W. Brown, Horace Wolcott, Samuel Choat, Levi Collier. Andrew Murray,
Stephen Downing, Samuel Gale, Lenus A. Fuller, Edmund Littlefield.
WHEREAS, The most worshipful Martin Hoffman, Esquire, Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York, has, under his hand
and private seal, instructed me, that a warrant has issued from the Grand Lodge of that State, for the purpose of erecting a Lodge
by the name of Monroe Lodge, No. 375, to be held in the Town of Monroe, in the County of Monroe; And whereas he has, by his
dispensation, under his hand and private seal, addressed to me as Past Master of Zion Lodge, No. 3, authorized me to summon
together as many of the Brethren as may be convenient, and with their assistance to proceed to install the officers of the said Lodge,
as named in the said warrant, and to constitute the said Lodge according to the ancient usages of the Craft;—Now, therefore, in
pursuance of the authority, by the aforesaid dispensation given, I do hereby summon you, Brethren, and each of you, whose names
are above written, to appear, at the Masonic Hall, in Monroe, on the 29th day of June, present, at nine of the clock in the forenoon of
the said day, to assist me in the installation of the said officers of the said Lodge, and in constituting the same according to the
ancient usages of the craft, in such cases established.
Done in pursuance of the authority above recited, under my hand and private seal, at the city of Detroit, this 27th day of June, Anno
Lucis, 5825.
A. G. Whitney.
A full report of the work done at this meeting appears in this record which was transmitted to the Grand Lodge:
Monroe, June 29, 5825.
At a special Grand Lodge, held at Monroe, in the County of Monroe, in the Territory of Michigan, on Wednesday, the 29th day of
June, A. L. 5825, were present,
M. W. Andrew G. Whitney, Grand Master
Austin E. Wing, D. G. Master
John E. Schwarz, S. Gr. Warden
Andrew Murray, J. G. Warden
Robert Clark, Gr. Treasurer
Rev. Wells, Grand Chaplain.
Philip Lecuyer, Gr. Marshal
Collier
[Stephen] Downing (Gr. Stewards.)
Lenus A. Fuller, Gr. Tyler.
Elisha P. Champlin, S. Gr. Deacon
Samuel Gale, Jr. Gr. Deacon
[Samuel] Choates (Bible)
Richard Smythe, Gr. Sword Bearer.
Br. Eliakim Root, visitor.
112
Ebenezer Reed, Grand Secretary
Peter P. Ferry—(Book of Constitutions)
The Charter of Monroe Lodge No. 375, derived from the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, was exhibited and read.
A dispensation from the Grand Master of Masons of New York, authorizing Br. Andrew G. Whitney, P. M, of Zion Lodge No. 3,
Detroit, to summon a number of brethren to form a temporary Grand Lodge and proceed to install the officers of Monroe Lodge, was
exhibited and read.
A communication was received from the new Lodge, stating that they were convened at their hall, and were ready to receive the
Grand Lodge.
Whereupon the Grand Lodge proceeded to the Hall of Monroe Lodge, No. 375, and the M. W. Grand Master installed the officers of
the said Lodge conformably to the charter and dispensation there exhibited, and the ancient usages of the craft.
After prayer by the Rev. Grand Chaplain, and an appropriate address by the M. W. Grand Master, illustrative of the history and
progress of the order, the Grand Lodge adjourned to the twenty-second day of October next, then to assemble for the purpose of
consecrating the Lodge now constituted.
Ebenezer Reed,
G. Secretary.
In April, 1826, in response to the call from the other Michigan Lodges, this Lodge resolved to co-operate with them in
forming a Grand Lodge, and appointed John Anderson, Harry Conant and Charles Noble a committee to represent
that Lodge. At the convention held on June 24, 1826, John Anderson was present as a delegate from Monroe Lodge,
No. 375. At the meeting held on July 3i, when the organization of the Grand Lodge was effected, Monroe was not
represented, but at the December meeting of the same year, Harry Conant and Benjamin Davis represented that
Lodge. Farther than these items, nothing is known concerning this early Lodge. When Masonic work was
suspended in 1829, Monroe Lodge laid down its working tools and the use of them was never resumed. No
record is known to exist of its work, or who were its officers or members, and only the above brief records remain as
proof that such a Lodge ever had an existence.
“History of Monroe County, Michigan,” by John McClelland Buckley, page 452
http://books.google.com/books?id=qkIJY4_DQksC&pg=PA453&sig=8OAJuN6rx3RanR1oOdc_gIN_SVw
The movement which resulted in the formation of our first Grand Lodge was initiated by Zion Lodge No. 1 of Detroit
(then No. 3) at a regular meeting held August 1, 1825, and soon thereafter, a call was made for a convention by a
joint committee from Zion No. 1 and Detroit No. 337. This convention met in Detroit on June 24, 1826. The lodges
represented were Zion by three delegates; Detroit, two delegates; Menominee, two proxies, and Monroe, one
delegate, who was Colonel J. Anderson, all chartered by the Grand Lodge of New York as previously stated. June 11,
1827, at a meeting of the Grand Lodge of New York, a resolution was introduced, recognizing it as a Grand Lodge.
It is established by the records that the first Masonic lodge organized in Monroe, was Monroe Lodge No. 375, the
officers of which were publicly installed on St. John the Baptist's day, June 24, 1825. The only public hall in which
these exercises could be held, in the village, at that time, was the court room of the first court house built in the
county, after its organization in 1817. This was a building constructed of hewn logs clapboarded and painted yellow,
which stood on the southwestern quarter of the public square, near the present site of the First Presbyterian church.
On the celebration of this public service the veteran Reverend Noah Wells, a Presbyterian minister of Monroe,
officiated as chaplain. He was at the time of his death the oldest living minister of that denomination in America, at the
age of nearly one hundred years. In this meeting were many of the prominent men of the city and county, which gave
the old lodge a high standing for its personnel, such as Colonel John Anderson, Hiram Brown, Dr. Conant, Charles
Noble, A. C. Chapman, Isaac Lewis and others. A banquet was served after the installation, at the Exchange Hotel,
by its proprietor Mr. Chapman. The Exchange at that time was a noted hotel in Michigan—which was destroyed by
fire, in 1852. The following officers were duly installed: Seneca Allen, W. M.; Hiram Brown, S. W.; Harry Conant, J.
W.; John Anderson, treasurer; Chas. Noble, secretary.
http://www.mastermason.com/NewHolland392/page12c.htm
The below curious note regarding a Monroe Lodge in Michigan Territory appears as follows:
MONROE LODGE NO. 51 MONROE, MICHIGAN (TERRITORY)
January 22, 1819, a dispensation was issued for the organization of a lodge at Monroe in the Territory of Michigan to be designated
Monroe Lodge No. -. In its "Return" to the Grand Lodge in that year its officers are reported as follows: Brothers Samuel Felt, W. M.;
Benjamin Davis, S. W.; James Owens, J. W., and Isaac Lee, Secretary.
The existence of the lodge was evidently brief, as it was never chartered and was placed in the list of "discontinued lodges." The
number since then has remained vacant.
Seneca Allen – First Master
Seneca Allen left several children. A son, Harmon Allen, was a member of Milan Lodge No. 323, in 1891. He was a
surveyor from 1827 until his death. He surveyed and platted the City of Toledo, Ohio, in 1831, also the villages of
113
Trenton and Flat Rock in Wayne county, Michigan. He was for some years clerk of the Territorial Council of Michigan.
In 1826, Mr. Allen was elected Senior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge and reelected to the same office in 1827.
On the 17th of September, 1844, pursuant to a resolution of the first Grand Lodge of Michigan, acting under new
charters received from the Grand Lodge of New York for the subordinate lodges in Michigan Territory, was organized
the present Grand Lodge of Michigan, re-electing General Lewis Cass Grand Master; the Grand Lodge of New York
having refused to recognize the organization under and by virtue of what she pleased to denominate "The defunct
lodges of Michigan Territory."
Seneca Allen
http://books.google.com/books?id=UJEPx_u92h8C&pg=PA42&lpg=PA42&dq=%22seneca+allen%22&source=bl&ots
=9JMqV6e921&sig=R3xcvBQFk1ZCigW4cAwbT3aIPg&hl=en&ei=2euXSoHZBtTFlAflk4GzBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5#v=onepage&q=%22
seneca%20allen%22&f=false page 486.
Seneca Allen, son of Ebenezer Allen, was born February 18, 1788, in the State of Vermont. His wife, Fannie Lucinda, the daughter
of Moses Brigham, was born in New Hampshire, February 24, 1794. Mr. Allen moved to Monroe in September, 1827; taught school
fall and winter; was surveyor from 1827 until the time of his death. He platted and laid out the city of Toledo, about 1831, also the
villages of Trenton and Flat Eock. He was for several years clerk of the council of the Territory of Michigan. In the fall of 1829, as the
clerk of Dan B. Miller, he opened a dry goods store on the site where Manhattan now stands, the stock designed principally for trade
with the Indians. The United States Government at that time paid annuities to the Indians, and about 3,000 were there assembled.
He returned with his family to Monroe and resided on the corner of First street and Macomb, the site now occupied by the residence
of the late Dan B. Miller.
The son of Mr Allen — George Allen, is a machinist by trade; now resides at Azaiia, formerly called East Milan. When a boy with his
father at Manhattan, then twelve years of age, in an Indian camp, his pocket-book was stolen from his vest pocket while washing.
He accused the son of the chief, who denied it. He threw the chiefs son down, and at this juncture the chief carne in and saw him
take the pocket-book from his son's blanket. The chief caught him up in his arms, took him to his father and related the
circumstances. He thought himself quite a hero for whipping an Indian larger than he was and two years his senior. A few days after
this occurrence the tribe of Indians left the place and camped at the present site of Alexis, to hold a feast and dance. The Indian
chief, with the permission of his father, took George with him to attend the dance and feast. The chief asked him how he liked his
dinner, he replied he enjoyed it, as he was very hungry, but to his astonishment found he had been feasting on the meat of a dog.
He was incredulous until the skin of the white dog was shown him.
In 1816 Dr. Horatio Conant (brother of Dr. Harry Conant [below] and uncle of ex- Secretary of State Harry A. Conant) settled at
Maumee, and was appointed by Governor Cass Justice of the Peace. In 1819 Seneca Allen held a commission from the Governor
of Ohio as Justice of the Peace, with jurisdiction over the disputed territory, and notified Dr. Conant that he must not attempt to do
any business under his commission from the Governor of Michigan. But Allen, in December, 1819, had an engagement to marry a
couple on the north side of the Maumee river. The river was high, full of running ice, and very unsafe to cross. Conant lived near the
bank of the river on the Maumee side, Allen near the bank on the Perrys- burg side and nearly opposite. Allen, finding it
impracticable to cross to fill his engagement, called to Dr. Conant across the river and requested him to marry the couple. The
doctor reminded him (Allen) of his former prohibition to act under his commission, but Allen insisted, on the ground that unecessity
knows no law." Dr. Conant married the couple, and received for his marriage fee a jackknife.
http://books.google.com/books?id=6DTTAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=%22seneca+allen%22&source=bl&ots=LheBfjFSW&sig=H34jJ0xZrfpudhvKg4ifvcVkUtw&hl=en&ei=56XSsumMZCalAe9joy_BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8#v=onepage&q=%22seneca%20allen%22&f=false page 21.
In the one million dollar court house of Rochester, NY, in the marble forming the wall of one corridor, may be seen imbedded two
rough and antiquated mill-stones. A bronze plate beneath bears an inscription explaining why these uncouth relics are thus
preserved. It reads:
THESE MILL STONES
REPRESENT THE FIRST INDUSTRY
IN ROCHESTER
HAVING BEEN USED IN THE GRIST MILL
OF EBENEZER ALLEN
COMMONLY CALLED "INDIAN ALLEN"
WHICH WAS BUILT IN NOVEMBER, 1789
MORE THAN TWENTY YEARS
BEFORE THE ERECTION OF THE FIRST
HOUSE IN THIS CITY.
THEY ARE NOW PLACED IN THIS POSITION
BY THE
ROCHESTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY
A. D., 1896.
This Ebenezer Allen was father of Seneca Allen and grandfather of Melinda Sophia (Allen) Colton. He was born 17 Sep 1752—
place not recorded—and died at Delaware, Upper Canada, 13 Apr 1813 ; m. (common law) 21 Nov1786, Lucy, dau. of Nathan and
Hannah (Tyler) Chapman. She d. at Fort Meigs, Wood Co., Ohio, 13 Nov 1823. Her mother, Hannah Tyler Chapman, d. 17 Dec
1814. The history of Rochester contains quite an extended sketch of Ebenezer Allen's connection with that town.
114
Seneca Allen, son of Ebenezer Allen and Lucy Chapman his (common law) wife, b. 18 Feb 1788—place not recorded; d. at Monroe,
Mich., of cholera, 22 Sep 1834. Was one of the most prominent pioneers of the Maumee valley, having gone there from Detroit in
1816 and opened a small store at Roche du Pont—now Waterville, Lucas Co., Ohio. In 1818, removed to "Orleans of the North," an
embryo town on the Maumee river below Ft. Meigs and opposite Maumee. He was there justice of the peace, that locality being then
in Logan Co. In 1824, he purchased for $480.00 one hundred and sixty acres of land, now in the heart of Toledo, on which are now
located the Court House and the High School building, but he was not able to hold it. He was a civil engineer and laid out a large
part of the original plat of Toledo. In 1824-25 he taught the first school in Toledo. With his family he removed to Monroe, Mich., in
1827. He m. Fanny Lucinda Brigham, 9 Jul 1809.
http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/th/read/NYMADISO/2000-05/0957862632
Generation No. 1
1. EBENEZER (INDIAN ALLEN)1 ALLEN b. 17 Sep 1752; d. 13 Apr 1813 in Delaware, Upper Canada; m. (common law) LUCY
CHAPMAN 21 Nov 1786, daughter of Nathan Chapman and Hannah Tyler.
Child of Ebenezer Allen and Lucy Chapman was:
2. i. SENECA2 ALLEN, b. 18 Feb 1788, VT to Monroe Co., MI 1827; d. 22 Sep 1834, Monroe Co., MI of Cholera. He married
FANNIE LUCINDA BRIGHAM 9 Jul 1809, daughter of Moses Brigham.
Children of Seneca Allen and Fannie Brigham were:
3. i. GEORGE3 ALLEN,
b. ca 1818, OH res. Milan twp. 1850, East Milan 1860 & 70.
ii. MELINDA SOPHIA ALLEN, m. HAMILTON CARLOS COLTIN, 17 Sep 1833, Monroe Co., MI.
iii. HIRAM ALLEN,
b. ca 1821, of Milan, OH; m. MARY BILL, 15 Feb 1849, Monroe Co., MI.
Note: Ebenezer “Indian” Allen at one time 9ca 1789) owned “Allan’s Grist and Saw Mill” which was in time purchased by Col.
Nathaniel Rochester (Maj. Charles Carroll, and Col. William Fitzhugh, Jr.) and became Rochester, Monroe Co., New York.
Ref. http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/~rochhist/v1_1939/v1i4.pdf
Allan’s Grist & Saw Mill – 1789 - on the Genesee River at what is not Main and Exchange Streets in Rochester, New York
“We cannot be certain of the number of Allan’s household at the time. His two daughters were at school in Philadelphia, but their
Indian mother may have accompanied Allan to the new home in the mill; Allan’s white (common law) wife, Lucy, and her baby boy,
born in 1788 and named Seneca Allan, doubtless lived at the mill in 1790.”
------Col. John Anderson – Treasurer, Monroe Lodge No. 375
http://www.heritagepursuit.com/Wood/WoodChapVII.htm
When Wayne swooped down on the Maumee Indians, in 1794, Col. John Anderson, British Indian agent, at the time, had a little
trading establishment, and a garden and corn field above Fort Miami. Wayne's followers devoured the Colonel's roasting ears, and
destroyed everything outside the fort. Old Andy Race, with the victorious army, and later a settler, and who believed that "Mad
Anthony" could do anything, not actually forbidden by Omnipotent Power, used to say that Wayne would have stormed the fort, and
destroyed that, too, only that he ran out of whiskey that morning. However this may have been, Anderson seems, for some reason,
not to have been seriously interfered with when the United States took possession. The Missionary, David Bacon, says (year 1802):
"Mr. Anderson, a respectable trader, was at Fort Miami, and was opposed to selling whiskey to the Indians." This would indicate that
Anderson, who was at Miami at the time of the battle, 1794, and was yet there in 1802, had been a permanent resident for at least
eight years. Mr. Anderson afterward lived at Monroe, Mich. It looks as though Col. Anderson, with his cornfield, garden and store,
was best entitled to the honor of being the first settler. The first comers were in fact all squatters, and in a sense transient
occupants.
115
http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofknaggsf00ross/historyofknaggsf00ross_djvu.txt
The second regiment was commanded by Col. John Anderson of Frenchtown (Monroe), who was the husband of Whitmore's
Knagg’s sister Elizabeth.
------http://books.google.com/books?id=UJEPx_u92h8C&pg=PA327&lpg=PA327&dq=%22a.+c.+chapman%22+%22Monroe%22&source
=bl&ots=9JMqY2id_3&sig=w6qbtc8FHuAq5f6Dla3tvBklx4c&hl=en&ei=g_SbSsjmDN6K8Qav5fzFAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=resu
lt&resnum=1#v=snippet&q=%22chapman%22&f=false page 140.
Alcott [Olcott] C. Chapman removed to Monroe from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, soon after the close of the War of 1812, when the
prospects of this section of country were at the lowest ebb. He continued to reside here from that time to the date of his death, April
22, 1831, aged thirty- eight years. Mr. Chapman was uniformly one of its most public-spirited citizens, and to his exertions more than
to any other single individual was the village of Monroe indebted for its then flourishing prospects. He erected the largest hotel in the
State, and even up to the time of his last sickness his enterprise was not in the least abated, as he was then engaged in erecting
another splendid building on Monroe Street.
La Plaisance Bay Harbor Company - June 2, 1827: At the annual meeting of the above company held on the 30th ult, the following
were chosen directors of the company: Alcott C. Chapman, Charles Noble, Levi S. Humphrey, John Anderson and Harry
Conant. This company was formed to provide warehouse and a horse drawn tram to the village at La Plaisance Bay..
------Dr. Harry Conant, Junior Warden, Monroe Lodge No. 375
http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/monroe/bios/c55301.txt
http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/monroe/monroe/biography/c55301.txt
American Biographical History of Eminent and Self-Made Men with Portrait Illustrations on Steel, Volumes I-II
Dr. Harry Conant of Monroe, was born at Mansfield, CT, 19 Apr 1790. Eleazor Conant, his father, was a graduate of Yale College,
and studied for the ministry, but went ultimately into the army as Paymaster, and never entered upon his profession. He was the
direct lineal descendant of Roger Conant, the first Colonial Governor of Massachusetts, who came from Budleigh, England, in April,
1591. The subject of this sketch was the seventh child of Eleazor and Eunice (Storrs) Conant. His mother dying when he was an
infant, his childhood was passed in the home of his uncle and aunt, John and Patty (Storrs) Conant, of blessed memory. They were
childless, and he was to them as a beloved and only son. In 1801 both Eleazor and John Conant moved with their families to
Middlebury, Vermont.
Dr. Harry Conant graduated at Middlebury in 1813. He studied medicine first with Doctor Tudor, of Middlebury; then at Pittsfield,
Massachusetts; and, in 1816, after passing a successful examination before the State Medical Censors, was admitted as a member
of the Medical Society of the State of Vermont. Armed with letters of introduction and recommendation from President Davis, of
Middlebury College, and numerous other influential friends, he went to Montreal, intending there to locate and practice his
profession; but was influenced by the glowing letters of his brothers--Shubael * in Detroit, and Horatio in Maumee, Ohio, to go West.
* n.b. a good account of Shubael may be found in “Historical collections, Volume XVIII,” by Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society,
Michigan State Historical Society, 1900. page 629-637, a digital copy of which is in archives of the OMDHS.
http://books.google.com/books?id=kRMUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA631&lpg=PA631&dq=%22harry+conant%22+%22monroe%22&source
=bl&ots=97Vwe1xXpv&sig=dWCyw8kNwK5hhxr50sYW0cp3ag&hl=en&ei=WiWXSpO_Admy8QaI2s21DA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3#v=onepage&q
=%22harry%20conant%22%20%22monroe%22&f=false
He left Montreal, stopping in Western Pennsylvania, where he invested in the manufacture of lumber for the Pittsburg market; not
realizing his expectations, however, he sold out, joined his brother [Horatio] in Ohio for a short time, [practiced at Fort Meigs, now
Perrysburgh, Ohio, 1817-20] and came to Michigan Territory in 1820, settling at Monroe. Here he entered at once upon the practice
of his profession, in partnership with Dr. Luther Parker, an old resident physician of the place.
On 4 Jun 1821, he was united in marriage to Miss Maria Stewart, a young lady from the Green Mountain State. 3 Feb 1824, he
was appointed, by General Cass, Commissioner to locate a turnpike from Detroit to Pontiac and Paint Creek, in Oakland County. 15
Dec 1824, he was appointed Sheriff of Monroe County by General Cass. In 1826 Doctor Conant was attending physician to General
Cass, on the occasion of a treaty with Indians, signed on the Wabash, in the State of Indiana. On the 10th of July, 1826, Governor
Woodbridge appointed him Surgeon of the 2d Regiment of the Territorial militia. Doctor Conant was greatly interested in all
educational movements. On the founding of a branch of the University of Michigan at Monroe, at his own expense he erected
buildings for its accommodation and that of the principal, Rev. Mr. Center, who came from Albany to fill the position. Doctor Conant,
the late Colonel O. Johnson, and Charles Noble, were the founders of the Young Ladies' Seminary, known as Miss McQueen's
school. In 1850 he was one of the regents and a stockholder of the Young Ladies' Seminary, E. J. Boyd being Principal. In that year
he was elected Judge of Probate. With the late T. G. Cole, he established the first Whig paper in Monroe, placing Mr. Hosmer, a
young lawyer, in the editorial chair. He invested both money and energy in the Gibraltar and Flat Rock enterprise, and was treasurer
of the company. Other offices of public trust were proffered him, but were declined as interfering with his profession, which he loved,
and in the practice of which he was most successful.
18 Sep 1832, he united with the Presbyterian Church, and the same year was elected elder, which office he honored until his death,
September 2, 1851. Dr. Harry Conant was a man of strong character, possessing both firmness and gentleness to a marked degree.
A man of few words, his sterling integrity, rare good sense, and intellectual culture won for him the respect and confidence of all who
knew him. Endowed with sound judgment and remarkable discriminating faculties, he was seldom mistaken in his estimate of men
and things. Doctor Conant was a sound scholar and a Christian gentleman. His religious life was always consistent and cheerful; his
faith, firm and unwavering. Resting alone on the merits of a merciful Redeemer--calm and confident--he had no forebodings for the
116
future. Though to him life had always been a joy, and, as he expressed it, "This had always been to him a beautiful world," his last
words were, "Almost Home."
Harry Conant was the father of Harry A. Conant, of Monroe, afterward Michigan's secretary of state and United States minister at
Naples, and John S. Conant of Princeton, N. J. He was also the father of Sarah Conant, b. 3 Feb 1832. She was educated in the
McQueen School and the Young Ladies Seminary, each of which her father was instrumental in founding. She married 19 Nov 1864
John P. Hogarth who was in business in New York where they resided until 1870, when they returned to Monroe.
Harry was the half-brother of Elizabeth (Eliza) C. Conant, who married Leander Sackett on 1 Jan 1830. Leander had first married
Rebecca Conant on 3 Jan 1821, by whom they had Samuel M. Sackett, who at age 24 was a clerk listed as being in the household
of [Dr.] Harry Conant. Ref: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sackettheadstones/Sackett/3527.htm
-------Nathan Hubble was one of the oldest residents of the city, having resided here for some forty-four years. He served as sheriff of the
county and as the county and city surveyor. In addition, he served in other offices. As a public officer, he was highly esteemed.
Hubble lived in a log cabin at the southwest corner of Third and Macomb streets. Sheriff Hubble died August 3, 1864.
------Hon. Charles Noble – Secretary [b. 4 Jul 1797 – d. 26 Dec 1874]
American Biographical History of Eminent and Self-Made Men with Portrait Illustrations on Steel, Volumes I-II, page 109.
http://books.google.com/books?id=UIBAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22American+Biographical+History+of+Eminent+and+SelfMade+Men%22#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Hon. Charles Noble, Lawyer, of Detroit, Michigan, was born at Williamstown, MA, 4 Jul 1797. He was the son of Deodatus and
Betsey Abigail (Bulkley) Noble; and grandson of Hon. David Noble, who, at the time of his death, was Judge of Common Pleas in
Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Mr. Charles Noble graduated at Williams College in 1815, and studied law with his uncle, Hon.
David Noble, of Williamstown. He was admitted to practice in Berkshire County in 1818. The same year, he went to the West; and,
after a short stay at Cleveland, Ohio, settled in Monroe, Michigan. He entered at once upon the practice of his profession, and
remained in Monroe until 1867, when he removed to Detroit. While residing in Monroe, he held the offices of the
Legislative Council of Michigan Territory for two years; Justice of the Peace; Secretary of the Board of Commissioners, negotiating
the Indian treaty at St. Joseph; Register of Probate; District Attorney; County Judge; and Lawyer-General of the United States, for
the district of country north-west of the Ohio River.
He was one of the purchasers of the Michigan Southern Railroad from the State, and the first President of the company. He was
also Cashier of the Bank of River Raisin; and, when the bank failed,--which was not at the time he was an officer in it,--he was
appointed one of the assignees. In 1867 he removed to Detroit, and formed a partnership with his son, Charles W. Noble, and his
son-in-law, George S. Frost, under the firm name of George S. Frost & Co. He continued in this business--the purchase and sale of
pine lands--up to the time of his death, which occurred at Detroit, 26 Dec 1874.
The "Obituary Record" of Williams College says, in reference to him: "Older citizens remember Mr. Noble as one of a large number
of well-educated men, who, half a century ago, settled in Monroe, and influenced, and to a large extent controlled, the politics and
what were then regarded as the early enterprises of the State. The results of Mr. Noble's active life are seen and enjoyed through a
wide extent of country, by a large and appreciative population. He has left a bright and spotless record, and a memory which will be
fondly cherished." Mr. Noble was a man of deep convictions and decided opinions in all matters of religion. In the year 1831, he first
connected himself with the Presbyterian Church; and, for a number of years, was a ruling elder in the church of that denomination at
Monroe. Shortly after his removal to Detroit, he became a ruling elder in the First Presbyterian Church there, and so remained until
his death. Both in Monroe and in Detroit, Mr. Noble had, by his genial manners and sterling integrity, gathered around him a wide
circle of friends. He was, in politics, a Whig during the existence of that party; and, subsequently, acted independently of political
organizations, though most frequently voting with the Republican party on national issues. In person, Mr. Noble was of fine
appearance, and preserved the vivacity and freshness of mature manhood up to the time of his death.
He married, May 16, 1823, at Detroit, Eliza Symmes Wing, daughter of Hon. Enoch Wing, and sister of the late Hons. Austin E.
Wing and Warner Wing, of Monroe. His wife survives him. They had seven children, three of whom died in infancy. His daughter
Elizabeth married Rev. Hannibal L. Stanley, and died in 1849. The children who survive Mr. Noble are: Charles W. Noble, of Detroit,
born in 1828; Ellen N. Frost, wife of George F. Frost, of Detroit, born in 1832; and Conwav Noble, of Cleveland, Ohio, born in 1842.
GEN. LEWIS CASS
FIRST GRAND MASTER OF MASONS IN MICHIGAN.
The name of General Lewis Cass is so closely interwoven with the first Grand Lodge in Michigan, it is eminently
proper that a sketch of his Masonic labors should be given before entering upon a history of the Grand Lodge over
which he presided during its whole existence.
The history of the civil, military, and political life of Lewis Cass is a part of the history of this commonwealth and of the
nation. We shall, therefore, just touch upon his public life, and confine this sketch mainly to his Masonic career, and
particularly his connection with Masonry in Michigan.
Lewis Cass was born in Exeter, NH, October 9, 1782. He was the oldest son of Major Jonathan Cass, who served in
the revolutionary war, and Mary Gilman
117
Children of Jonathan and Mary:
i. James Cass.
ii. Mary Cass.
iii. David Cass
b. ca 1774.
iv. John Cass
b, ca 1776.
v. Joseph Cass
b. ca 1776. Note: The "Cass Clippings" gives Molly Huse(?) as the bride of Joseph in a marriage in
Richmond, NH on 4 Apr 1782. However, Molly Huse may have married Joseph's brother John in 1802.
vi. Gen. Lewis B. Cass b. 9 Oct 1782.
vii. Deborah Webster Cass
b. 16 Apr 1784.
viii. George Washington Cass b. 24 Jan 1786.
ix. Capt. Charles Lee Cass
b. 15 Aug 1787.
x. Mary Cass
b. 12 Aug 1788.
xi. John Jay Cass
b. 28 Feb 1791 in Exeter, Rockingham, NH; d. 29 Apr 1792 at 1 year of age.
Lewis attended school in his native town during his early years, and in 1799 removed with his father's family to
Wilmington, Delaware, where he became a school teacher. In 1800 he went to Marietta, Ohio, where he studied law
in the office of Gov. Meigs, and was admitted to the bar in 1802, when only twenty years of age. In 1803 he began
the practice of law at Zanesville, in that state. His abilities soon secured him a lucrative practice and a wide
reputation. On 26 May 1806 he married Elizabeth Selden Spencer [4c5r – ca Sep 1787-31 Mar 1853], of [Vienna]
[West] Virginia [founded by her father, Dr. Joseph Spencer, about six miles southwest of Marietta, Ohio], and soon
afterwards was elected to the legislature of Ohio, and began his brilliant legislative career.
Children of Lewis Cass and Elizabeth Selden Spencer:
1. Elizabeth (Eliza) Selden Cass,
b. 1810; d. 1832 of cholera.
2. Mary Sophia Cass,
b. 31 Jul 1812; d. Jan 1882.
3. Lewis Cass,
b. 1814; d. in Paris 24 Feb 1878; married Miss Ludlow in Paris. She lived about a year after her
marriage and died leaving no issue.
4. Isabella Cass,
b. ca 1816; d. 1879; married Baron Theodore Marinus Roest Von Limburg.
5. Matilda Frances Cass,
b. 11 Jul 1818; d. 1898; married Henry Ledyard September 19, 1839.
6. Ellen Cass,
b. 03 Dec 1821; d. 28 Nov 1824.
7. Spencer Cass,
b. 04 Jun 1828; d. the following October.
He was a member of the committee appointed to inquire into the supposed
treasonable movements of Aaron Burr, and drew up the report to President
Thomas Jefferson, who, from the marked ability of the document, appointed him
United States Marshal of that state in 1807, which place he filled until 1813. He
served with distinction in the war of 1812, first as Colonel of the 3d Ohio
volunteers, and afterwards as Brigadier General. The close of that war found him in
command in Michigan, with headquarters at Detroit. This resulted in his making
that city his home and becoming one of Michigan's most distinguished citizens. In
1813, soon after the termination of this war, he was appointed Governor of the
Territory of Michigan and served with distinction sixteen years.
During this time he negotiated twenty-two distinct treaties with the Indians,
securing the cession to the United States government of the immense regions of
the northwest. He instituted surveys, constructed roads, established military posts,
built light houses, organized counties and townships, and created and set in motion all the machinery of civilized
government.
In 1831 he was appointed Secretary of War in President Jackson's cabinet, and it was during his incumbency that the
Black Hawk war occurred and was vigorously suppressed. In 1836 he was appointed United States Minister to
France and his services there were of marked ability and of great value to this country. In 1842 he resigned this
position and returned home. In 1845 ne was elected to the United States Senate and served until 1848 when he
resigned and accepted the democratic nomination for the presidency. After the election of that year, in which he was
defeated, he was re- elected to the senate for the balance of his original term. Here he wielded a powerful influence
and became a strong ally of Henry Clay in opposing the dogma of Southern rights and the Wilmot proviso. At the
expiration of his term he was re-elected for a second term, and in 1852 was again a prominent candidate for the
presidency. In 1857 he was appointed Secretary of State in President Buchanan's cabinet, but when this President
refused to reinforce and reprovision Fort Sumter he promptly resigned (see letter below), thus terminating a
distinguished and honorable public career of fifty-six years duration.
Lewis Cass letter to James Buchanan, 12 December 1860
http://www.familytales.org/dbDisplay.php?id=ltr_lec6301&person=lec
Department of State
Dec. 12, 1860
118
SIR:
The present alarming crisis in our National affairs has engaged your serious consideration, and in your recent message you
have expressed to Congress, and through Congress to the Country, the views you have formed respecting the questions
fraught with the most momentous consequences, which are now presented to the American people for solution. With the
general principles laid down in that message, I fully concur, and I appreciate, with warm sympathy, its patriotic appeals and
suggestions. What measures it is competent and proper for the Executive to adopt, under existing circumstances, is a subject
which has received your most careful attention, and with the anxious hope, as I well know from having participated in the
deliberations, that tranquility and good feeling may be speedily restored to this agitated and divided confederacy.
In some points, which I deem of vital importance, it has been my misfortune to differ from you.
It has been my decided opinion, which, for sometime past, I have urged at various meetings of the Cabinet that additional
troops should be sent to reinforce the forts in the harbor of Charleston, with a view to their better defence should they be
attacked, and that an armed vessel should likewise be ordered there, to aid if necessary, in the defence and also should it be
required in the collection of the revenue, and it is yet my opinion that these measures should be adopted without the least
delay. I have likewise urged the expediency of immediately removing the Custom House at Charleston to one of the forts in the
port, and of making arrangements for the collection of the duties there by having a collector and other officers ready to act
when necessary so that when the office may become vacant the proper authority may be there to collect the duties on the part
of the United States. I continue to think that these arrangements should be immediately made. While the right and the
responsibility of deciding belong to you, it is very desirable that at this perilous juncture there should be as far as possible
unanimity in your Councils with a view to safe and efficient action.
I have therefore felt it my duty to tender you my resignation of the office of Secretary of State, and want your permission to
retire from that official association with yourself and the members of your Cabinet which I have enjoyed during almost four
years without the occurrence of a single incident to interrupt the personal intercourse which has so happily existed.
I cannot close this letter without bearing my testimony to the zealous and earnest devotion to the best interests of the Country
with which during a term of unexampled trials and troubles you have sought to discharge the duties of your high station.
Thanking you for the kindness and confidence you have not ceased to manifest toward me, and with the expression of my
warmest regard both for yourself and the gentlemen of your Cabinet, I am,
With great respect,
Your Obedient Servant.
L. CASS
To the PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES
Note: Fort Sumter was bombarded and surrendered four months later on April 12–13, 1861.
After this time he mingled little in society save in the hospitalities of his own home. He was a man of great natural
abilities, a prudent, cautious legislator, a scholar of fine attainments, and personally popular throughout the country.
His preferment in Masonry was as marked as in civil life. His masonic career commences almost at the beginning of
the century. His original petition for the degrees of Masonry is still preserved in the archives of American Union
Lodge, No. 1, at Marietta, Ohio, and by the courtesy of that Lodge, we are enabled to present our readers with a
facsimile thereof, slightly reduced in size. This historic petition was as follows:
119
Note: Benjamin Tupper is most likely Col. Benjamin Tupper, Jr. (25 Nov 1775-1814), who married Martha ‘Patty’ Putnam (17771842), daughter of (Bro.) Gen. Rufus Putnam. Benj. Jr. was a son of the famous pioneer (1738–1792) of Marietta, Ohio,
Lewis had just turned 21 on 9 October; Benjamin was age 28 on 25 November. – g.l.h.
Ref: http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:1563881&id=I5489&ti=4300
This petition secured him admission and he was initiated December 3, 1803, passed April 2, 1804, and raised May 7,
1804. From the first he took an active interest in Masonic affairs. He was an influential member of the convention that
was held at Chillicothe, January 4, 1808, and continued in session four days. He introduced the resolution "That it is
expedient to form a GRAND LODGE in the State of Ohio" which was unanimously adopted and that Grand Lodge duly
organized, and he wielded a powerful influence in shaping its affairs. At the second meeting, one year later, he was
elected Deputy Grand Master and was chairman of the committee that proclaimed the organization of that Grand
Lodge to the masonic world. January 3, 1810, he was elected Grand Master, being then but twenty- eight years
of age. He was re-elected each time for the next three years and served with ability and distinction. He was
present and presided at the meeting of that Grand Lodge in January, 1813, but very soon thereafter he removed to
his new field of labor in Michigan, and terminated his masonic career in Ohio. His masonic work and influence,
however, was not ended, but simply transferred to another field. On April 9, 1816, he made his first visit to Zion
Lodge, applied for and was admitted to membership therein. Six days later, the Lodge having just resumed work
after an interval of four years, he was elected Worshipful Master, but declined serving on account of pressure of
public business, but continued an active and influential member for a number of years.
At the completion of the organization of the Grand Lodge of Michigan, July 31, 1826, Brother Cass was elected
Grand Master and held that office during the existence of that Grand Body. At this time, the anti-masonic crusade
was sweeping over the country and its influence could not but be felt in Michigan. With all his interest in and love for
the institution of Masonry, Lewis Cass was, above and beyond all, a politician with the most unbounded ambitions
and aspirations. He was acknowledged to be one of the ablest statesmen in the nation and there was no position in
the gift of the people to which he might not aspire. This ambition, with the fact that political anti-masonry was
assuming national proportions, doubtless influenced him in recommending that all masonic work be suspended in
Michigan, which was practically accomplished in 1829.
With the exception of a single act, this ended his masonic career. When the Grand Lodge was re-organized and the
present one formed in 1844, by the request of the Grand Lodge of New York he installed Brother John Mullett as
Grand Master, thus performing the act which connects the present with the first Grand Lodge. Although he took no
further active part in Masonry, he retained the highest respect for the institution during the remainder of his life.
He lived to the ripe old age of eighty-four years, and died at his home in Detroit on June 17, 1866, and was buried
with the honors befitting a Past Grand Master of two jurisdictions, Grand Master Coffinbury conducting the masonic
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burial services. The funeral obsequies were solemnly impressive. All the civil and military organizations of the city and
surrounding country, with tens of thousands of citizens, united to form one of the most imposing pageants ever seen
in Michigan. But the immediate obsequies were entrusted to his brethren of the Mystic Tie. It is one of the highest
evidences of the excellence of Freemasonry that this great and good man, this wise statesman, this life-long
craftsman, who had "sounded all the depths and shoals of honor," requested in his dying hour that his body might be
laid to rest under its simple and beautiful ritual.
LEWIS CASS
AT OVER 80 YEARS OF AGE.
In reporting to the Grand Lodge the death of Brother Cass, Grand Master Coffinbury said:
The character of General Cass combined many remarkable traits. As a private member of society he was
distinguished for the purity of his morals and his circumspect conduct—the courteous, yet earnest simplicity of his
manners—his amiable yet elegant social habits—his warm and disinterested friendship—his sincere devotion to the
advancement of mankind in all those virtues which tend to palliate the stringency of social necessities, modify and
regulate social conventionalities and elevate and give moral dignity to the human character. His literary attainments
were high—his taste pure. In his intercourse with his fellow men he was amiable, polite and kind. In his sphere, as a
private citizen he was a model.
There were, however, other positions in which he was placed by circumstances that were necessary to disclose the
more marked features of his character and the higher faculties and capacities of his intellect. In the capacity of a
pioneer and Governor of the Northwestern Territory, history pays the first tribute to him as a civilian and to the
remarkable executive force of his great mind, as well as that abnegation which has, through his long life, stood as a
prominent trait of the man. Here, on our own soil, in the strength and pride of his manhood, he toiled and struggled to
lay the foundation of civilized society, and to permanently establish the elements of civil government. To do this he
made many personal sacrifices. What now constitutes our proud and populous State was then a vast wilderness
almost unbroken by the hand of civilization. Here he consented to sacrifice and to forego the enjoyments and
amenities of those social refinements of civilized life which his many accomplishments so eminently qualified him to
enhance. Here he grappled with privations and sufferings. Here he exposed his life and health as, in his bark canoe,
he navigated the blue waters of our beautiful straits, our winding rivers and our inland seas, or, upon his French pony,
traversed our vast forests and prairies to establish friendly relations with the native wild man, and to assert the
supremacy of civilization. Seen in this character, in the early history of our State, his abnegation commands a
sympathy, his courage a respect, and his aspirations an homage which combine to draw around his name a purity
and a moral influence almost amounting to a sanctity. Before him the painted Chieftain and his red braves, who had
never before acknowledged any superiors, bowed their heads in deference and submission, buried the bloody
tomahawk, extended the hand of friendship, sat down, side by side with him in the wigwam and smoked the pipe of
peace. What a tribute to greatness! What an homage to intellectual exaltation and individuality!
As a statesman General Cass had but few equals and no superiors. In the Senate of the United States his wisdom
was always invoked, and his judgment always deferred to by his contemporaries. With him the prosperity, the honor
and the dignity of his country were paramount aims. He was fair, open and independent in his political sentiments,
and candid, earnest and lofty in his legislative measures. If they challenged opposition they commanded respect for
the measure, and reverence for the man. As a political opponent, he was frank, courteous and dignified. In all his
measures of State he was impressive. In them all could be seen an aim at national integrity or honor, or the general
elevation of the human family through the medium of civil government.
But it was in the capacity of a diplomatist that the character of our distinguished Brother demands our highest
admiration. In the science of civil government the Monarchies of Europe could not produce his equal. In diplomacy he
manifested his superiority over the cool and experienced Palmerston, and the adroit and disingenuous Talleyrand.
His firm and lofty integrity, and his pure and dignified independence were alike invulnerable to the forcible and exact
sophistry of the one, and the deep cunning and polished insincerity and intrigue of the other.
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After the leading European powers had entered into a deliberate treaty which assumed to regulate and to restrict the
navigation of the high seas, General Cass, reflecting the sentiments of the people he represented, and embodying
the strength, firmness and dignity of his nation, interposed his solemn protest against the provisions of that treaty,
and the Courts of St. James and St. Cloud, as well as all the crowned heads of Europe, bowed in deference to the
sovereignty of the American people. Our country was honored through our Minister—her supremacy acknowledged—
her honor and dignity as a nation vindicated. At that juncture of circumstances, every American became involved in a
high obligation of gratitude to General Cass. We may well point with national pride to that event in the international
history of the civilized world as one which forever established the rights and rules of navigation upon equal
prerogatives and equitable bases among the nations of the earth.
And this was the work of our departed Brother, who once presided, as Grand Master, over the Grand Lodge of the
Territory of Michigan. This was our Brother, Lewis Cass, who, long years ago, erected our sacred altar in the far off
wilderness and startled the wild savage warrior with the sound of the gavel on our now populous peninsula. While in
our National Councils the burning words of glowing eloquence dropped from the lips of our Clay and our Webster,
embodying profound lessons of philosophical truth which were caught and treasured as gems of wisdom by the
admiring literati and statesmen of foreign climes, our Cass stood at the proud Courts of the old world, stern, noble,
dignified, pure and just. He commanded the crowned heads to bow in deep respect and solemn deference to the
moral dignity of the sovereign people of America. And with one accord the monarchs bowed their heads.
But General Cass is no more. His sun has set. He has accomplished his honorable mission. The ripened sheaf has
been gathered, and in all the golden fullness of perfection garnered above. Many mourn his departure from among
us—many who were not bound to him by ties of blood or kindred, by personal friendship, political relations or mystic
bond; many, one might say, who had no right to mourn—no claim to weep, turned sadly away, and dropped a tear as
the mournful procession bore his remains towards the tomb. This tribute was due to his greatness and goodness.
The name of this venerable man and highly esteemed brother is interwoven with the history of Masonry in this State
from the beginning of that history to the present time. Almost every part of the superstructure of that history bears
some memento of the wisdom of his counsels, the strength of his integrity and the beauty of his moral life. He was
ever at the post of duty with a willing heart, a strong arm and a skillful hand. His devotion to the mystic art, his
experience in its arcana and his earnest activity in diffusing its light, made him, for many years, one of its principal
supports in Michigan, while his genial nature, his amiable disposition and virtuous walk among men endeared him to
all good men. The highest meed that can be measured out to mortal man, he had justly earned—an upright mason—
a good man.
------Lewis Cass joined his father in Marietta, OH, in 1799. There he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1802. He
became a member of the Ohio legislature in 1806 at age 24, the same year he was married. In the War of 1812 he
rose to Brigadier General, and his fine service won him the governorship of the Michigan Territory at age 31. There
he served for 18 years during the development of the region. In 1831 President Andrew Jackson appointed him
Secretary of War. During these five years as War Secretary, Cass was very involved with Indian Affairs where he
negotiated over 20 treaties with the tribes. In 1826 he went to France as Minister, remaining at this post until 1842.
From 1845 to 1848 Cass represented Michigan in the U.S. Senate. In 1848, as the Democratic candidate for
President, he lost a close election to Zachary Taylor, who became our 12th President. Cass then returned to the U.S.
Senate, serving from 1849 to 1857, when President James Buchanan tapped him for Secretary of State.
General Cass became a Freemason in the American Union Lodge in Marietta, Ohio, the final meeting place of this
ancient lodge that followed the Continental Army throughout the Revolutionary War. Elected Grand Master of Ohio
Freemasons in 1810, 1811 and 1812, Cass became Grand Master of Michigan Freemasons in 1826. He can be
considered a founder of the fraternity in the Midwest.
A Cass daughter [Isabelle] married [Theodore Marinus Roest] Baron van Kimburgh [aka Limburg], Minister to the
United States from The Netherlands. Another daughter married Henry Ledyard, a descendant of Col. William
Ledyard of Connecticut, Commander of Fort Griswold near New London, CT. In 1781, who on surrendering his
sword to the British officer, had it brutally rammed through his body.
His grandson, Lewis Cass Ledyard, who was born in Gen. Cass' home in Detroit, was a prominent lawyer in New
York City. He was the donor of the handsome granite monument built in 1903 in East Haddam, CT, in honor of Major
General Joseph Spencer, his 2nd great grandfather.
One of the few good things to come out of the War of1812 for Michigan was Lewis Cass. Born in New Hampshire in
1782, Lewis Cass received a good education before moving to Ohio with his family. When the War of1812 started he
joined the Ohio militia. He was at Detroit when the city was surrendered in August 1812. The following year,
President James Madison appointed Cass Michigan’s new territorial governor. Cass served eighteen years as
governor—longer than any one else in Michigan history. Cass worked hard to help Michigan recover from the war. He
encouraged new settlers to come to Michigan. Under Cass’s leadership, roads and lighthouses were built. When
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Cass left the governorship in 1831 to serve as the U.S. secretary of war, Michigan was ready to become a state.
Cass served in the U.S. Senate, as ambassador to France and as U.S. secretary of state. In 1848 Cass was the
presidential nominee for the Democratic party, but he lost the election. Lewis Cass returned home to Michigan
in1861. He died five years later and was buried in Detroit.
-------------n. b. Eckert, Allan W., "Johnny Logan - Shawnee Spy," pg. 195 : "Colonel Lewis Cass, one of the militia commanders,
confessed that the only bright spot in their existence here at Detroit [then under 'incompetent' Gen. William Hull] had
been Spemica Lawba's [Johnny Logan's] return on August 9 [1812]." This note made during the uprising of
Tecumseh just after the declaration of the War of 1812.
Of the above situation, Col. Cass wrote [delivered by Johnny Logan}; ibid. pg. 197-98:
Detroit, August 12, 1812
Dear Sir, [to Gov. Meigs in Ohio]
From causes not fit to put upon paper, but which I trust i shall one day live to communicate to you, this army has been reduced to a
critical and alarming situation. We have wholly left the Canadian shore, and have left the miserable inhabitants, who depended upon
our will and our power to protect them, to their fate. Unfortunately, the General and the principal officers could not view our situation
and our prospects in the same light. That Malden might easily have been reduced, I have no doubt. That the army were in force and
spirits enough to have done it, no one doubts. But the precious opportunity has fled, and instead of looking back, we must now look
forward.
The letter from the Secretary of War to you, a copy of which I have seen, authorizes you to preserve and keep open the
communications from the State of Ohio to Detroit. It is all important it should be kept open. Our very existence depends upon it. Out
supplies must come from our State. This country does not furnish them. In the existing state of things. nothing but a large force of
two thousand men at least, will effect the object. It is the unanimous wish of the army, that you should accompany them.
Every exertion that can, must me made. If this reaches you safely by Murray, he will tell you more than I can or aught here to insert.
Very respectfully,
I am your's, &c.
Lewis Cass
In the meanwhile, Gen. Cass has become aware of a white flag was being borne by an officer across the river. The
above letter was amended to add [pg. 199]:
"Since the other side of this letter was written, new circumstances have arisen. The British force is opposite, and our situation has
nearly reached its crisis. Believe all the bearer will tell you. Believe it, however it may astonish you, as much as if told you by one of
us. Even a _______ is talked of by the ________ _______. The bearer will supply the vacancy. On you we depend.
Lewis Cass,
James Findley,
Duncan M'Arthur,
James Taylor,
E. Brush."
Cass folded and sealed the letter in three places with wax. He placed it in a waterproof pouch and handed it to
Murray. "There are three blanks in this letter," he told them. "Verbally fill them in when Governor Meigs read this
letter. The first is 'capitulation' and the remaining two are 'commanding officer.' "
Speaking to them [Murray and Logan], regarding the getting through of the letter, he remarked, "If anyone can, it's
you."
Note [pg 204]: "On August 16, a terrified General William Hull, in opposition to his officers and with no good basis for
so doing, surrendered the Northwestern Army of the United States to the British."
http://www.familytales.org/dbDisplay.php?id=ltr_lec6300
Lewis Cass letter to (his wife) Eliza Spencer Cass, 6 December 1806 re: the Burr ‘conspiracy’
Chillecothe, Dec. 6, 1806
MY DEAREST LOVE:
After a disagreeable journey I have arrived at this place and commenced the business of legislation. I am already growing weary,
and am anxious to return to her, who alone is present before me. We have been engaged in business, which is very important to Mr.
Blennerhassett, and as you will be somewhat anxious I will relate it to you. The plan of Col. Burr is finally and completely
develloped. We have received a private communication from the Governor informing us, that Mr. Burr’s plan is to collect about 1300
men, to rendezvous at the mouth of red river and to proceed from there to Orleans, to attack the city, to seize upon the bank and
treasury, and upon the artillery and to form an independent government under the protection of Spain. This plan has been
communicated to Mr. Harrison by Mr. Blennerhasset, and Mr. Harrison has proceeded to Washington, with the information. We have
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passed a law, which I draughted, empowering the governor to stop the boats now building, and all others provided for that purpose,
and seize all persons concerned. This letter will be carried by a messenger dispatched by the Governor to arrest Mr. Blennerhasset
and stop his boats.
A singular circumstance has made me acquainted with a member from the County of Trumbull, who is the man who conducted Mr.
Wilson from New Connecticut to Steubenville in his crazy expedition. He informs me that he was standing in his door, and saw a
man pass, whose appearance struck him as somewhat singular. He was soon summoned by the adjacent tavern keeper to examine
him. He went and found Mr. Wilson just coming to him self. He appeared to be perfectly in amazement to find himself in that
Country, and related to him these circumstances, which he was able to recollect. As it is now late I will take some other opportunity
to communicate to you the whole of the conversation.
I wish you would write me as often as possible. Tell me your whole thoughts, and how you do. Do you think of me as often as I do of
you? I don't think that anything will induce me to leave you again. I will write you regularly every week and give you an account of
our proceedings.
Remember me affectionately to your mother and the family, and God grant that no untoward accident may befall you, and that I may
soon again see you is the sincere wish of him who will ever be your affectionate
L. CASS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Cass
Cass was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, where he attended Phillips Exeter Academy. His parents were Major
Jonathan Cass and Molly Gilman. On May 26, 1806, he married the former Elizabeth Spencer.
During the War of 1812, Cass served as a brigadier general and participated in the Battle of the Thames. As a reward
for his service, he was appointed Governor of the Michigan Territory by President James Madison on October 29,
1813, and served until 1831. He was frequently absent, and several territorial secretaries often served as acting
governor in his place.
In 1817, he was one of two commissioners (along with Duncan McArthur) who negotiated the Treaty of Fort Meigs,
which was signed September 29 of that year with several Native American tribes.
In 1820, he led an expedition to the northern part of the territory, in the northern Great Lakes region in present-day
northern Minnesota, in order to map the region and discover the source of the Mississippi River. The source of the
river had been unknown until then, resulting in an undefined border between the United States and British North
America. The expedition erroneously identified Cass Lake as the source of the river. The source of the river was
correctly identified in 1832 by Henry Schoolcraft, who had been Cass's expedition geologist, as nearby Lake Itasca.
On August 1, 1831, Cass resigned as governor of the Michigan Territory to take the post of Secretary of War under
President Andrew Jackson, a position he would hold until 1836. Cass was a central figure in formulating and
implementing the Indian Removal policy of the Jackson administration. Next, Cass was appointed ambassador to
France, which he remained until 1842.
Cass represented Michigan in the United States Senate from 1845 to 1848. He served as chairman of the Committee
on Military Affairs in the 30th Congress. In 1848, he resigned from the Senate to run for President. William Orlando
Butler was his running mate. Cass was a leading supporter of the Doctrine of Popular Sovereignty, which held that
the people who lived in a territory should decide whether or not to permit slavery there. His nomination caused a split
in the Democratic party, leading many antislavery Democrats to join the Free Soil Party. He also supported the
annexation of Texas.
After losing the election to Zachary Taylor, he returned to the Senate, serving from 1849 to 1857. He was the first
non-incumbent Democratic presidential candidate to lose election.
From 1857 to 1860, Cass served as Secretary of State under President James Buchanan. He resigned on December
13, 1860, reportedly disgusted by Buchanan's failure to pursue a stronger policy that might have averted the
threatened secession of Southern states.
Cass died in 1866 and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan.
------GRAND LODGE.
The movement for the formation of a Grand Lodge seems to have originated with Detroit Lodge. At a meeting held on
July 26, 1825, the following resolutions were presented and adopted.
Resolved, That the W. Master, Bro. Farrar and S. Warden be a committee to confer with a committee from Zion Lodge, No. 3, on the
subject of forming a Grand Lodge.
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Resolved, That said committee, together with a committee from Zion Lodge, No. 3, have power to confer with other Lodges of this
Territory, and call a convention whenever they deem it expedient, and make report of so much of their proceedings as may be done
at that time, at the next regular communication.
Resolved, That the Sec'y furnish the Sec'y of Zion Lodge with a copy of the above resolutions.
Five days later, (August first,) the matter was also presented in Zion Lodge, and meeting with entire favor, the
following resolutions were presented and adopted:
Resolved, That Bros. Whitney, W. Master and Reed be a committee to confer with a committee from Detroit Lodge, No. 337, and
the Master and Wardens of the other Lodges in this Territory, on the subject of forming a Grand Lodge, and report at the next
regular communication, and that the Secretary furnish a copy of the above resolution to each of the Secretaries of the respective
Lodges in this Territory.
On the 20th of October following, Oakland Lodge replied to this communication, concurring in the proposition. At the
regular meeting of Zion Lodge on November 7, 1825, the records say:
A communication from Bro. B. Watson, one of a committee from "Manomany" Lodge on the subject of forming a Grand Lodge in this
Territory, was received, by which it appears they are perfectly willing to co-operate with the other Lodges in the Territory in forming a
Grand Lodge.
At this time the Territory of Michigan embraced the whole northwest, and Menomanie Lodge in Green Bay, (now in
Wisconsin,) was within this Territory, and the members thereof were naturally interested in the effort to form a Grand
Lodge which should be nearer them than the Grand Lodge of New York, under whose authority they were working.
No further action appears to have been taken in this matter until January 2, 1826, when the following resolution was
adopted in Zion Lodge:
Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed from this Lodge, whose duty it shall be to correspond with the other Lodges in
this Territory on the subject of forming a Grand Lodge of Michigan, and to call a convention for that purpose whenever they may
deem it expedient, in conjunction with the committee of Detroit Lodge appointed for the same purpose.
Brothers Henry J. Hunt, Andrew G. Whitney and Obed Wait were appointed as such committee. This committee at
once entered into correspondence with the other Lodges in the Territory, which were Detroit, No. 337; Oakland No.
343, at Pontiac; Menomanie, No. 374, at Green Bay, and Monroe, No. 375, at Monroe.
At a meeting of Zion Lodge on May 1, 1826, there was read
A letter from the Secretary of Monroe Lodge, No. 375, stating that said Lodge is disposed to concur with the other Lodges on the
subject of forming a Grand Lodge of Michigan, and gives the names of Bros. John Anderson, Harry Conant and Charles Noble, as a
committee of correspondence.
All the other Lodges in the Territory having concurred in the proposition to form a Grand Lodge, a call was issued for
a convention to be held in the city of Detroit, on the 24th day of June, 5826, for the purpose of forming such Grand
Lodge. A special meeting of Zion Lodge was held on June 23d, to take necessary action in regard thereto, and the
following record is made thereof:
The W. M. opened a M. M. Lodge in due form and stated that the object of this meeting was to appoint three delegates from this
Lodge to meet in convention tomorrow with delegates from the other Lodges of the Territory, for the purpose of taking such
measures as may be deemed necessary toward the formation of a Grand Lodge. A communication from the W. M. of Manominee
Lodge, No. 374, together with copies of the minutes of said Lodge upon the same subject, were read.
Resolved, That three delegates be now appointed on the part of this Lodge, to meet in convention as above, and the W. M., H. J.
Hunt, J. L. Whiting and A. E. Wing were appointed.
There were eleven delegates, representing the four lodges in Michigan, who participated in the work of the
convention held on Saturday, June 24, 1826, to organize a Grand Lodge. These were Henry J. Hunt, John L. Whiting
and Austin E. Wing, from Zion Lodge, No. 3; John Garrison, Charles Jackson and Levi Cook from Detroit Lodge, No.
337; Andrew G. Whitney of Zion Lodge, Marshall Chapin and Orville Cook of Detroit Lodge were proxies to represent
Menomanie Lodge, No. 374; and John Anderson from Monroe Lodge, No. 375. These delegates met according to the
call and organized the convention by electing Andrew G. Whitney chairman and John L. Whiting Secretary. After
organization, a recess was taken until evening, when it was
"Resolved, That in the opinion of this Convention, it is expedient to form a Grand Lodge in Michigan."
A draft of a constitution had been prepared, which was read and discussed at this session when the convention
adjourned to the following Monday evening. Monday and Tuesday evenings were devoted to the discussion of this
document, which was of so much vital importance to Freemasonry in this new and rapidly growing Territory. At
length, on Tuesday evening, June 27th, 1826, the amendments had all been made and the discussion ended, when
the following resolutions were unanimously adopted:
Resolved, That the foregoing Constitution, consisting of nine articles and sixty-six sections, be and the same is hereby adopted as
the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Michigan.
125
Resolved, That the Secretary of this Convention make, or cause to be made, a fair copy of this Constitution, and that he be
authorized to contract for the printing of one hundred copies of the same.
Resolved, That the first meeting of the members of the Grand Lodge of Michigan for the purpose of electing officers be held at the
Masonic Hall, in the city of Detroit, on the last Monday of July next, at 10 o'clock A. M.
Resolved, That the Secretary of this Convention send notice to the Master and Wardens of the several Lodges in the Territory and
request them to notify such persons as are, by the Constitution, members of the Grand Lodge.
After adopting these resolutions, the convention adjourned to meet on the following evening at the office of Brother
John L. Whiting, at which time an engrossed copy of the constitution, after being read and carefully compared with
the original corrected draft, was signed by all the members of the convention, after which the convention adjourned
sine die.
It is much to be regretted that this engrossed copy of the first masonic constitution in Michigan could not have been
preserved in the archives of the Grand Lodge, as at this day it would have been considered as of priceless value. It is
strange, also, that of the one hundred printed copies of that constitution, only one should be in existence, as far as
can be learned, at this day. The most diligent search failed to bring to light a single copy in Michigan and it was only
after a search and correspondence extending over nearly two years that a single copy was finally located in the
archives of the Grand Lodge of Vermont . . . .
---------Resolved, That the foregoing Constitution, consisting of Nine articles, and sixty-six sections be and the same is hereby adopted and
established by this Convention, as the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Michigan.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN TER'Y JUNE 28TH, A. L. 5826-1826.
Henry J. Hunt,
John L. Whiting,
Austin E. Wing,
Delegates from Zion Lodge No. 3.
Levi Cook,
John Garrison,
Charles Jackson,
Ditto, Detroit No. 337.
Andrew G. Whitney,
Marshall Chapin,
Orville Cook,
Proxies from Manominna No. 374.
John Anderson,
Ditto, Monroe No. 375.
On the date named in this constitution, July 31, 1826, the representatives of the Michigan Lodges again assembled in
the Masonic Hall in Detroit for the purpose of completing the organization of a Grand Lodge. At this time there were
present the following brothers: Henry J. Hunt, Andrew G. Whitney, Austin E. Wing, John L. Whiting, Obed Wait, Elliot
Gray and John E. Schwarz, from Zion Lodge; Levi Cook, Charles Jackson, John Farrar, Jeremiah Moors, Marshall
Chapin and A. C. Canniff from Detroit Lodge; Leonard Weed from Oakland Lodge; while Andrew G. Whitney and
Marshall Chapin again represented Menomanie Lodge by proxy. The Chairman and Secretary of the previous
meeting were called to the same positions again, and an election was held for Grand Officers and the following were
chosen:
LEWIS CASS, M. W. Grand Master.
ANDREW G. WHITNEY, R. W. Deputy Grand Master.
SENECA ALLEN, R. W. Senior Grand Warden.
LEONARD WEED, R. W. Junior Grand Warden.
John L. Whiting, R. W. Grand Secretary.
Henry J. Hunt, R. W. Grand Treasurer.
Rev. Smith Weeks, R. W. Grand Chaplain.
John E. Schwarz, Grand Pursuivant.
Samuel Sherwood, Grand Tiler.
Brothers James Abbott, Richard Smyth, Austin E. Wing, Obed Wait, Charles Jackson, John Mullett, John Farrar, Levi
Cook, Laban Jenks, Hiram Brown, Robert Irwin, and Robert Irwin, Jr., were named as Grand Stewards of Charity.
No other business appears to have been done at this meeting. The next meeting occurred on December 27, of the
same year, when elections were held for Deputy Grand Master and Grand Treasurer. Brother Andrew G. Whitney,
who had been elected Deputy Grand Master, was not present, and James Abbott was elected Deputy Grand Master
in his place. Henry J. Hunt, who had been elected Grand Treasurer, died in less than two months after such election,
and Philip Lecuyer was elected in his place. The Grand Master elect appointed Jeremiah Moors, Senior Grand
Deacon; Elliot Gray, Junior Grand Deacon; Charles Jackson and Abraham C. Canniff, Grand Stewards; Levi Cook,
Grand Sword Bearer; and Marshall Chapin, Grand Marshal.
The Grand Officers were then installed by M. W. Brother Lewis Cass, who, as Past Grand Master of Masons in Ohio,
was fully competent to perform this work. Following the installation, Brother Cass declared the Grand Lodge of
Michigan regularly organized and ready to transact any business proper to be done.
At the annual meeting of the Grand Lodge of New York, held on June 6, 1827, the following action, relative to
Michigan, was taken:
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Brother J. A. Spencer, from the committee on the subject of the Grand Lodge of Michigan, many of the Lodges of which were
instituted by this Grand Lodge, made the following report, which was accepted and the resolutions therein contained were
unanimously adopted:
The Committee to whom was referred the Communication addressed to the Grand Secretary by a Committee of the Grand Lodge of
Michigan, bearing date September 11, 1826, report; that by the said communication it appears that delegates from the several
Lodges in the Territory of Michigan met in convention at the city of Detroit, on June 24, 5826, and continued their meetings by
adjournments from day to day, until the 25th of the same month, at which time they agreed upon and signed a constitution, and that
on the 3ist day of July thereafter, the brethren contemplated by the constitution met, agreeable to notice, and made choice of the
following Grand Officers, viz:
M. W. Lewis Cass, Grand Master.
R. W. Andrew G. Whitney, Deputy Grand Master.
"Seneca Allen, Senior Grand Warden.
"Leonard Weed, Junior Grand Warden.
"John L. Whiting, Grand Secretary.
"Henry J. Hunt, Grand Treasurer. Rev. Smith Weeks, Grand Chaplain. Bro. John E. Schwarz, Grand Pursuivant.
"Samuel Sherwood, Grand Tyler.
The committee request a recognition of the Grand Lodge of Michigan by this Grand Lodge, and that some qualified person may be
authorized to install the officers of said Grand Lodge.
The Committee also inform us, that the M. W. Brother Cass is Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State of Ohio, and
therefore request that he may be authorized to perform this duty.
Your Committee are peculiarly happy to learn that the interest of our ancient Order has been committed to the presiding care and
superintendence of our distinguished citizen and Most Worshipful Brother Lewis Cass, and they entertain the most joyful anticipation
that, under him and his worthy associates, the privileges and benefits of the Craft will be made to penetrate the western wilds,
convert the moral wilderness into fruitful fields, and cause brotherly love, relief, truth, and charity to bud and blossom as the rose.
In the opinion of your Committee, the M. W. Lewis Cass is, in virtue of his office of Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ohio,
fully authorized to install the officers elect of this new Grand Lodge, and that he is, in virtue of his former installation, qualified to take
upon himself the discharge of the duties of the office to which he is elected, without another installation.
Your Committee, therefore, beg leave to submit, for the adoption of this Grand Lodge, the following resolution:
Resolved, That the Grand Lodge of Michigan be, and the same is hereby recognized by this Grand Lodge.
Resolved, That the M. W. Lewis Cass is, in virtue of his office of Past Grand Master, fully authorized to install the officers elect of the
Grand Lodge of Michigan, and that it be recommended to him to perform that duty.
Resolved, That this Grand Lodge feels a lively interest in the prosperity of the Grand Lodge of Michigan, and promise it our fraternal
aid, and invite the most friendly interchange of communication.
Recognition by the other American Grand Lodges speedily followed, and it seemed as though the new Grand Lodge
was assured of a long and prosperous career. Such, however, was not to be the case.
During the year 1827, the Grand Lodge held meetings on January 8th and 15th; February 12th, 19th, and 26th; June
6th; and August 8th. At some of these meetings the time was principally occupied in the discussion of an alleged
irregularity of an election of officers in Detroit Lodge, and as a final result, a new election was ordered to be held
under the supervision of the Deputy Grand Master. At this time also, the Lodges were numbered according to the
earliest dates of their charters, as follows; Zion, No. 1; Detroit, No. 2; Oakland, No. 3; Menomanie, No. 4; Monroe,
No. 5. At the meeting on January 15th, a request for a Lodge at Ann Arbor was granted, and on the following day a
dispensation was issued by Grand Master Cass authorizing the formation of Western Star Lodge, which became
number six on the Grand Lodge roll. February 26th a committee was appointed to draw up a petition to the Legislative
Council of the Territory, praying for an act of incorporation of the Grand Lodge of Michigan. James Abbott, Philip
Lecuyer and Henry S. Cole were appointed as such committee, and as a result of their labors the Territorial
Legislature passed the following act, which was approved April 12, 1827:
AN ACT to incorporate the Grand Lodge of the Territory of Michigan.
Be it enacted by the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan, That Lewis Cass, as grand master, James Abbott, as deputy
grand master, Leonard Weed, as grand senior warden, Seneca Allen, as grand junior warden, Philip Lecuyer, as grand treasurer,
and John L. Whiting, as grand secretary, with their associates and successors, be and they are hereby incorporated and declared a
body politic and corporate, indeed and in law, by the name and style of the "Grand Lodge of the Territory of Michigan."
SEC. 2. Be. it further enacted, That the said grand lodge shall have succession, and shall be in the law capable of suing and being
sued, pleading and being impleaded, answering and being answered, defending and being defended, in all courts whatsoever, in all
manner of actions, suits, complaints, matters and causes whatsoever; and that they and their successors shall have a common seal,
and change and alter the same at their pleasure; and that they, and their successors, by the same name, shall be persons in law,
capable to purchase, take, receive, hold, and enjoy, to them and their successors, estates real and personal, provided that the value
of such real estate shall not exceed the sum of ten thousand dollars; and that they and their successors shall have full power and
authority to give, grant, sell, lease, demise, and dispose of the said real and personal estate, or any part thereof, at their will and
pleasure; and that they and their successors shall have power, from time to time, to make, constitute, ordain and establish such by127
laws, ordinances, and regulations, as they shall judge proper; for fixing the times and places of the meeting of the said corporation,
and for regulating the affairs and business of the said corporation: Provided, Such by-laws and regulations shall not be repugnant to
the constitution or laws of the United States, or of this Territory.
Approved April 12, 1827.
At the February meeting, the Grand Secretary was instructed to communicate to the several Grand Lodges of the
United States information of the organization of this Grand Lodge, and to transmit to each a copy of our constitution
and to request an exchange. This action alone saved this constitution from being utterly and irrecoverably lost to
posterity, as thereby one single copy was preserved by the Grand Lodge of Vermont, and thus this valuable
document was preserved to Michigan Freemasonry.
The consecration of Western Star Lodge, No. 6, at Ann Arbor, and the installation of its officers, was reported by
Robert Irwin, Jr., who was the acting Grand Secretary on that occasion. Thus another Lodge was added to those
owning allegiance to the Grand Lodge. There were now six Lodges on the roll, but it does not appear from any record
that more than four were ever represented at one time in the Grand Lodge.
At the annual meeting held on June 6, 1827, the last election of officers in that Grand Lodge was held, and all of the
old officers were re-elected expect that Martin Davis of Ann Arbor was elected Junior Grand Warden in place of
Leonard Weed, and Daniel B. Cole was chosen Grand Tiler in place of Samuel Sherwood. There is no record of any
subsequent election having been held during the existence of that Grand Lodge, and the officers chosen at this time,
no doubt served until the suspension of masonic work two years later. Petitions for Lodges at Stony Creek, Paint
Creek, and Rochester, all in Oakland County, were received, and a dispensation authorized for Stony Creek, the
other requests not being granted. The Grand Lodge also adopted a form for a membership certificate, and the
following resolution respecting the use of such certificates:
That no visitor shall be admitted in any of the Lodges under the jurisdiction of this Grand Lodge, unless he produce a certificate from
the Lodge to which he lastly belonged, that he is a regular Mason, accompanied with the certificate of the Grand Secretary of the
Grand Lodge under whose jurisdiction such Lodge is working, that the Lodge which has given such certificate is regularly chartered
by said Grand Lodge; excepting, however, such visitors as are already known to the several Lodges which they may visit; and that
the Grand Secretary be directed to furnish the several Lodges under this jurisdiction with a copy of this resolution.
Resolved, That the Grand Secretary be authorized to contract for the printing of one hundred copies of a certificate this day
exhibited to the Grand Lodge. (Expense not to exceed 31 ¼ cents each.)
A few weeks after this the Grand Lodge was invited to lay the corner-stone of St. Paul's Church, in Detroit, and on
August 8th, 1827, it was summoned in special communication to consider the propriety of accepting the invitation. It
was decided to accept the invitation and the following day was appointed for a meeting to make the necessary
arrangements therefor, but there was no quorum present on the following day, and no business was transacted.
This is the last record known to exist, of the work of this first Michigan Grand Lodge, although it is well known that at
least one more meeting was held. We also have a record of the dispensation granted by Grand Master Cass to Stony
Creek Lodge, on January 9, 1828. Thus the last recorded act of the Grand Master of that Grand Lodge was to give
life to the only Lodge that kept up its meetings during the eleven years of inactivity that followed, and formed the only
living link connecting Michigan Masonry of the first quarter of the present century with that of to-day. What a
providential act the granting of that dispensation proved to be, and how it preserved from total extinction the masonic
institution in Michigan.
Of the last meeting of that Grand Lodge, no written record is known to exist. Perhaps the most appropriate thing is
the absence of all written record, as the action taken at that meeting caused Michigan Masonry to become, for many
years, almost as much of a blank as are the records of the meeting which produced that result. Michigan at this time
was having an immense immigration from the eastern states, and especially so from New York. These new-comers
brought with them that intense and bitter prejudice against masonry which was then sweeping over the other portions
of the country. The effect of the "Morgan episode" was at its height, and so bitter were the feelings engendered that in
some localities it was hardly safe for a man to be known as a Mason. It became the all-absorbing topic in all
departments of life. It entered into all the social, business, religious and political life of the people. Families were
divided, church fellowships rent in twain, and business interests sacrificed. It entered into politics and old parties were
disrupted and new ones formed. A political party having anti-masonry as its principal plank swept over the northern
states like wildfire, and for a time, threatened the existence of all other parties.
In the midst of such times as these, a meeting of the Grand Lodge was held some time in the year 1829, the exact
date unknown, and it was resolved to suspend all masonic work until the excitement should be allayed. The Lodges
were asked to suspend labor, and all promptly acceded to the request except plucky Stony Creek Lodge, which, as
before stated, continued its meetings.
There was probably no thought in the minds of those who brought about this cessation of labor, of anything more
than a temporary suspension. Probably not one of those brothers thought, when that Grand Lodge adjourned that
day, that it had laid down its authority forever. General Cass, in an interview a third of a century later, distinctly stated,
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"We never disbanded, but we suspended our labors until the passions and fanaticism of men should
subside." It proved, however, to be a final suspension of work. As before stated, there is no doubt but political
considerations largely influenced General Cass in this matter. He was a politician with a great ambition, and
afterwards a candidate for the presidency of the United States. What more natural than for him to wish to withdraw
himself from being so conspicuous a mark for the shafts of political enemies. This of itself was a sufficient motive to
induce him to recommend that all masonic work cease for a time. It ceased. The quarries were deserted. Rust formed
upon the working tools and mold and mildew gathered upon the clothing of the craft.
THE MORGAN EXCITEMENT.
-----
SECOND GRAND LODGE.
THE STORM OVER—THE SKY CLEARING.
THE REVIVAL OF MASONRY IN MICHIGAN.
We return now to Michigan. The year 1840 has come. During the ten or twelve years preceding that date, the
population had increased from about 20,000 to 250,000. Enterprising cities and villages had sprung up all over the
lower peninsula. Prosperity and thrift were visible on every hand. Michigan had now been a state for three years, and
with its admission to statehood, its prosperity, great before, seemed to take on a wonderful impetus. The storm of
fanaticism and fury against Masonry had exhausted itself and reason had again resumed her sway. The silence of
eleven years was now to be broken. Here and there over the state, the devoted members of the proscribed fraternity
took fresh courage and began to search for missing working tools, abandoned altars and scattered records.
In the little village of Mt. Clemens the first definite action was taken toward a resumption of Masonic labor. A number
of zealous and earnest Masons had made themselves new homes in that place and they were naturally desirous of
again securing those Lodge privileges from which they had so long been debarred. Several informal conferences
were held and it was finally determined that the proper course to pursue was to organize a Grand Lodge. Certainly
the wrong way to begin but it seemed right to these brethren, and they were sincere in their efforts, if mistaken in
judgment.
A convention was called by personal letters and oral invitations, and on November 13, 1840, the brothers met in
convention. The original record of this convention is now "published for the first time, and forms a most fitting
introduction to the printed records of the Grand Lodge formed as a result of that meeting. This record is in the
handwriting of A. C. Smith, and reads as follows:
Agreeably to previous notice a convention of Free Masons was holden at Mt. Clemens, Macomb County, Michigan, for the purpose
of taking into consideration the condition of the fraternity in said state, on the thirteenth day of November A. L .5840.
Present
H. M. Dodge
Thos. M. Perry
Brothers
Ebenezer Hall
Josiah Lee
John S. Parke
Calvin Davis
Joseph Cole, Jr.
P. Elwell
Oliver Bates
Stone
Allen Fish
Daniel Shattuck
A. C. Smith
Crawford
Mason Harris
Jas. Green
Chub Sitter
Mr. Gibbs.
On motion Brother Ebenezer Hall was called to the chair, assisted by Brothers John S. Parke & O. Bates, & A. C. Smith was
appointed Secretary for the time being.
Invited
but
Absent.
The following Preamble and Resolutions were introduced, discussed, and unanimously adopted, to wit:
Whereas, The Brethren of the Ancient fraternity of Free Masons here assembled, propose to assume the rights, powers, duties and
prerogatives of a Grand Lodge within and for the state of Michigan, to be based upon ancient and long established usages of the
fraternity throughout the world; And Whereas, we propose to act with due caution and candor towards all brethren in this state who
may in any way feel an interest in this cause, Therefore—
Resolved, That a Committee consisting of Brothers Smith, Dodge and Perry be appointed to make inquiries and report at our next
meeting.
1st. As to the existence of any Grand Lodge within the limits of Michigan, either heretofore or at present.
2nd. As to the powers, rights and duties of Brother M. M's. and others in Michigan, who propose associating under the name and
style of 'the Grand Lodge of Michigan.'
3d. The amount of funds immediately required to enable a Grand Lodge to go into successful operation and the ways and means for
raising the same.
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Resolved, That the said committee be requested to take such measures, as to them shall seem prudent, to secure a fair
representation of our Masonic brethren from other parts of the state at our next meeting.
On motion the Convention was adjourned to the first Wednesday after full moon in January, 1841, A. L. 5841, at one hour past
sunset.
Attest,
A. C. Smith,
Secretary.
The Convention met in January as per adjournment, as shown by this additional record.
Convention met pursuant to adjournment and on motion the same was adjourned to meet again on the first Wednesday after the full
of the moon in May next, 1841, at one hour past sunset.
Attest,
A. C. Smith,
Sec'y.
May 5, 1841, the brothers again assembled at Mt. Clemens, agreeably to adjournment. The record of that meeting is
as follows:
Wednesday May 5th 1841.
Convention met pursuant to adjournment. Bro. T. M. Perry in the chair.
The committee appointed at a previous meeting, through A. C. Smith, -Chairman, made a report which report was accepted and
adopted.
Your committee to whom was referred certain resolutions passed and adopted by this Convention on the I3th day of November A. L.
5840, beg leave to report; that they have examined into the various subjects embraced in the said resolutions, and touching the first
part of the first resolution they feel happy in stating that a Grand Lodge was duly and regularly organized in and for the (then)
Territory of Michigan on the 28th day of June A. L- 5826, by a convention of delegates from four subordinate Lodges, then in
existence under foreign jurisdiction, to wit, Zion Lodge, No. 3, Detroit Lodge, No. 337, Manominna [sic] Lodge, No. 374 and Monroe
Lodge, No. 375; and that the said Grand Lodge continued holding its Communications regularly until such time, as, within the
recollection of all of us, persecution leveled her arrows at every man in any manner known to be connected or affiliated with the
Institution.
At this time and under these circumstances, with the intention of carrying out the original designs of the institution and on the
earnest recommend of the Grand Master, Gov. Lew Cass, it was resolved that the Grand Lodge suspend, and it did suspend for the
time being, its meetings and recommended to the subordinate Lodges to do the same, to the end that every thing in their power
tending to allay an unjust and pernicious excitement might be done on the part of the Fraternity in this Commonwealth.
This Grand Lodge was acknowledged on the part of the Legislature of Michigan by the enactment of a Law creating the said Lodge
a body corporate, with all the powers usually conferred on corporations, and which was approved by the Governor in the year 1827
and yet remains in full force and virtue.
Your Committee cannot perceive any good reason why the Grand Lodge of Michigan cannot convene itself in a legal and
constitutional manner, neither can they perceive the propriety of organizing a new Grand Lodge while the one already in existence
stands unimpeached in that capacity.
If this view of your committee be correct then the second and third parts of the first resolution will require no comment at our hands.
In reference to the second resolution, your committee would state that no invitations have been given to this meeting beyond the
limits of this county in consequence of there having been a general convention held at Detroit on this subject on the 4th of February
1841, at which time it was resolved to call a communication of the Grand Lodge above mentioned on the fifth day of June next.
In conclusion, your committee would recommend an application to the highest Grand Officer of the Grand Lodge for a warrant of
dispensation to organize a subordinate Lodge in Mt. Clemens, should this convention be of opinion that the present Grand Lodge is
a Legitimate one.
A. C. Smith,
For Committee. May 5, 1841.
Brothers Smith and Cole were appointed a committee to petition the Grand Master for a Dispensation to empower us to hold regular
Lodges.
On motion Ebenezer Hall was elected to be our first Master. Adjourned sine die.
Attest,
A. C. Smith.
It will be observed that these brothers took the first steps toward securing a Lodge in Mt. Clemens at this meeting,
when they were considering the subject of a Grand Lodge.
As stated in the report of the Committee, a convention had been called to meet in Detroit in the following month, on
the day that would have been the regular date for the meeting of the Grand Lodge had it continued its existence. The
former Junior Grand Warden had granted dispensations for Lodges at Alt. Clemens and Pontiac, and these with
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Stony Creek Lodge which had not ceased to work, were represented at that convention, which assembled on June 2,
1841. Ebenezer Hall was made chairman and Abner C. Smith, Secretary. On assuming the chair, Brother Hall used
these words:
The dire necessity that in years gone by prompted the Grand Lodge to suspend all masonic labors in the jurisdiction, and in so doing
she was but carrying out the principles inherent among the ancient landmarks of our institution, to promote harmony, peace and
concord in the government under which Providence had cast our lot; that at the time of the suspension of labor there was abroad in
our land a spirit of persecution against the Masonic institution, alike distinguished for its malignity and virulence, hardly surpassed by
the ancient fires of religious intolerance or Spanish inquisition.
Under the circumstances the Grand Lodge undoubtedly took the most judicious course; and for which she has before her a most
ancient and illustrious example, to wit: the example of our most ancient, excellent and worthy Grand Master, King Solomon, who
once, at least, had occasion to secure in the moulten columns of the temple's porch the archives of the institution, her constitution,
her records and her rolls, from the fires and inundations of the impious Goths and vandals of Jerusalem.
Our place of deposit, though not of moulten brass; has nevertheless proved equally judicious, and has secured our archives and
tenets from ravages quite as severe, though of a different and more modern character.
A committee was appointed to gather together as far as possible, all books, papers and transcripts pertaining to the
Grand Lodge, with a view of perfecting the records thereof, after which it was
Resolved, That we do now proceed to election of officers of the Grand Lodge of Michigan, and that the election be made by a show
of hands.
Levi Cook, of Detroit, was chosen Grand Master; Leonard Weed, of Pontiac, Deputy Grand Master; Martin Davis, of
Ann Arbor, Senior Grand Warden; Ebenezer Hall, Junior Grand Warden; Abner C. Smith, Grand Secretary; Calvin
Hotchkiss, Grand Treasurer; Rev. Samuel Silsby, Grand Chaplain; Jacob Loop, Grand Pursuivant; Peleg Ewell,
Grand Tiler. Detroit and Ann Arbor were not represented in this convention, although they were given the Grand
Master and Senior Grand Warden respectively. The convention then adjourned to meet in Pontiac on the 24th inst.,
for the purpose of installing the officers elect.
The convention re-assembled in Pontiac on the day named, when Brother Leonard Weed, acting as Grand Master,
installed the officers elect, with the exception of Brother Levi Cook, who did not accept the station of Grand Master,
and the duties of this office were performed by Brother Leonard Weed until the next election. After the installation, the
brothers "declared the Grand Lodge of Michigan duly reorganized and convened."
Charters were granted to Oakland and Lebanon Lodges, and the dues of Oakland and Stony Creek Lodges were
remitted to that date.
SKETCH OF LEONARD WEED.
Of the Grand Lodge of Michigan organized in 1841 and dissolved in 1844, Leonard Weed was the only Grand Master
who was not subsequently elected Grand Master of the present Grand Lodge. Although this early body never
received recognition from other Grand Lodges, yet the work it performed was so directly connected with the
organization of the present body, that this brother, who was one of the most active and influential members of that
body, certainly earned the recognition of a sketch in this history.
Of the early life of Brother Weed little can be learned. He was one of the early pioneers of Michigan, coming from
New York to this state in the early part of the century and setting in the village of Auburn, Oakland Country. He was a
blacksmith and worked at his trade in that village, and subsequently owned a farm a little south of the village. He was
Territorial Justice of the Peace, and Postmaster at Auburn for eight or ten years under Presidents Jackson and Van
Buren. He is said to have been married four times, which is evidence that he was popular among the ladies. He was
a good man and much respected in the community where he lived, and left a good name behind him when he died.
Brother Weed was one of the pioneers in Michigan Masonry as well as citizenship. He was an early member of
Oakland Lodge, No. 343, which was chartered by the Grand Lodge of New York, March 7, 1822. This Lodge held its
meetings in Brother Weed's house, and he was for some time its Worshipful Master.
Brother Weed assisted in the formation of the first Grand Lodge of Michigan in 1826, and was elected the first Junior
Grand Warden. He appears to have been an active and influential member of that Grand Body, serving on important
committees, and in 1827 he was appointed by General Cass as Grand Steward of Charity.
During the eleven or twelve years of Masonic inactivity in Michigan, we have no record of Brother Weed, but when it
was decided to again resume labor in the deserted quarries, we find him "chief among his equals," a zealous and
active worker. When in 1841 it was decided to reorganize Grand Lodge, he was elected Deputy Grand Master, but
Brother Levi Cook, who had been elected Grand Master, declining to be installed, the duties of the Grand Master's
office devolved upon Brother Weed, and the following year he was elected and installed Grand Master, and served as
such for one year. He appears to have taken no active part in the present Grand Lodge after the dissolution of the
one to which he had devoted his time and energies. The only record we are able to find concerning him after that
131
date being that he was present at the second annual meeting of this Grand Lodge in 1845, and was elected Grand
Sword Bearer. Soon after this the charter of his Lodge was surrendered and we find no further mention of Brother
Weed among Grand Lodge records. On June 16, 1848, he was made an honorary member of Pontiac Lodge, No. 21,
and died fourteen days later, June 30, 1848; but the work he did in assisting to lay the foundation for this great
structure entitles him to a place in the memory the craft while Masonry endures in Michigan.
In November, 1841, the following circular letter was sent to all Lodges then working in the state.
CIRCULAR.
The Grand Lodge of Michigan will assemble at R. Woodworth's Hotel, in the city of Detroit, on the first Wednesday of January, 1842,
at high twelve, for the transaction of special and important business. You are hereby ordered to be in attendance at such time and
place by your three highest officers or their representatives, and such other members as are entitled to seats from your Lodge.
By order of the Right
Worshipful Acting Gr. M.
A. C. Smith,
Grand Secretary.
Dated at Mt. Clemens
November 12, 1841.
January 5, 1842, the Grand Lodge met in Detroit, pursuant to the above call. In the meantime, a dispensation had
been granted by Acting Grand Master Weed, for Napoleon Lodge at Brooklyn, and this Lodge was represented in this
meeting, making four Lodges thus far enrolled in this Grand Lodge. The Grand Secretary was ordered to procure a
seal, of a device to be prepared by a committee appointed for that purpose. The Grand Secretary was invited to
deliver an address at Pontiac on the next anniversary of St. John the Baptist.
A committee appointed upon the matter of correspondence with the Grand Lodge of New York, submitted the
following report, by its chairman, Brother William Jones:
REPORT.
That in the opinion of this Committee, every Grand Lodge has an inherent power and authority to make local ordinances and new
regulations, as well as to amend and explain the old ones, for their own particular benefit and the good of Masonry in general.
Provided always. That the ancient landmarks be carefully preserved and that such regulations be first duly proposed in writing for
the consideration of members, and be at least duly enacted with the consent of the majority.
That the members of every Grand Lodge are the true representatives of all the fraternity in communication, and are an absolute and
independent body with legislative authority, and that in the opinion of your Committee the Grand Lodge of Michigan had ample
power and right in the year 1829 to suspend Masonic labors in her jurisdiction until such time as prudence would dictate a return to
labor. In the meantime, Michigan had become an independent government by voluntary assumption or organization, secured
inherently in the people by the Constitution of the United States, and thereby severing forever all political dependence between
Michigan and every other portion of the American Union; and as Michigan adopted the elective principle as one of the cardinal
supports of the Republic, a due regard to a fundamental principle of the craft requires conformity to the principles of the government
under which we live, and that the complete organization of a Grand Masonic jurisdiction in Michigan, even had suspension of labor
never been authorized by the same body, could only be accomplished by 'assumption,' based on an 'elective supremacy.'
Your Committee find on examination, that this is no new principle. The Grand Lodge of England recognized it in the year 1717, and
the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in the year 1780, by a unanimous adoption of a report of a committee appointed for the purpose
of considering the subject—this last case presenting a much stronger one than does that of Michigan, for her Grand Lodge was
broken up without form and every Grand office vacant in 1775, her subordinate Lodges absolved from foreign allegiance in 1776,
and the final jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge (recognized in 1777) not settled until 1783. In the meantime it was never pretended that
the subordinate Lodges were irregular Lodges because they were left without a head, although they ceased for a time to hold Lodge
meetings, and one is said to have lost its records; and the 'Ahiman Rezon' informs us that the Lodges in the several States, 'after
the termination of the war, resorted to the proper and necessary means of forming and establishing independent Grand Lodges for
the government of the fraternity in their respective jurisdictions.'
Your Committee find that this Grand Lodge was organized regularly i111826, and recognized by most of the Grand Lodges in the
Union, including New York; that she was invested with corporate rights as a Grand Lodge by the Legislative Council of the Territory
in 1827, and that by a formal resolution passed in Grand Communication in the year 1829, all Masonic labor was suspended for the
time being.
The position of this Grand Lodge at the time of its suspension of labor, and while Michigan was yet a territory, and the hostility
exhibited toward the institution everywhere by the public sentiment of the day, fully warranted the Grand Lodge in an exercise of all
her powers, not inconsistent with the fundamental principles of Masonry, in order to allay, by the most prudent course, an unjust
persecution which at that time pervaded the length and breadth of the land.
At the Annual Communication in June 1841, delegates from a constitutional number of legally constituted subordinate Lodges, met
agreeably to prior notice at this place and resolved to open a Grand Lodge under the existing constitution and recommend a general
resumption of labor in the jurisdiction; and accordingly an election of officers was held; and the Grand Lodge fully re-organized, and
the files, blanks and records thereof, duly made over into the hands of the Grand Secretary by the former officer having them in
charge.
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The Committee are therefore decidedly of the opinion, from all the evidence they have the means of obtaining, and from a careful
perusal of the constitutions of the order and the practice of other Grand Lodges under them, that the present Grand Lodge was
legally and constitutionally re-organized.
All which is respectfully submitted.
(Signed.)
WM. JONES,
JAMES VIDETTE.
)
) Napoleon Lodge.
H. N. CHURCH,
)
CHAS. M. ELDRIDGE. ) Oak'd Lodge.
H. M. DODGE,
A. C. SMITH.
)
) Lebanon Lodge.
JOHN BROWNELL,
Stony Creek Lodge.
Committee.
The doings of the Acting Grand Master, in appointing Benj. C. Howard to represent this Grand Lodge in the general
convention of Grand Lodges in Washington, D. C., in the coming March, were approved, but it was resolved that "it
was injudicious and inexpedient to organize a General Grand Lodge."
The second annual meeting was held June 1st, 1842, and at this time Detroit Lodge was represented, in addition to
the four that had previously constituted the Grand Lodge. At this time Leonard Weed was elected Grand Master, Gen.
John E. Schwarz, Deputy Grand Master, Ebenezer Hall, Senior Grand Warden and William Jones, Junior Grand
Warden. Charters were granted to Napoleon and Stony Creek Lodges, and the following resolution relative to
Lodges, was adopted:
Resolved, That any Lodge, subordinate to the Grand Lodge of Michigan, in regular standing, within the jurisdiction, and which
suspended labor in the year 1829 in obedience to a resolution of the Grand Lodge, be cordially invited to resume labor under their
original charter, subject to the provisions and restrictions heretofore prescribed, provided a sufficient number of members of said
Lodge in possession of their charter and records may wish to do so, and provided further that the same be done within two years
from this first day of June, A. L. 5842.
At the semi-annual communication on October 5, 1842, a charter was granted to Detroit Lodge and the Lodges were
classified and numbered as follows:
Detroit Lodge, No. 1
Oakland Lodge, No. 2
Stony Creek Lodge, No. 3
Lebanon Lodge, No. 4
Napoleon Lodge, No. 5.
A committee consisting of William Jones, Levi Cook and Jeremiah Moors, was appointed to remonstrate with the
brethren at Niles, who had organized a Lodge at that place and were working under a dispensation from the Grand
Master of New York. The committee was instructed to endeavor to have this Lodge surrender its dispensation and
come under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Michigan. The effort, however, was not successful.
A committee was appointed "to prepare a condensed history of the re-organization of the Grand Lodge of Michigan,
and report at the next meeting, accompanied with the views of said committee touching the legal existence of said
Grand Lodge."
Steps were also taken to protect the Lodges from the intrusion of such persons as had renounced Masonry during the
years of persecution, and they were required, when examining strangers, to take from them a statement that they had
not seceded from or renounced Masonry.
Michigan matters, as related to Masonry, were now attracting much attention and causing a great amount of
discussion in all the Grand Lodges in the United States. This Grand Lodge having asked for recognition from all
others in the country, it followed, as a necessity, that everything connected with its organization and history became
of interest to the whole fraternity. The matter was discussed in all its bearings, by the ablest Masons in all the states,
and, in most instances, the Grand Lodges decided against the recognition of Michigan. In the General Masonic
Convention held in Washington, in March, 1842, Brother Benjamin C. Howard, who had been chosen to represent
Michigan, was denied such representation. The committee on credentials at that convention, reported as follows on
the Michigan case:
The Committee have had put into their hands a document emanating from a body of Masons calling itself "The Grand Lodge of
Michigan," appointing a very respectable and worthy Brother a Delegate to this Convention, and your Committee regret that not
having the requisite evidence before them of the constitutional existence of any Grand Lodge in the State of Michigan, they are
133
under the unpleasant necessity of reporting adversely to the claim of that Brother to a seat in this body. The reasons which have led
your Committee to this conclusion, are briefly as follows:
From documents in their possession, your Committee learn, that in 1826, a Grand Lodge was regularly organized in the then
Territory of Michigan; that in 1827, it was incorporated by the Legislative Council of the Territory, that in 1828 or 1829, in
consequence of the violence of the anti-masonic excitement, which at that time was spreading over the northern parts of the
country, like the desolating sirocco of the desert—at the suggestion and on the recommendation of General Cass, the then Grand
Master, the labors of the Grand Lodge of Michigan, and of the Subordinate Lodges holding under its jurisdiction, were, by a
unanimous vote of the Grand Lodge, suspended; the Masonic organization in the Territory was dissolved, and it does not appear
that any attempt was made to revive it, until the year 1840, when a public meeting of the Masons in that State was called, through
the public papers, to be holden in the town of Mount Clemens; at this meeting, it was resolved to resuscitate and organize the
Institution. A Committee was appointed to open a correspondence with the neighboring Grand Lodges, to ascertain whether a
Grand Lodge had ever existed in the Territory: and if so, what steps were necessary for its re-organization; or, if no such G. Lodge
had ever existed, then what measures were proper for the formation of a new one. Thus conclusively showing that the Brethren
composing the public meeting at Mount Clemens, were a new race of Masons, who had come upon the stage since the dissolution
of Masonry in the Territory, and that they had no knowledge of, or connection with the former organization. The Committee, in
pursuance of their appointment, accordingly opened a correspondence with the Grand Secretaries of several of the principal Grand
Lodges in the country, and received the required advice and information.
In the early part of the year 1841, a second public meeting of Masons was held at Detroit, at which time it was discovered that a
Grand Lodge had been held in the Territory, and that it had been incorporated as above stated; the records and papers, or a portion
of them, had also been recovered. On the strength of these, and without the existence of a single Subordinate Lodge, (the only
legitimate source of Grand Lodges,) as far as your Committee can ascertain, the Brethren composing the meeting, proceeded to
form and organize a Grand Lodge for the State of Michigan, and to issue Warrants for the institution of new Lodges; a proceeding
which your Committee pronounce to be radically wrong, and in derogation of the fundamental Statutes and Landmarks of the
Masonic Fraternity, and that the Grand Lodge so organized, is an irregular body, which ought not and cannot be recognized by the
Fraternity in the United States.
Your Committee most deeply regret the necessity which has compelled them to this result. For their .Brethren in Michigan, they
entertain tli2 highest regard, and would most cheerfully extend to them through their Representative, the right hand of fellowship and
fraternal affection; but regarding their duty to the whole Fraternity as superior to all personal considerations, they are bound to
withhold that fellowship and fraternal recognition, until by due course of regular Masonic proceeding, they shall have returned to
regular and established constitutional principles.''
All of which is respectfully submitted.
CHARLES W. MOORE, CHAIRMAN.
--------
The committee appointed for that purpose, presented the claims of the Grand Lodge for recognition, to the Grand
Lodge of New York and received from that body a dignified, but courteous and fraternal refusal.
In view of the difficulties which environed this Grand Lodge by thus being cut off from all fraternal communication with
the rest of the Masonic world, Grand Master Mullett decided to call an emergent communication to consider the
situation and decide what steps should be taken. Accordingly he caused the following circular letter to be sent to all
the Lodges:
134
At the meeting held under this call, the committee made their report and submitted their correspondence with the
Grand Lodge of New York. That correspondence was as follows:
"DETROIT, Jan. 10, 1844.
"To James Herring, Secretary Gr. Lodge, State of New York:
DEAR BROTHER;—The undersigned, a committee appointed by the Gr. Lodge of the State of Michigan at their last Annual
Communication to correspond with the Gr. Lodge of the State of New York and other Gr. Lodges, on the subject of the resuscitation
of this Grand Lodge, and to solicit your recognition of us, and a friendly Masonic intercourse, beg leave to lay before you the
following statement of facts:
Before the breaking out of the great anti-Masonic excitement, the then Territory of Michigan had a Gr. Lodge duly incorporated by
the Territorial Legislature, and under its jurisdiction, seven subordinate Lodges, viz: Detroit and Zion Lodges, in the city of Detroit,
and five others in the country, all performing their duties honorably to themselves and satisfactory to the fraternity.
About this period a flood of emigration unparalleled in the history of this, or any other country, poured into the Territory, many of
them from the Western part of the State of New York, then called the infected district, bringing with them a deadly hostility to the
Masonic Institution, and prepared for a crusade even to extermination, against the whole body of Masons. Emboldened by their
success there, and seeing the smallness of our numbers, it is not surprising that their conduct on all occasions, openly and privately,
evinced a disposition on their part, to extirpate every vestige of Masonry from our Territory.
About this time preparations were making to change our institutions from a Territorial to a State Government, and such was the
opposition to us, that no Mason could be elected to a political office, and the same spirit crept into every department of life,
poisoning the sources of domestic peace and the sanctity of religion.
In spite of all this opposition, the Lodges for a time held private meetings, but these sometimes becoming known, doubly enraged
our enemies and strengthened their opposition.
At length a meeting of Masons (not a Lodge) was called by private invitation, to consult upon the most prudent course to take under
the circumstances. At that meeting a proposition was made by a very respectable Brother, publicly to surrender all the Charters, and
dissolve the institution, believing, as he said, that harmony in our political, religious and domestic relations, was of more importance
than the Masonic Institution. This was firmly opposed, and when the question was taken, not one in ten voted in favor of the
proposition.
After the decision of this question a worthy Brother, now no more, proposed that a prayer of thanksgiving be offered up to the
Supreme Architect of the Universe for preserving the Institution from dissolution—which was done by a Brother Clergyman then
present—and after having resolved to refrain from all acts calculated to increase the excitement, the meeting was dissolved.
Soon after this meeting, finding it impossible to continue the regular communications of the Lodges without jeopardizing the peace
of the community, a regular meeting of the Gr. Lodge was privately held, in which a resolution was passed to suspend labor for the
time being, and recommending the subordinate Lodges to do the same, intending thereby to legalize the laying down our tools, that
we might resume them when the causes which made such proceedings necessary should cease. Under the advice contained in this
resolution, all the subordinate Lodges except Stony Creek Lodge suspended their labor, but none surrendered their Charters.
Stony Creek Lodge being situated in a part of the State remote from the principal scene of excitement, did not suspend, but has
continued to labor up to the present time.
Such are the causes which led to the suspension, and such were the steps to legalize that suspension. We admit that from the year
1829 until 1840 no Officers were elected to the Gr. Lodge, and no meetings held by it, and that by the constitution the Officers are to
be elected annually.
The legal question arising from such a state of things is, does the expiration of the constitutional period of election of Officers of the
Gr. Lodge annihilate the organized institution of Masonry in the State? We respectfully contend it does not, and that to admit such a
doctrine would be to admit that a force of sufficient strength, brought to operate upon and prevent all the Grand Lodges in the United
States from electing Officers at their constitutional period, would annihilate the whole organization of Masonry in the United States.
But we do not design to discuss the question, and we only now mention it, in justification of the course we adopted, and to show you
we acted in good faith, and as we believe for the interest of the Fraternity.
135
In the year 1840, a number of Masons met at Mt. Clemens, anxious to enjoy their Masonic privileges, and instituted an inquiry as to
what course they should pursue. This meeting was composed of Masons who had emigrated to the State during the time our
Lodges had remained dormant, not one of them ever having been a member of our Gr. Lodge. That no member of the Grand Lodge
or any of the subordinate Lodges was present at that meeting, will not appear strange, when it is known that our population had
increased ten-fold; and that during that period the utmost caution was used by Masons in their intercourse with each other.
The meeting at Mt. Clemens being known, and not creating that excitement which was feared, emboldened the members of the Gr.
Lodge and the subordinate Lodges to wake up from their dormant state, and look for their tools and implements. Accordingly a
meeting was held at Detroit, composed of, the officers of Detroit, Zion, Oakland and Stony Creek Lodges, at which was present the
J. Gr. Warden and many other officers and members of the Gr. Lodge. At this meeting the propriety and expediency of resuming
Masonic labor was discussed, and a large majority resolved to resume; and a dispensation was granted to a legal number of
Brethren for a new Lodge at Mt. Clemens, by the name of Lebanon Lodge; and the officers of that Lodge became legal members of
the Gr. Lodge at its next meeting, which took place in Pontiac, and was composed of delegates from Detroit, Oakland, Stony Creek
and Lebanon Lodges; officers were elected and installed, and a complete organization of Masonic government effected, and a
resolution passed giving to the Lodges not then represented, two years to resume labor and make their returns to the Gr. Lodge.
We would here observe, that simultaneous with our suspension of labor in the Lodges, we also suspended it in our R. A. Chapter,
and that also lay dormant until the Lodges resumed, when we also revived our Chapter, and communicated the fact to the G. G. R.
A. C, of the U. S., from which our Charter is derived, and the officers of that body have approved of our doings. Our Gr. Lodge has
granted charters and dispensations, and Lodges have been formed and done work under their authority. Quite a large number who
have been made Masons in the subordinate Lodges, have advanced to the higher degrees of Masonry in our Chapter, and now to
refuse to acknowledge us, and to declare our acts unmasonic, and our Lodges clandestine, would inflict a blow upon Masonry in our
State from which we could not recover.
Under this view of our peculiar situation, and believing, as we always have believed, that we were acting according to the
established usages of Masonry, and that all we have done has been done in good faith, we therefore confidently, but respectfully,
ask our Brethren whether the good of Masonry does not require, and whether under the exercise of that charity at once the
ornament and boast of our institution you will not recognize our organization and approve of our work.
"Fraternally yours, &c.,
"JOHN MULLETT,
"E. SMITH LEE,
"LEVI COOK,
"JEREMIAH MOORS,
"JOHN FARRAR,
Committee."
"GRAND LODGE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
"NEW YORK, Feb. 15, 1844.
BRETHREN:—
Your letter of the 10 ult., addressed to the Gr. Secretary of the Gr. Lodge of the State of New York, has been laid before us, its
Executive Officers.
You inform us that you are a 'Committee appointed by the Gr. Lodge of the State of Michigan, at their last Annual Communication,
to correspond with the Gr. Lodge of the State of New York and other Gr. Lodges on the subject of the resuscitation of (the Gr. Lodge
of Michigan) and to solicit (our) Masonic intercourse.'
We know not whether you are aware that a similar request was made to us in 1841, accompanied with a statement of facts (so
called), and a copy of the resolution adopted by the Gr. Lodge of this State, in June, 1827, recognizing and welcoming the Gr.
Lodge, which was then just organized in Michigan, and a copy of an act of the Legislature, incorporating that Gr. Lodge; neither of
which were relevant to the claims of the present body, called the Gr. Lodge of Michigan, to the power of a Gr. Lodge. Amongst other
statements made to us at that time, by the person who wrote in behalf of the body you represent, were the following: 'On
examination I found all the materials of the old Gr. Lodge, in a formal condition, up to the fall of 1832, when I found, on file, a
resolution introduced by Bro. Cass, unanimously adopted by the Gr. Lodge, recommending the whole Fraternity in the Territory to
'cease from labor for the time being, in consequence of the violence of anti-Masonry;' and, 'as the Constitution provides for the Gr.
Officers continuing in office till others are elected, installed and invested, a majority of the old Gr. Officers remaining in the State,
continued in power till the election of last June. These were startling statements, because all had good cause to believe they were
not true and were intended to deceive.
Further and precise information was accordingly requested, viz, a copy of the Article of the Constitution by which the Gr. Officers
claim to hold over without limitation through a series of years; what Gr. Officers, who were regularly elected and installed in 1832,
(or at the last election, whether previous or subsequent to that date), authorized, approved, or attended the meeting in June, 1841.
Who were the delegates from Lodges who held that meeting, and how and by whom were they delegated? If all the Lodges ceased
their labor in 1832, how, and by what authority, were they re-organized, if they were re-organized previous to June, 1841. These
questions were never answered.
136
The Masonic Convention at Washington, in March, 1842, after examining the evidence brought together at that time, decided that
the present Gr. Lodge of Michigan is an irregular body, which ought not and cannot be recognized by the Fraternity of the United
States. After again examining the case, our Committee on Foreign Correspondence made a similar report in June, 1842. We then
proceeded to organize a Lodge in Michigan.
We shall not again refer to the statement made to us in 1841. Those which you have now furnished bear the impress of candor and
truth, and as such merit our respect, and shall be answered with a just regard to courtesy and the high importance of the subject
under consideration.
This subject, you are aware, is not new to us. We have examined it thoroughly with the advantages of several sources of
information, various discussions in other places, and matured reflection for upward of two years. Your letter furnishes us with no
new facts, except that 'Stony Creek Lodge did not suspend, but continued to labor up to the present time.' We therefore profess to
speak on the case understandingly; and our opinions, whether acceptable or not, are based upon Masonic law, and the established
usage of the craft.
It has never been disputed that the Gr. Lodge of Michigan, established in 1826-7, was regular. That body adopted a Constitution,
and that Constitution says: 'The Gr. Officers shall be elected annually.' Art. 1, Sec. 4.
‘The Gr. Lodge shall meet in the City of Detroit, annually, on the first Wednesday in June, at which time the Gr. Officers shall be
elected.’ Art. 1. Sec. 5.
‘The representatives of three Lodges shall form a quorum for the transaction of business.’ Art. 1, Sec. 3
'The Masters and Wardens of Lodges, or their proxies, are the representatives designated.' Art. 1, Sec. 1. Art. 7, Sec. 10, 11.
'The Master (and Wardens) shall be annually chosen by ballot, at the regular meeting next preceding the festival of St. John the
Evangelist.' Art. 5, Sec. 3, 5.
'Any Lodge neglecting to assemble for one year, or neglecting to make returns and pay its dues for two years, shall forfeit its warrant
and surrender the same to the Gr. Secretary.' Art. 6, Sec. 11.
'No regulation affecting the general interest of the Craft shall be changed, or adopted, except at the meeting in June.' Art. 1, Sec. 5.
Under this Constitution it is evident that the resolution passed to suspend labor for the time being, whether adopted in June or at
some other time, operated in due course to completely disorganize the Lodges and the Gr. Lodge. In December following its
passage, the Lodges were disorganized by the failure of elections; and in the June succeeding, the Gr. Lodge could not have
formed a quorum of legal representatives if the attempt had been made, because there were not three Lodges in the State in a
condition to send legal representatives. The powers of all the Gr. Officers expired by the limitation of the Constitution, and then
terminated the existence of the Gr. Lodge of Michigan.
At that time had there been in the State three organized Lodges, their legal representatives might have remedied that catastrophe
by immediately assembling and reorganizing the Gr. Lodge. Even as they were, they might have appealed to some existing Gr.
Lodge to receive them under their jurisdiction, and under the circumstances there can be no doubt they would have been kindly
received and authorized to reorganize. Certain we are that the Parent Gr. Lodge of the four original founders of the extinct Gr.
Lodge of Michigan would have received them with affection and sympathy.
Having explained the grounds of our opinion that the Gr. Lodge and the subordinate Lodges of Michigan were extinct under their
own Constitution, we proceed to the examination of the course pursued in their resuscitation. In this are accumulated many errors.
The J. G. Warden, whom you mention, can only be regarded as a Past G. Warden; a member of the Gr. Lodge if it existed, but with
no more right and authority to grant dispensations for the organization of new, or the revival of old Lodges, than any other Mason in
the State. Had he been left at the head of the Gr. Lodge by deaths or other casualties, during his official year, his right to exercise
the dispensing power of a Gr. Master, without the concurrence of the Gr. Lodge, would have been questionable, but to exercise that
power eleven years after he had ceased to be even a Gr. Warden was an usurpation of a prerogative to which he had not the least
color of right.
Lodges under dispensation are the mere agents of the constituent power whether authorized by the Gr. Master or the Grand Lodge.
Their Officers are not members of the Gr. Lodge, nor are they entitled to a voice therein. Neither have they a right to form or to
assist in forming a Gr. Lodge. That is a privilege which appertains only to regularly warranted and constituted Lodges.
Stony Creek Lodge, in continuing to labor after the power by which they were authorized to work was dead, erred. Their doings
were by their Charter to be in conformity to the Constitution of the Gr. Lodge, but that Constitution had become a dead letter; they
were under the jurisdiction of no superior power; they were an anomaly in American Masonry.
On the point which you designated as the legal question, 'whether the expiration of the constitutional period for the election of
Officers of the Gr. Lodge annihilates the organized institution in the State,' we have already expressed our opinion, but as you have
raised a very improbable hypothesis—a supposed case of ultra anti-Masonic influence brought to bear on all the Gr. Lodges of the
Union, by which you appear to justify the 'holding over' principle—we reply, that that doctrine has never been sanctioned in this
country, nor are we aware that it has in any other. In this State it was decided against and repudiated by the Gr. Lodge many years
ago, and we wish you to bear in mind that this Gr. Lodge is your Alma Mater. The principle is too dangerous to be tolerated. Fierce
anti-Masonry is a demon of ephemeral life. Ambition is co-extensive with humanity, and requires eternal vigilance to guard against
its machinations. It would be far more easy to prevent annual elections by the exertion of power from within than by influence from
without. Every Gr. Lodge and every subordinate Lodge in the United States is required to elect their Officers annually and at fixed
times. Legal remedies exist where by accident omissions occur, but to admit this 'holding over' principle into Masonry would
introduce a most dangerous innovation which cannot for a moment be entertained.
137
You assure us that you believe and always have believed that you were acting according to the established usage of Masonry. In
this also you have erred. To establish a usage the same thing must have been done repeatedly and approved by competent
authority. But you refer to no precedent, and for the best of reasons, there is none. To approve then of your proceedings, or even to
bestow the least countenance or toleration on them, would be, so far as the influence of the Gr. Lodge in the State of New York
extends, conniving at and sanctioning a precedent, which would open the flood gates of innovation on the landmarks of the order.
Therefore we cannot consent to it. The Gr. Lodge of this State never will consent to it, nor so far as her voice can be heard sounding
the alarm can it ever be consented to anywhere.
If then a 'blow is inflicted on Masonry in your State from which it cannot recover,' remember you have inflicted it with your own
hands, and the responsibility rests with you alone.
But, if you will, the doors shall be thrown open for your honorable retreat. Take, therefore, the advice of your friends, your Brothers,
your Masonic Parents. There is, at this time, a regular and flourishing Lodge at Niles. Let there be two or more others established
under the authority and jurisdiction of some of the Gr. Lodges of the Union. Then when they desire to organize a State Government
for' themselves, none will object, but all will rejoice. Believe not that because we cannot be persuaded to countenance you in an
erroneous and unjustifiable course, that we are not ever ready and desirous of aiding you to return.
Zion, Detroit, Menominee, Oakland and Monroe Lodges are our own offspring, and we feel toward them the sympathies of a Parent.
Similar opinions and advice have been given by our Sister Gr. Lodges, but as they may not have come to your knowledge—perhaps
have been concealed from you—we herewith send a few extracts from their transactions.
The Gr. Lodge of Massachusetts, Jan. 8, 1842, Resolved, That the Gr. Lodge of Massachusetts, regarding the views and
sentiments of the United States Masonic Convention in their disfranchisement of the Gr. Lodge of Michigan, as accordant with the
practice enjoined by the Statutes and Landmarks of the Order, hereby sanction and approve of the measure.
Resolved, That the irregularity which has prompted the foregoing resolution, proceeding from Brethren good and true, urges us, as
well wishers to those of the faith in Michigan, to enjoin upon them and bid them 'God speed' in the formation of a Gr. Lodge founded
on established and constitutional principles.
The Gr. Lodge of Illinois, Oct., 1842,
Resolved, That, they cannot recognize the Gr. Lodge of Michigan as at present constituted, nor any of the subordinate Lodges
acting under its authority.
The Gr. Lodge of Indiana, in May, 1843, adopted a similar resolution.
The Gr. Lodge of Virginia, Dec., 1842,
Resolved, That whenever they shall have been officially informed that a Gr. Lodge of Michigan is constituted from Delegates
appointed by regularly working subordinate Lodges in that State, under the authority of some neighboring and recognized Gr.
Lodge, they will most cheerfully extend to the brethren of Michigan the right hand of fellowship, and will co-operate with them in all
objects tending to the benefit of Masonry in general.
The Gr. Lodge of Alabama, Dec. 2, 1842, advised their Brethren (in Michigan) to organize in a manner which will not admit of a
constitutional question, as such might be easily done, without material delay, expense or trouble, and would tend to promote the
interest and harmony of our peaceful order.
The Gr. Lodge of Missouri, Oct., 1842, received the following report from their Committee on Foreign Correspondence:
Your Committee have also had before them for their consideration, a printed copy of the proceedings of a certain body of men
esteeming themselves Masons and claiming to be the Gr. Lodge of the State of Michigan. In examining the facts disclosed by
themselves, your Committee find unequivocal testimony disproving their claims as a Gr. Lodge, and so far from satisfying your
Committee that the body aforesaid is a regularly organized Gr. Lodge, the contrary is fully established.
Your Committee cannot therefore (as under other and different circumstances they would gladly do) recommend a recognition of
that body in the character they have assumed, but on the contrary that our Fraternity and this Grand Lodge discountenance that
association and all who seek recognition by virtue of their authority. But at the same time, your committee feel bound thus to decide
from the developments made by themselves, yet it is not without feelings of strong regret, your Committee find the existence of such
a state of facts as to compel them to make it for those Brethren, (as men and Masons). This Grand Lodge can entertain no other
feelings than those of the most friendly kind, yet their irregular and illegal organization ought not to be permitted to pass unnoticed.
Under these impressions your Committee suggest that the Gr. Lodge recommend to those Brethren to retrace their steps and 'do
their work over again,' and proceed to organize a Gr. Lodge in conformity to immemorial practice and custom of the Fraternity, that
Masonry 'may not be wounded in the house of its friends', and this as well as all other Gr. Lodges at no distant day may enjoy the
pleasure of recognizing a regularly organized Gr. Lodge in the State of Michigan.'
The Gr. Lodge of Connecticut, May 1843, received a report from their Committee on Foreign Correspondence, who after examining
the papers which 'purport to be the proceedings of the Gr. Lodge of the State of Michigan,' say they 'are constrained to report the
same opinion" as other Gr. Lodges had come to, and they add in the same spirit of kind forbearance which has been exhibited
everywhere, that they 'would not censure the Masonic Fraternity of Michigan for their incorrect proceedings in the formation and
organization of their Gr. Lodge, believing their intentions were good and their errors not designed.' They, therefore, advise the Gr.
Lodge of Connecticut, in the true spirit of friendship and brotherly love, to recommend to the subordinate Lodges and Brethren of
Michigan, so to review and reorganize their Gr. Lodge that the right hand of fellowship can be extended to them by their sister Gr.
Lodges, and by every individual member of the Fraternity throughout the world.
138
Thus you perceive that that Charity which you invoke has exercised her kindest offices, and still extends towards you her open
hands, imploring you to turn from the perverse and cheerless course into which you have been deluded. Organized as you are,
without a shadow of lawful authority, you cannot be admitted to our Lodges, we cannot countenance you, or own you as fair
Brethren duly formed, nor approve of your acts or deeds.
How long then will you try the patience of your friends? Until they cease to place confidence in your professions of good faith? We
hope not, we believe it not; and that faith and hope are also emanations of charity animating
Your friends and Brothers,
MORGAN LEWIS, G. M.
ALEX H. ROBERTSON, D. G. M.
JAMES HERRING, Gr. Secretary.
To Brothers
JOHN MULLETT.
E. SMITH LEE.
LEVI COOK.
JEREMIAH MOORS.
JOHN FARRAR,
Detroit, Michigan.
After listening to this correspondence and carefully considering the same, it was decided to adopt the course which
had been previously pointed out to them, and it was unanimously
Resolved, That in view of the difficulties with the Grand Lodge of the state of New York in acknowledging the authority of this Grand
Lodge, that it be recommended, and this Grand Lodge does hereby recommend, to the members of the old Lodges of this state,
formerly holding their Charters from the Grand Lodge of the state of New York, to apply to that body for a renewal of their Charters
for the purpose of immediate re-organization.
Resolved, That in case the renewal of three Lodges be granted under the above authority and upon the above conditions, this
Grand Lodge does hereby recommend said Lodges to take immediate steps for forming a Grand Lodge.
Resolved, That as soon as said Grand Lodge shall have been so organized agreeably to the foregoing recommendations, this
Grand Lodge shall be dissolved,
On motion of C, A. Smith,
Resolved, That when said three Lodges shall have re-organized and formed a Grand Lodge pursuant to the foregoing instructions,
and this Grand Lodge shall have surrendered its jurisdiction, that all the moneys, goods, chattels, credits and effects, books,
records, seals, blanks, etc., shall pass into the hands of the new Grand Lodge and become the property of the new Grand Lodge to
all intents and purposes.
The principal business done at the annual communication held two weeks later, was the election of officers and
renewing the dispensation of Evergreen Lodge. Pending the action toward an entire reorganization of the Grand
Lodge, there was no disposition to attempt to do any further business than was necessary to keep the organization
intact. Zion, Detroit and Lebanon Lodges had applied to the Grand Lodge of New York for a renewal of their
former warrants and all were awaiting their receipt before taking any further decisive steps. These warrants were
received in June and these with St. Joseph Valley Lodge at Niles, united in calling a convention to meet in Detroit on
September 17, 1844, for the purpose of forming a new Grand Lodge. This was accomplished; Grand Officers were
elected, and at an adjourned meeting in the following November they were regularly installed. All things now being in
readiness for the final acts of the Grand Lodge which had failed of recognition, the following call for a special meeting
thereof was sent to all the Lodges:
CIRCULAR.
An Emergent Communication of the 'Grand Lodge of Michigan' will be held at 'Masonic Hall' in the City of Detroit on
Tuesday the Seventeenth day of December next, at high 12, for the transaction of special and important business.
Your Lodge is hereby ordered to take due notice thereof and govern itself accordingly.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand
and affixed the great seal of the Grand Lodge,
at Mt. Clemens, this 27th day of November A. L. 5844.
A. C. Smith,
Grand Secretary.
The complete records of this last meeting are as follows:
EMERGENT COMMUNICATION.
DETROIT, December 17th, A. L. 5844.
At an Emergent Communication of the Grand Lodge of Michigan, begun and held pursuant to the call of the Grand Master, at
Masonic Hall, in the City of Detroit, on the seventeenth day of December, A. L. 5844.
139
PRESENT:
M. W.
R. W.
" "
" "
JOHN FARRAR, S. G. W. Acting G. M.
JOHN E. SCHWARZ, S. G. W. P. T.
CALVIN HOTCHKISS, J. G. W. P. T.
A. C. SMITH, Gr. Secr'y.
" "
" "
" "
" "
E. SMITH LEE, Gr. Trea. P. T.
LUCIUS THOMPSON, S. G. D. P. T.
JEREMIAH MOORS, J. G. D. P. T.
SENECA CASWELL, Gr. Tyler.
And visiting Bros. LEVI COOK, C. C. JACKSON, and C. JONES.
Bro. Smith stated that there was a committee in waiting, appointed by another Grand body of Masons, to make a communication to
this Grand Lodge. And, on motion, Bro. E. Smith Lee was introduced to the Grand Lodge.
Who thereupon reported,
That a new Grand Lodge had been recently organized in accordance with the permission and authority heretofore granted in certain
resolutions adopted in May last by this Grand Lodge: and that said Grand Lodge is now in session and ready to receive any
communication which this Grand Lodge may please to make.
This report being accompanied by documents, showing a proper organization in accordance with the requirements of this Grand
Lodge.
On motion of Bro. Smith,
Resolved, That the Grand Secretary and Treasurer be directed forthwith to make over to the Grand Secretary of the new Grand
Lodge all the property and effects in their hands belonging to this Grand Lodge.
Resolved, That in the opinion of this Grand Lodge justice requires that all the Lodges now working in good standing under this
jurisdiction should be reinstated in the jurisdiction of the new Grand Lodge of Michigan, with the same Masonic powers, rights and
privileges that they have hitherto enjoyed.
Resolved, That all the Lodges working under this jurisdiction be required to report and pay all dues to the new Grand Lodge at its
next Annual Communication as they have heretofore done to this.
Resolved, That this Grand Lodge be now closed in harmony, and be henceforth forever dissolved.
The Grand Secretary having been instructed to transmit copies of the foregoing resolutions to all the Subordinate Lodges, and also
to the new Grand Lodge.
This Grand Lodge was thereupon closed in peace and harmony.
ATTEST:
A. C. SMITH,
Grand Secretary.
Thus the work of this Grand Body, organized by some of the most zealous Masons the sun ever shone upon, but in
such a manner, through the mistaken zeal of these brothers, that it was not recognized outside of Michigan as
regularly formed, came to an end and it was merged into the present Grand Lodge, which for fifty years has stood like
a watchman upon the mountains. Although its visible work was ended, who shall say it did not wholly fulfill its
mission? It awakened the slumbering zeal of the fraternity in this state, and, by its active efforts paved the way for our
present noble organization. Requiescat in pace.
----------
ST. JOSEPH VALLEY LODGE, NO. 4, (No. 93, GLNY)
Niles, Berrien Co., Michigan
Dispensation Date:
8 Jun 1842; renewed for six months on 1 Dec 1842.
Warrant Date:
GL of New York, 10 Jun 1843, as No. 93;
GL of Michigan, renumbered No. 5 in 1844; renumbered No. 4 on 5 Jun 1845.
Note: St. Joseph Valley held the number 93 for, apparently, about a year. This number was previously held by Military
Lodge No. 93 of Manlius, New York, chartered 2 Sep 1802. Following the ‘Morgan Affair’ Military Lodge was revived
as No. 215 on 6 Jun 1851, under which number they worked until 8 Jun 1867. On this date the Grand Lodge of New
York restored the number 93 to Military Lodge, under which number they are still working as of 2009. The Grand
Lodge of New York returned the old charter of Military Lodge No. 93 to this Lodge on 26 Oct 1886.
While the brethren of eastern Michigan were laboring to build up the recently organized Grand Lodge, those in the
southwestern part of the state were working on a different line, and for what seemed to be good reasons and for the
best interests of the fraternity, were organizing a Lodge under the authority of another Grand Lodge. In the early part
of the year 1842, the brethren residing in the vicinity of the village of Niles, after fully discussing the matter, resolved
upon the formation of a Lodge at that place. Application was made to the Grand Lodge of New York for a
dispensation, and on the 8th day of June, 1842, the very day when the Michigan Grand Lodge was holding its second
140
annual meeting, the dispensation was granted them by the Deputy Grand Master of New York, Brother William Willis.
At this time General Morgan Lewis was Grand Master, but being nearly ninety years of age, the active duties of his
office were largely performed by the Deputy Grand Master. This dispensation read as follows:
DISPENSATION.
By the RIGHT WORSHIPFUL DEPUTY GRAND MASTER of the RIGHT WORSHIPFUL GRAND LODGE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
WHEREAS, it has been represented to me by petition, duly recommended, that a constitutional number of brethren are desirous of
forming a new Lodge in the Town of Niles, in the County of Berrien, State of Michigan,—
NOW THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM WILLIS, Deputy Grand Master aforesaid, Do by these presents appoint and authorize our Worthy
Brother ROBERT E. WARD. To be MASTER, our Worthy Brother AUSTIN STOCKING to be Senior Warden; and our Worthy
Brother JOHN F. PORTER to be Junior Warden, of a LODGE of MASTER MASONS to be formed and held at Niles aforesaid, by
the name of St. Joseph Valley Lodge; and the said Master and Wardens are authorized and empowered to assemble upon proper
and lawful occasions, and to make Masons, admit members, and to do and perform all and every such acts and things appertaining
to the Craft as have been and ought to be done for the honor and advantage thereof: and for so doing, this shall be their sufficient
dispensation for six months from the date hereof, conforming, in all their proceedings, to the Constitution and general regulations of
the Grand Lodge; otherwise the powers hereby granted are to cease and be of no further effect.
Given under my hand and seal at the City of New
York, this eighth day of June, A. D. 1842.
WM. WILLIS,
Dy. Grand Master.
By the Deputy Grand Master
JAMES HERRING,
Grand Secretary.
On the sixteenth of July, 1842, pursuant to a call issued by the Worshipful Master named in the dispensation, the
following named brethren assembled and were enrolled as members of this new Lodge:
R(obert) E. Ward,
A. W. Harrison,
J(ohn) F. Porter,
Wm. H(ammond) McOmber (aka McComber),
Uriel Enos,
Ezekiel Redding,
Jacob Beeson.
J. R. Ridge,
Dougherty,
Andrew Wood,
Ephraim Huntley,
C(aleb) J(oiner or Joyner) Ingersol(l),
Frederick Howe,
There were also present as visitors, eight brethren from St. Joseph Lodge of South Bend, Indiana, ten miles distant,
and Brother Jacob Silver, of Cass County, Michigan.
http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/beeson.html
Jacob Beeson (Jr.) (1807-1885) of Niles, Michigan, was born in Pennsylvania, 7 Sep 1807; brother of William B. Beeson;
married to Elizabeth House; uncle of Lewis H. Beeson. Democrat. Merchant, Village President of Niles, 1840; delegate to
Michigan state constitutional convention, 1850; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1856. Died 19
Apr 1885. Interment at Silverbrook Cemetery, Niles, Mich.
http://www.friendsofsilverbrook.org/site3/component/content/article/3-departed/16-the-beeson-legacy.html
Jacob Beeson (Sr.) and Judith married somewhere at the turn of the 18th century and parented four sons and a daughter,
Phoebe. The sons were Jacob, William B., Job John and Strother M. Beeson. The eldest, Jacob, emigrated to St. Joseph in
1829 where he began a mercantile business. In 1832 he moved to Niles and started a store in a portion of what was Colonel
Huston’s Tavern.
Jacob left Niles for a period when in 1857 his activity in an extensive forwarding and commission business led to his
appointment by President Buchanan as a custom house collector at Detroit. However, in 1865 he returned and bought 113
acres south of the dam at Niles and built his home. In 1867 he sold his farm to the Water Power Company and returned to
Detroit until 1884 when he again came home to Niles. Jacob died the following year.
The Strother M. Beeson mansion was built by William Hammond McCumber (McOmber) at a reputed cost of $65,000.
Strother purchased the home around 1850.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pagevieweridx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;idno=bad6021.0001.001;size=l;frm=frameset;seq=093
JACOB BEESON was born in Uniontown, PA, 7 Sep 1807; died at Detroit, MI, 19 Apr 1885. His early youth was spent with
an uncle in Hardy county, VA, and in early manhood he was engaged in mercantile business with the same uncle in Georgia
and New Orleans. In 1829 he journeyed on horseback from his native town to Michigan, purchased a business site at Niles,
and returned to Pennsylvania. In 1830, with his mother and three brothers, he came back to Niles and settled permanently,
establishing himself in the mercantile business in which he was successful, and also engaging in the forwarding and
commission business, and established a line of boats on the St. Joseph river. He was a paymaster in the Black Hawk war,
141
from which he derived the title of Colonel. He aided in organizing the State government and was a warm supporter of Gov.
Mason. He was a member of the democratic national committee in 1856, and was appointed receiver of the land office at
Detroit in 1857, when he removed to that city. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1867. In 1876 and 1877
he was president of the Detroit Board of Trade. He was president and principal stockholder of the Merchants' Bank of
Detroit, and director in other banks. He was a man of great energy and rare business tact. In politics a Democrat.
"History of Berrien and Van Buren Counties, Michigan: Its Prominent Men and Pioneers" by D.W. Ensign & Co., 1880.
http://www.angelfire.com/mi2/miroots/michigan/berrien/bertrand.html
Frederick Howe (b. 1784/88), a native of Massachusetts, moved with his parents in 1812 to Cortland Co., N. Y., and in
1834 started from there with a horse and buggy on a tour through the West. He came through Niles, fording the river at that
place, and continued on until he reached this township. He was satisfied with the country here, and having determined to
make this his home, he returned to New York, and in the spring of 1835 emigrated with his family, consisting of his wife and
eleven children. After his arrival he purchased 160 acres of Samuel Cannon, on the northeast quarter of section 11, which
Cannon had purchased the year before. The house was the usual log cabin of those times, and was a poor dwelling, the
fireplace and chimney being built of split logs plastered with clay, and the floor of puncheons. He moved to this place in
November, 1835. He soon after purchased more land, and at his death the homestead farm consisted of 240 acres. In his
later years he moved into the village of Buchanan, near the depot, where he died Feb. 18, 1864. His wife died Feb. 17,
1869. Nine of their children are now living, viz.: Desire, who married Alfred Johnson, an early settler of Niles; Lucinda, who
married Justus Bailey, of Buchanan; Francis W., who lives north of the homestead, and within about a mile and a half of
Buchanan; Mary, who married James Smith, of Berrien Springs; H.J., who also lives at Berrien Springs; George A., who is a
dentist and lives at Niles; Adeline, who married H.G. Sampson, and who lives in Buchanan; Charles F., who lives on the
homestead; and Mary S., who married James Reynolds, of Hamilton, Ind. He died ca 1864, age 76.
http://www.huntleynationalassn.org/HNA%20Reunions.htm
Ephraim Huntley settled in Hamburg, NY in 1816, but moved to Michigan
in 1833 to purchase land. He narrowly escaped death when the steamer
"George Washington" ran ashore at Lake Point, Canada. Ephraim settled
on a farm in Howard Twp., Cass County, MI in the Fall of 1834. He
bought 80 acres, and built a home in Niles (photo at right). >
Ephraim Huntley was born in Saratoga County, NY, 10 Sep 1798. At the
age of eighteen he removed to Erie County, where he remained until the
fall of 1833, when he came to Michigan, settling in Howard Township,
where he has since remained. In the same fall he went back on business
and was shipwrecked on the steamer George Washington, then on her
fourth trip across the Lake (Erie), at Long Point, Canada, the steamer
going ashore and breaking in two. One passenger was drowned in
attempting to swim ashore from the wreck.
Mr. Huntley has been almost a life-long Free Mason, very enthusiastic in his devotion to the Order, was one of the charter
members of Niles [St. Joseph Valley] Lodge, No. 4, in the State [Michigan], and was only about fifty miles from where the
Morgan excitement existed in New York [Batavia, NY; while Ephraim was living in Hamburg, NY].
http://books.google.com/books?id=0h3mnwahsEAC&pg=PA339&lpg=PA339&dq=%22Ephraim+Huntley%22&source=bl&ots=nt1Ld
MN7yQ&sig=SPpOtwecOcp7bgTan_CmaNzxHY&hl=en&ei=I_OASvyuDpGEtgfV5MXZCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=
%22Ephraim%20Huntley%22&f=false page 339.
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=craigsharrow&id=I150985
Caleb Joiner (Joyner) Ingersoll, b. 1800 in Pompey, Onondaga, NY, spent his youth in New York state where he was a
cabin boy on a Lake Ontario schooner before he was captured by the British in the War of 1812. After moving to this area,
Ingersoll was a riverboat captain on the St. Joseph River, a farmer, a postmaster and Indian agent. He was married three
times and died at age 92 in 1893 at Buchanan, Berrien County, Michigan.
Thomas Ingersoll, b. 1753 in Great Barrington, Berkshire, MA; d. 1844 in Liverpool, Onondaga, NY; m1. 1744 in Great
Barrington, Lydia Dewey; m2. 1784 in Great Barrinton, Hannah Joyner, b. 1737 (1767 t.s.) in Egremont, MA; d. 1844,
Liverpool, Onondaga, NY; dau. of Robert Joiner b: 1725 in New London, New London, CT, and Lucy Loomis b: 21 Aug
1729 in Windsor, Hartford, CT.
Father: Capt. Peter Ingersoll b: 11 May 1733 in Great Barrington, Berkshire, MA; Mother: Anna Severill b: 1731 in MA
Marriage 1 Lydia Dewey
Marriage 2 Hannah Joyner
Children
1. Evelena Ingersoll
b: in Massachusetts
2. Peter Ingersoll
b: 1785 in Massachusetts [b. 9 May 1785; d. 26 Sep 1863; m. Lydia Stapes, b. 25 Jun
1783; d. 12 Oct 1879; both bur. Liverpool Cemetery]
3. Cornelius Ingersoll
b: 1787 in Liverpool, Onondaga, New York
4. Hannah Dorcester Ingersoll b: 1790 in Liverpool, Onondaga, New York
5. Lucy Ingersoll
b: 1795 in Liverpool, Onondaga, New York
6. Caleb Joiner Ingersoll
b: 1800 in Pompey, Onondaga, New York
7. Panthus Dorcester Ingersoll b: 1802 in New York
8. Betsey Ingersoll
b: 1805 in New York [prob. B. 30 May 1805; d. 25 Sep 1886; m. Benjamin Dart, b. 18 Mar
1799; d. 17 Oct 1843; both bur. Liverpool Cemetery; later m. Ralph Edwards]
142
http://www.mindspring.com/~wdlanier/ben1711.html
Matthew Redding, d. bef 1783, m. Elizabeth Lanier, b. ca 1751; d. 1776
Child:
Ezekial Redding, 1771 - 10 Oct 1838; married 17 Apr 1791 Rebecca Mason, 1772 - 1838
As a child, Ezekiel lived with his grandfather, Benjamin Lanier; his uncle, Robert Lanier, was his Bondsman in
Mecklenburg County, Virginia. In 1810 Ezekiel Redding and many others migrated from Virginia to Preble County, Ohio. He
settled in what later became Lanier Township in honor of Alexander Chalmers Lanier who had settled in Eaton, the county
seat, a few years prior to the Reddings. In 1850 Ezekiel Redding and family moved into northwestern Indiana on the
Michigan border. Both he and his wife are buried in Dayton, Michigan.
They had the following children:
M i
Benjamin Redding
b. 09 May 1792.
F ii
Elizabeth Redding
b. 20 Feb 1794.
M iii
Robert Lanier Redding b. 07 Oct 1795.
M iv
Matthew Redding
b. 04 Feb 1799.
M v
John Redding
b. 26 May 1802.
F vi
Sarah Redding
b. 29 Nov 1803.
M vii William Redding
b. 13 Mar 1806.
M viii Ezekiel Redding
b. 26 May 1808.
M ix
James Redding
b. 1810.
M x
Joseph Redding
b. 1812.
M xi
Samuel Redding
b. 17 Sep 1815.
http://books.google.com/books?id=st4iAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA670&lpg=PA670&dq=%22Robert+E.+Ward%22+%22michigan%22&sour
ce=bl&ots=uriFro2kBH&sig=hlUOqlYYhiOD3CAaPQGEtfhtmY&hl=en&ei=R7OBStOlGYS6Nfrm1ZkL&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#v=onepage&q=%22Ro
bert%20E.%20Ward%22%20%22michigan%22&f=false page 670.
ROBERT E. WARD, Representative from Berrien county in 1837, was born in Albany, NY. He came to the village of Berrien
Springs in 1835, and was a merchant, the partner of Pitt Brown. On a petition drawn by him to the post office department,
the village name was changed from Berrien to Berrien Springs, so named from valuable medical springs. He was a county
commissioner in 1837. Removed to Detroit, where he died in 1847.
At this meeting, the Lodge was organized and the following officers installed:
Worshipful Master, Robert E. Ward,
Junior Deacon,
Julius Brown,
Senior Warden
A. W. Harrison,
Treasurer,
Ezekiel Redding,
Junior Warden,
John F. Porter,
Secretary,
Jacob Beeson,
Senior Deacon,
Uriel Enos,
Tyler,
C. J. Ingersol.
The name recorded, "Julius Brown," probably should have read "Jonathan Brown," who certainly became a member
at about that time and was made Secretary six months later.
After the Lodge was regularly organized, the fee for the three degrees was fixed at fifteen dollars, payable in all
cases, with the petition. Committees were appointed to secure hall and furniture and to prepare a code of By-Laws,
and the meetings were appointed for every fourth Saturday at sunset. The first petition received by this Lodge was
that of George R. L. Baker, it being presented at this first meeting.
An emergent communication was held three weeks later, August fifth, and the petition of Rufus W. Landon was
received. Thus commenced the Masonic history of a brother who became one of the most prominent Masons of
Michigan; whose record in Lodge and Grand Lodge was a long and honorable one, but which, alas, was eclipsed in
the evening of his life, by acts, undoubtedly caused more by the force of circumstances than from any unworthy
motive, but which dimmed the lustre of an otherwise fair fame. May we remember him for his many virtues and his
long years of faithful and zealous labors, and cover the errors of his declining years with the mantle of Masonic
Charity.
By-Laws were discussed from time to time, but not finally adopted until October 22d.
September 10th, Brother R. E. Ward sent a communication to the Lodge, resigning the office of Worshipful Master
and withdrawing from the Lodge. His resignation was accepted and the Senior Warden performed the duties of
Master for the remainder of the year.
On October 5th, 1842, the Michigan Grand Lodge, which was organized the preceding year, endeavored to make St.
Joseph Valley Lodge unite with that body, and the following resolution was adopted:
Resolved, That the Grand Secretary be instructed to send to the Secretary of the said Lodge of Niles, a copy of the Constitution of
the Grand Lodge of Michigan and request them to surrender their dispensation and come under the jurisdiction of this Grand Lodge,
and that a Committee consisting of Bros. Wm. Jones, Levi Cook and Jeremiah Moors be appointed to personally confer with said
Lodge and remonstrate with them on the course they are now pursuing, and request them to submit to this jurisdiction: and that the
said committee have power to report to the Grand Master, if, in their opinion, it should become necessary to call a special
communication of the Grand Lodge in January next.
143
Nothing was effected by this effort to change the allegiance of St. Joseph Valley Lodge from New York to its own
state, and at the meeting of the Lodge held on November first, the following was adopted:
Resolved, That the Secretary be requested to authorize and apply in behalf of this Lodge for a renewal of the dispensation
heretofore granted to it, by the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, for the period of twelve months, and to transmit the
proceedings of this Lodge and a copy of its By-Laws for the inspection of the Grand Lodge, and also that the W. M. of this Lodge be
authorized to draw his warrant on the Treasurer for such amount of money due to the Grand Lodge as maybe in the Treasury and it
may be necessary to remit to the said Grand Lodge, and to remit the same to the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge.
In the following month, a renewal of the dispensation was received from the Deputy Grand Master Wm. Willis, of the
New York Grand Lodge, of which the following is a copy:
BE IT KNOWN: That I, WILLIAM WILLIS, Deputy Grand Master of Masons of the State of New York, having granted a dispensation
for a Lodge to be held at Niles, in the State of Michigan, to be known by the distinctive name or title of St. Joseph Valley Lodge, for
the period of six months from the eighth day of June, A. L., 5842; and having received from said Lodge a report of their acts and
doings under said dispensation, which exhibits a laudable zeal for Masonry on the part of the members of said Lodge. And although
some things have been done not in accordance with the Constitution and Regulations of the Grand Lodge, yet there appears an
earnest desire to do right, and I have full confidence to believe that the said Lodge will hereafter, on receiving instructions, avoid all
irregularities. I have therefore granted, and do hereby grant a renewal of said dispensation, with all its powers and privileges, for the
period of six months from this date, with the additional power and authority to select officers for the period, at the regular meeting in
the present month; the said officers to act as the agents of the Grand Lodge during the time of their appointment, with the same
powers as though they were severally named in the dispensation, but without the privileges of warranted officers. And I do hereby
strictly enjoin upon each and every officer and member of St. Joseph Valley Lodge to conform to and support the Constitution of
Masonry, and the Rules and Regulations of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York; to be watchful and careful of the portal of the
institution intrusted to their care, that no improper candidate or visitor be permitted to enter; to beware of and discourage all
dissensions, discord and strife; and to cultivate peace, friendship, brotherly-love, charity and temperance, that the honor, reputation,
purity and usefulness of Masonry may be earnestly promoted by every individual brother, and by the assembled Lodge.
And I do hereby require, in compliance with the requirements of the Original Dispensation, that a regular return be transmitted to the
Grand Secretary, and that such parts of the By-Laws as conflict with the Constitution be changed and made to conform therewith
and Further: That at the annual meeting of the Grand Lodge, on the first Wednesday in June, next, the dispensation, amended ByLaws, returns and dues be laid before the Grand Lodge for their consideration and action.
Given under my hand and the seal of the Grand
Lodge, at the City of New York, the first day of December, A. L. 5842.
W. Willis, D. G. M.
By the R. W. Deputy Grand Master,
James Herring,
Grand Secretary.
Under the authority of this dispensation, an election of officers was held on December 27th, sixteen members being
present and voting. Brother Vincent L. Bradford was elected W. M., Brother C. J. Ingersol, S. W., Brother Jacob
Beeson, J. W., and Brother Jonathan Brown, Secretary.
The first six month's work of this Lodge, planted in this new field, makes a very creditable record, and shows that
notwithstanding various discouragements under which these pioneer brethren were working, they were filled with
masonic zeal, and their early labors have since brought forth abundant fruit. Fourteen meetings were held, four
petitions for initiation were received, one of which was withdrawn. The other three all received the three degrees and
thus entered into full membership before the close of that year. 'Four brothers were also received by affiliation from
other Lodges, and the year closed with the prospects for success looking brighter than ever. Among those early
members of this Lodge were four brethren who afterwards attained distinguished prominence in the Grand Lodge of
Michigan. Jacob D. Dutton was elected Deputy Grand Master at the organization of the present Grand Lodge,
Jacob Beeson, the first Secretary, was Deputy Grand Master two years, 1846-7, W. H. McOmber, also a charter
member, was Junior Grand Warden two years, Senior Grand Warden one year, and Grand Treasurer nine years. He
was succeeded in the latter office by R. W. Landon, who held that office for twenty-two years. These two last named
brothers filled the office of Grand Treasurer for thirty-one of the fifty years existence of this Grand Lodge.
The work of the year 1843 commenced with a thorough revision of the By-Laws, to make them conform to the laws of
the Grand Lodge of New York, for, it must be remembered, that although the 1841-4 Grand Lodge of Michigan was
now in active operation, this Lodge did not unite therewith, but maintained its allegiance to the Grand Lodge of New
York. Thirteen meetings were held during the year; four petitions for initiation were received, one of which was
withdrawn; two were initiated, two passed, one raised, and three were received by affiliation.
In the early part of this year the Tyler was instructed to provide for the comfort of the members by the following
resolution:
Resolved, That the Tyler be directed to procure at the expense of this Lodge, a water pail and glass tumbler, for the accommodation
of said Lodge, and that said Tyler be directed to have said pail well filled at each and every regular or special meeting, with pure
water for the comfort of the fraternity:
144
At a meeting on May 9th, the Secretary was instructed to apply to the Grand Lodge of New York for a warrant, and at
the same time to protest against the payment of Grand Lodge dues during the time the Lodge had been working
under dispensation. The records do not show whether or not the dues were remitted, but the warrant was granted
by the Grand Lodge of New York, bearing date June 10th, 1843, signed by Morgan Lewis, Grand Master; Alex. H.
Robertson, Deputy Grand Master; Richard Carrique, Junior Grand Warden, and attested by James Herring, Grand
Secretary. The Lodge was chartered as St. Joseph Valley Lodge No. 93, and stood thus recorded upon the rolls of
the Grand Lodge of New York. The officers named in the charter are the ones named in original dispensation,
although the brother named as W. M., had ceased to be a member of the Lodge. No meetings were held after May
23d, until October 26th, at which time the brethren were assembled, and the Lodge duly constituted by Brother
Vincent L. Bradford, acting under the authority of the following proxy from the Deputy Grand Master of New York:
BY THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL
ALEXANDER H. ROBERTSON, ESQR.
DEPUTY GRAND MASTER OF MASONS IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK:
To the Worshipful Br. Vincent L. Bradford:
Whereas, a warrant has issued from the Grand Lodge of this state for the purpose of erecting a Lodge by the name of St. Joseph
Valley Lodge, No. 93, to be held in the town of Niles, in the County of Berrien, in the State of Michigan.
And whereas, from the distance at which those who are appointed officers of the said Lodge reside, it is inconvenient for the officers
of the Grand Lodge personally to attend and install them into their respective offices:
NOW, THEREFORE, I do by these presents authorize you to summon together as many of the brethren as may be convenient, and
with their assistance to proceed to install the officers of the said Lodge, as named in the warrant, into their respective offices, and to
constitute the said Lodge according to the ancient usages of the craft, in such cases established; you making report of your
proceedings to the Grand Secretary, and for so doing, this dispensation shall be your sufficient warrant.
Given under my hand and private seal, at the City of
New York, this 19th day of September, Anno Lucis 5843.
A. H. ROBERTSON,
D. G. M.
Attest.
James Herring,
Grand. Secretary .
Under the authority of this dispensation, Brother Bradford opened the Grand Lodge of New York in special
communication at Niles, with the following brothers acting as Grand Officers, according to the records of the meeting:
Brother Vincent L. Bradford,
Brother Caleb J. Ingersol,
Brother John Wittenmyer,
Brother Jacob D. Dutton,
Brother Jonathan Brown,
Brother Ephraim Huntley,
as R. W. Deputy Grand Master,
as R. W. Deputy Senior Grand Warden,
as R. W. Deputy Junior Grand Warden,
as R. W. Deputy Grand Marshal,
as R. W. Deputy Grand Secretary,
as R. W. Deputy Grand Tyler.
He then proceeded to constitute the Lodge according to Masonic usage, and installed the officers that had been duly
selected by the brethren, and the first duly organized Lodge in this state, west of Jackson, began its existence.
The officers then installed served only two months, when the first regular annual election was held and Jacob D.
Button was elected W. M., Jacob Beeson, S. W., Wm. H. McOmber, J. W., and Jonathan Brown, Secretary.
The year 1844 was quite a prosperous one, and in some respects an eventful one for this Lodge. Although somewhat
embarrassed for want of funds and with a debt of $73.18 at the beginning of the year, the brethren went resolutely at
work building upon the foundation that had been so well laid in the two preceding years. This year witnessed the
organization of the present Grand Lodge of Michigan and the transfer of the allegiance of St. Joseph Valley Lodge
from the Grand Lodge of New York to the Grand Lodge of Michigan, and its Worshipful Master, Brother Jacob D.
Dutton, elected as the first Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan.
This Lodge held twenty-eight meetings during the year 1844; received twenty petitions for initiation, conferred fortyfour degrees; raised fourteen and admitted three.
At the meeting held on March 12th, Brothers Calvin Britain and John Wittenmyer asked leave to withdraw from
membership in this Lodge for the purpose of uniting with Western Star Lodge, at St. Joseph, which had been
organized under a dispensation from the Grand Master of Indiana in the preceding year. On April 30th, George R. L.
Baker also petitioned to withdraw for the same purpose. May 10th the Lodge was summoned in special
communication for the purpose of conducting the funeral of Brother William Snyder, the Tyler of that Lodge who died
on the eighth of that month, aged forty-eight years. Masonic ceremonies were performed at the Lodge, at the dwelling
of the deceased brother and at the grave. This is the first record we have, and probably actually the first Masonic
145
burial service performed in the western part of Michigan. This funeral was attended by forty- three brethren,
seventeen of whom were members of this Lodge and twenty-six brothers from other Lodges, and we may be sure
that the occasion was one of rare interest to the people of that vicinity. That this Lodge early commenced to practice
the beautiful lessons inculcated in the Lodge is shown by an item in the records that a bill of $25.50 was paid for
caring for this deceased brother in his last illness. Respect and esteem for religion was also manifested in a
resolution adopted to dispense with all fees for the degrees to Rev. Ransom R. Richards and Rev. Elder Nathaniel
Pullman, except the dues to the Grand Lodge of $1.50 for membership and record. One month later this last named
brother was raised to the M. M. degree, and three mouths thereafter represented his Lodge in the convention at
Detroit which organized the present Grand Lodge of Michigan.
At about this time a contract was made with a Mr. Rodgers to make jewels for the Lodge at a price not to exceed ten
dollars for the work, and the W. M. was authorized to draw a warrant for ten dollars for the silver from which to make
the jewels. These jewels were finished in a short time, and to the credit of Mr. Rodgers let it be recorded that his bill
was one dollar and eighty-five cents less than the appropriation. On June 25th the last warrant was authorized to pay
dues to the Grand Lodge of New York, and August 10th the Lodge was convened in an important special meeting, an
abstract of the records reading as follows:
On motion, was read from the Secretary's table, a communication from the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of the State of New
York, informing this Lodge that said Grand Lodge, on application having been made, had renewed the warrant of Zion, Oakland, and
Detroit Lodges. Also recommending this Lodge to join these above mentioned Lodges, at a proper time, in forming a Grand Lodge
for the State of Michigan. And also read a communication from John Roberts, Secretary of Detroit Lodge, inviting this Lodge by
resolution of Detroit Lodge, to join the above mentioned Lodges in forming a Constitution for a Grand Lodge for the State of
Michigan. Therefore, it was, on motion,
Resolved, That our worthy Brothers Jonathan Brown, Jacob Beeson and John F. Porter, Past Masters and members of St. Joseph
Valley Lodge, No. 93, be hereby appointed delegates to represent this Lodge in a convention to be holden at Masonic Hall in the
City of Detroit, at 10 o'clock A. M. on the third Wednesday of August, instant, for the purpose of forming a constitution for a Grand
Lodge for the State of Michigan, with full power to act in behalf of this Lodge in the formation of said constitution, and in the
transactions of said Grand Lodge when formed.
To carry out the purpose of this resolution, thirty dollars were voted out of the first unappropriated funds to defray the
expenses of the delegation. The convention called for the third Wednesday in August adjourned to the 17th day of
September following. By action of St. Joseph Valley Lodge, Brother Nathaniel Pullman of that Lodge, with Brothers
Levi Cook and Charles Jackson of Detroit were appointed to represent St. Joseph Valley Lodge in this adjourned
convention.
Brother Pullman was present and participated in the proceedings of the convention and assisted in the organization
of the Grand Lodge of Michigan. By this action, St. Joseph Valley Lodge, No. 93, under the jurisdiction of the
Grand Lodge of New York, became St. Joseph Valley Lodge, No. 5, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge
of Michigan, and from this time forward, the history of this Lodge is a part of the history of the Grand Lodge of
Michigan.
On the organization of the Grand Lodge of Michigan at this time, .St. Joseph Valley Lodge was honored by its
Worshipful Master, Brother Jacob D. Dutton, being elected R. W. Deputy Grand Master, and his first, and as far as
can be learned, only official act, seems to have been the installing of the officers of his Lodge on December 27th
following.
By this time Masonry in Niles was assuming a prominence that awoke anew the fury of its enemies, and at the Free
Will Baptist Convention held there, a certain Rev. Geo. Fellows secured the passage of a resolution condemning the
fraternity.
On October 22, 1844, the following item appears in the records of the Lodge:
Voted that a certain resolution which Rev. Geo. Fellows, of Niles, caused to be passed at the Free Will Baptist quarterly meeting
recently held in this vicinity, be read.
Voted, that a copy of said resolution be filed in the archives of the Lodge, and that that be the only notice we condescend to take of
said Fellows or his resolution.
The year 1845 was a fairly prosperous one for this Lodge. Twenty-two meetings were held; seven petitions were
received; eighteen degrees conferred; six were raised and three admitted by affiliation, making a healthy increase of
members.
St. Joseph Valley Lodge was not represented at either of the two meetings of Grand Lodge held in 1845.
The members of the Lodge were displeased with the rank accorded them by Grand Lodge and appear to have asked
for an investigation of the matter. At the June meeting of Grand Lodge in that year, action was taken which gave to
St. Joseph Valley the rank to which it was entitled. The following resolution and action had thereunder will ex plain:
146
Resolved, unanimously, That in view of the complaints which have been received from the St. Joseph Valley Lodge, No. 5, and from
sundry other Lodges within this jurisdiction, relative to the order which has been taken by this Grand Lodge on the subject of the
relative rank of its subordinate Lodges, the entire subject be referred to the committee on grievances.
This committee, after carefully reviewing the subject, reported in favor of making St. Joseph Valley Lodge
number four, instead of five, as heretofore, and their recommendation was adopted by Grand Lodge.
Here we drop the detailed history of this particular Lodge, having followed it through all the various steps in its course
until we can now leave it in full and harmonious affiliation with our Grand Lodge, under the name and number by
which it has been known for more than fifty years. It has grown from a small beginning, to be one of the strong
Lodges of Michigan, and was the parent Lodge of all that large number that now dot the whole southwestern part of
the state. During the fifty-three years of its existence it has initiated 287, and raised 262 Master Masons. Among its
members have been many men that have achieved prominence in civil and military life, as well as the most
distinguished preferment in our Masonic Fraternity. In addition to the Brothers heretofore named as having been
Grand Officers, two Grand Masters of Masons in Michigan—Henry Chamberlain and .W. Irving Babcock—first
received Masonic light in this Lodge.
------The records of one meeting of this Grand Lodge appear to have been lost. It has long been supposed that no meeting was held
after this installation meeting until the annual meeting in January of the following year. Documents have recently come to light,
however, which conclusively show that a meeting was held on Dec. 17th, 1844. It was on this date that the former Grand Lodge held
its final meeting and closed up its records forever. Upon the same day, the newly formed Grand Lodge also held a meeting, but the
only action known to have been taken at that time is that which is noted in the following official circular, sent to the subordinate
Lodges by Grand Secretary E. Smith Lee. This one is from the archives of Mt. Clemens Lodge, No. 6, and shows, beyond the
possibility of a doubt that a meeting was held on the date named, the records of which have been lost.
Detroit, Dec. 19th A. D. 1844. To the Secretary of Lebanon Lodge
Mt. Clemens, Mich.
D. Sir & Br.
At a regular Communication of the Grand
Lodge of Michigan held at Masonic Hall,
A. L. 5844 Detroit, Dec. 17th, A. L. 5844, the following resolutions were passed,
Resolved, That the Grand Secretary of this Grand Lodge be requested to make out charters properly executed free of charge to all
Subordinate Lodges within this state holding their charters under the Grand Lodge of New York and forward them to the several
Lodges.
Resolved, That all Masons made by Subordinate Lodges in this State holding their charters under the former G. L. of Michigan, be
deemed and taken by this Grand Lodge to be good and valid and they and each of them shall be entitled to all the rights and
benefits of Masonry here and elsewhere, so far as they are found worthy, and may become members of Lodges, and entitled to
seats in this Grand Lodge, if Past Masters.
Resolved, That all Lodges of Masons within this jurisdiction which have been wa1ra ted by the late Grand Lodge of this State, may
receive a warrant from the Grand Lodge free of charge for the same, provided, they apply therefor within six months and pay to the
Grand Secretary all sums of money due from such Lodge to the late Grand Lodge.
Resolved, That the Grand Secretary send to each of the working Lodges in the State a copy of the foregoing resolutions.
Yours truly,
E. Smith Lee,
Grand Secr'y,
It will be seen that by this action all work of the Lodges in Michigan was healed and made regular, and the stamp of irregularity
forever removed.
The constitution adopted by this Grand Lodge at its organization, also provided that the first meeting held thereunder should be on
the seventeenth day of December, A. D. 1844.
This proof of a meeting of the Grand Lodge in December, 1844, is the missing link in its published records. At its formation and first
meeting, only four Lodges are recorded as constituting the Grand Lodge, while without any recorded legislation authorizing the
same, three additional Lodges were represented at the annual meeting in January, 1845. Nothing in the published records show
how they became affiliated with this new Grand Lodge. This official circular effectually answers this question and explains the way in
which these Lodges became constituent members of this Grand Lodge.
Of the action taken at the meeting of December 17th, probably nothing will ever be known further than what is
contained in the official circular before given. In the somewhat chaotic condition of the Institution in Michigan during
those years, there seems to have been a very loose manner of keeping the records. They were jotted down on
147
scraps of paper, and sometime afterwards, when it happened to be convenient, were copied into the record book.
The minutes of this meeting were doubtless mislaid or lost, and thus never had a place on the permanent records.
"The Michigan question" had now been receiving much attention from all American Grand Lodges for about three
years, and the unanimous expressions of rejoicing when the new Grand Lodge was fully organized, show how great
was the interest which had been aroused over masonic affairs in this state. At the meeting of the Grand Lodge of
New York, March 5, 1845, the Committee on Correspondence says:
A letter from Detroit announces the installation of the officers of the new Grand Lodge of Michigan, by ex-Governor P. G. M. Bro.
Cass; and that they are looking forward to a degree of prosperity hitherto unexampled in the history of Masonry in that state; and
adds, that it has in a great measure been brought about by the kind and friendly assistance of our Grand Secretary, Right W. Bro.
Herring.
At this same meeting, Grand Secretary Herring reported that,
Since the last annual communication, four Lodges regularly warranted and constituted under this Grand Lodge, and located in
Michigan, have, with the approbation of the Grand Master, held a convention and organized a Grand Lodge for the state of
Michigan, in a regular manner. They have formed a constitution, and the new Grand Master has been installed by the M. W. P. G.
M. Lewis Cass. The four Lodges, to wit; St. Joseph Valley, No. 93, Zion, No. 99, Detroit, No. 100, and Oakland, No. 101, by which
this new Grand Lodge has been formed, still remain on the Register of this Grand Lodge, and should be formally transferred.
This matter was referred to the committee on warrants who recommended that these Lodges be transferred to the
Grand Lodge of Michigan, and their recommendation was adopted by that Grand Lodge [when?]. This was the final
act which gave to the new Grand Lodge its proper standing before the masonic world. Recognition by all American
Grand Lodge quickly followed, and Michigan received a most fraternal welcome from the other Grand Bodies. Some
of these welcoming words are here given to show how fraternal was the greeting given to this Grand Lodge.
Appendices
Territory of Michigan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Territory
The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from 30 Jun 1805, until 26 Jan
1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit was the territorial capital.
The earliest European explorers of Michigan saw it mostly as a place to control the fur trade. Small military forces, Jesuit missions
to Native American tribes and isolated settlements of trappers and traders accounted for most of the inhabitants of what would
become Michigan.
“Historical Sketch of Early Masonry in Michigan,” by Foster Pratt, M.D. 1883. 47 pages.
http://books.google.com/books?id=QGNLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA25&dq=%22John+Dodemead%22&lr=
The old Hudson's Bay Fur Company, unwilling to abandon this, to it, valuable territory of the Northwest, had been for years
the secret but powerful instigator of the differences and difficulties which, in great part, prevented the earlier surrender of this
territory by England and the establishment of peace and amity between the two governments. This company now sought, by
art and intrigue, to maintain a trade which, before the surrender of the territory, it had by right. It had at first many friends
among the people whose sympathies it retained by promoting their interests. But, little by little, it was compelled to retire from
the ground. John Jacob Astor, a resident of New York, a heavy capitalist, a determined speculator, a zealous Mason, for
three years, during this period, the Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of New York, was the head, (and the body too), of the
American Fur Co., and wielded a great influence, through his agents, traders and voyagers, (many of them Masons),
everywhere in the Northwest. Prior to 1796 his fur trade in this region was subject to English regulation and his furs could only
be sold in London. But now his great trade, with all its influences, centered in New York. Backed by the power of the United
States he became a power in Detroit and Mackinaw, and at Green Bay, (now Wisconsin,) on Lake Michigan. Private letters, still
preserved, show that his masonic position was also used, directly and indirectly, to influence Masons and through them to build
up his trade. And so the various new influences and associations, centering at Detroit, slowly, but surely and favorably,
changed the feelings and the attitude of its original people towards their new government and its interests.
Early government in Michigan
After the arrival of Europeans, the area that became the Michigan Territory was first under French and then British control. The first
Jesuit mission, in 1668 at Sault Saint Marie, led to the establishment of further outposts at St. Ignace (where a mission began work
in 1671) and Detroit, first occupied in 1701 by the garrison of the former Fort de Buade under the leadership of Cadillac. Soon after
their arrival, his troops erected Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit and a church dedicated to Ste. Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary. As
part of New France, the upper Great Lakes had first been governed from Michilimackinac, then Detroit; this was essentially a military
regime that reported to the governor-general at Quebec. Its role was to supply the needs of the fur traders and discourage any
settlements not directly supportive of that effort. After the surrender of Montreal in 1760, British troops under Robert Rogers
occupied Detroit and its dependent posts. In 1763, Pontiac's Rebellion saw the fall of Fort Michilimackinac to the northern tribes,
and a lengthy siege of Fort Detroit. The siege was lifted in 1764, and rule under a British lieutenant-governor at Detroit followed
soon thereafter.
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Michigan and what is now Western Ontario were governed during the Revolution and in the following years as part of the Province
of Quebec and its District of Hesse, which was organized in 1784. The province was split into Lower Canada (today's Province of
Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario) in 1791, and the districts of Upper Canada were renamed the next year, with the Detroit area
designated as the Western District.
Following the American Revolutionary War, several states had competing claims on land in the region. In 1779, Virginia established
Illinois County with boundaries that encompassed all of the land east of the Mississippi River, north of the Ohio River and west of
the Appalachian Mountains. (However, the county government for all practical purposes never exercised actual control beyond an
area limited to a few old French settlements along the major rivers. The overwhelming majority of the northwestern lands were
controlled by the native tribes.) New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts also claimed portions of what was to become Michigan,
but were even less able to enforce their pretensions, given Britain's control of the Great Lakes and the hostility of the tribes.
Although the Treaty of Paris gave the fledgling United States a claim to what is now Michigan, British policy was to hold on to Detroit
and its dependencies at all costs. In 1784, Baron von Steuben would be sent to Canada by the Congress of the Confederation in a
diplomatic capacity to address the question of Detroit and the Great Lakes, but lieutenant governor Frederick Haldimand refused to
provide a passport, and negotiations collapsed before they had begun.
Virginia surrendered its claim to lands north and west of the Ohio River, effective March 1, 1784. Coincidentally (or not) this was the
same day that the findings of a Congressional committee on the western lands, chaired by Thomas Jefferson since the previous
October, were reported. Jefferson's recommendations became the basis for the Ordinance of 1784, which established that new
states equal in all respects to the founding thirteen would be erected in the territory, that they would forever be a part of the United
States, and that their governments would be republican in form. The Land Ordinance of 1785 would go further by establishing a
procedure for land sales in the new territory, but the Ohio River remained an effective boundary between the United States and the
Northwest tribes for a few more years.
The other states with claims in the Northwest eventually followed Virginia's example, and in 1787, the Continental Congress enacted
the Northwest Ordinance, which created the Northwest Territory.[1] The first settlement under the Northwest Ordinance was at
Marietta, in 1788.
The region that became Michigan was initially unorganized territory, and remained under British control until 1796; that did not stop
Governor Arthur St. Clair from establishing a structure of government for the area, if only on paper. Knox County was established on
June 20, 1790 with boundaries that included the western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and roughly the middle third of the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In 1792, the boundaries of Hamilton County were expanded to include the eastern portions of
Michigan not included in Knox County.
American claims to Michigan were frustrated by Britain's refusal to evacuate the forts at Detroit, Mackinac and elsewhere. Britain's
tacit support for the Northwest tribes during the Northwest Indian War was dependent on Detroit remaining out of American hands.
But the position of the British and their allies in the Northwest deteriorated after the signing of Jay's Treaty and the Battle of Fallen
Timbers in 1794, and after negotiations, the British evacuated Detroit on July 11, 1796. The United States had finally established a
presence in Michigan.
By proclamation of acting governor and territorial secretary Winthrop Sargent, the "first" Wayne County was established August 15,
1796, from Knox and Hamilton counties, and included most of the area that later became the Michigan Territory, as well as portions
of what are now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
In 1800, the western half of the Lower Peninsula and most of the Upper Peninsula was attached to Indiana Territory when it was
established as a separate government from the Northwest Territory. Wayne County was thereby reduced to the remainder of the
two peninsulas, and continued under the government of the Northwest Territory. St. Clair County, another Indiana Territory county,
was also expanded at this time, to include the western portion of the Upper Peninsula and a small sliver of the Lower Peninsula
along the shore of Lake Michigan.
When Ohio was admitted as a state in early 1803, the eastern half of Michigan was attached to the Indiana Territory. One of the first
acts taken that year by the Indiana government under William Henry Harrison was to reorganize Wayne County under Indiana law,
adding territory from Knox and St. Clair counties. Michigan's first county now encompassed all of the Lower Peninsula, much of the
Upper Peninsula, and those portions of today's Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin that drained into Lake Michigan.
In many respects, the change from the government of the Northwest Territory to that of the Indiana Territory had little effect on
Wayne County's limited operations. By Governor Harrison's proclamation of January 11, 1803, the courts of Wayne County -common pleas, orphans, and quarter sessions -- kept their organization under the new territorial government, with almost identical
composition.
But the logistics of government went from difficult to almost impossible, with the mail between
Detroit and the capital at Vincennes being routed at one point through Warren in northeastern
Ohio. The deciding factor may have come when an election was called by Governor Harrison for
September 11, 1804, to decide whether Indiana Territory (which by this time was responsible for
not only the settlements in Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois, but the newly-acquired District of
Louisiana as well) should progress to the second stage of territorial government. But word failed to
reach Detroit until after the date had passed, and the settlers of Michigan petitioned Congress in
December 1804, asking that Wayne County be set off as an independent territory.
From 1805-1818, the western border was a line through Lake Michigan.
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Michigan Territory was established by an act of the United States Congress on January 11, 1805, effective June 30 of that year. The
act defined the territory as "all that part of the Indiana Territory, which lies North of a line drawn east from the southerly bend or
extreme of lake Michigan, until it shall intersect lake Erie, and East of a line drawn from the said southerly bend through the middle
of said lake to its northern extremity, and thence due north to the northern boundary of the United States." The first territorial
governor, William Hull abolished Wayne County and established new districts of his own making, which proved to be short-lived.
Lewis Cass became governor in 1813 and promptly undid Hull's work and re-established a third incarnation of Wayne County that
included all lands within Michigan Territory that had been ceded by Native Americans through the 1807 Treaty of Detroit.
During the War of 1812, following General Isaac Brock's capture of Detroit on August 16, 1812, the Michigan Territory was at least
nominally a part of the Province of Upper Canada. On August 24, Colonel Henry Proctor proclaimed the continuation of civil
government under existing laws with Proctor acting as Governor and Chief Justice Augustus B. Woodward acting as Secretary. On
February 4, 1813, Proctor
suspended civil government and
imposed martial law.
Between 1818 and 1833, Illinois
the unincorporated land from
other townships, were made part
and Indiana became states and
their territories, plus a handful of
of Michigan.
When Indiana (1816) and Illinois
remnants of their territories were
area equal to 30 townships was
Territory to Indiana to allow that
Soon afterward, the federal
signing treaties with local Indian
(1818) joined the Union,
joined to Michigan Territory. An
also transferred from Michigan
state access to Lake Michigan.
government rapidly began
tribes and acquiring their lands.
In 1824, the Michigan Territory
graduated to the second grade of
territorial status, and the
government's power was
transferred from the Governor
and a handful of judges to the
people. The people elected 18
to the Legislative Council, of
which nine were approved by the President and first sat in council on June 7, 1824. The Council was expanded from nine to 13 in
1825, the 13 being chosen by the President from a field of 26.
The Erie Canal opened in 1825, allowing settlers from New England and New York to reach Michigan by water through Albany.
Between 1833 and 1836, all the remnants of the old Northwest were part of Michigan as well as portions of the Louisiana Purchase.
In 1834, all of the lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase that were
as yet unallocated and lay east of the Missouri River (generally, the
Dakotas, Iowa and the western half of Minnesota) were attached to
the Michigan Territory, an area that was officially characterized as
"north of Missouri and east of the Missouri and White Earth Rivers."
At this point, Michigan Territory included what is now the states of
Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and a large portion of the
Dakotas.
The Toledo Strip, not pictured on the maps at right, was a
controversial issue for much of the Territory's history.
Michigan becomes a state of the
Union when it agrees to the
boundaries dictated by the U.S.
Congress, giving up its claim to the Toledo Strip and accepts the western portion of the Upper
Peninsula.
Meanwhile, in 1835, the Toledo War was fought with Ohio because Michigan Territory wanted to
retain the disputed "Toledo Strip." The Toledo area of Ohio was finally surrendered in exchange
for the western section of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Slavery was forbidden in the territory under the Northwest Ordinance, but British and French
residents were permitted to retain possession of slaves already owned at the time the territory
became organized. Census records show that the slave population in the territory numbered 24 in
1810 and 32 in 1830. It is believed that those counted as slaves were, in many cases, enslaved
Native Americans rather than enslaved African Americans.
Michigan shrank in 1836 with the creation of the Wisconsin Territory. Wisconsin Territory was
established in 1836 with the present boundary in the Upper Peninsula.
On July 3, 1836, in preparation for Michigan
statehood, the Wisconsin Territory was organized from Michigan Territory, consisting
of the present states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and the eastern portion of the
Dakotas. Michigan became a state on January 26, 1837, and included the Upper
Peninsula as far west as the Montreal River as part of the resolution to the conflict
over the Toledo Strip, which had blocked Michigan statehood for several years. Detroit
remained the capital until March 17, 1847 when Lansing was chosen as a
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replacement. The population of Michigan at the time of statehood is estimated to have been about 200,000, which was well above
the Northwest Ordinance's minimum requirement of 60,000.
Territorial acquisition
The area that became Michigan had been British territory, and was ceded to the United States in 1783, although the native peoples
of the area had not ceded control to either the British or Americans for most of the territory by 1783. The majority of it was gained by
cession, coerced or otherwise. The people who resided in Michigan before American settlement were the Ottawa, the Potawatomi,
Ojibwa and the Wyandot. Treaties ceding the land were signed between 1795 (the Treaty of Greenville) and 1842 (the Treaty of La
Pointe). Other notable treaties were Governor Hull's treaty of 1808, the Treaty of Saginaw in 1819, the two Treaties of Chicago
(1821, 1833), the Carey Mission in 1828 and the Treaty of Washington in 1836 and a later treaty of January 4, 1837.
Territorial subdivisions
Wayne County, Michigan, originally part of the vast Northwest Territory, was eventually whittled down into its current size by the
separation of several tracts: Monroe in 1817, Michilimackinac County (later called Mackinac) and Macomb counties in 1818, St.
Clair and St. Joseph counties in 1820 and Washtenaw County in 1822. The first township organization was Detroit, in Wayne
County, in 1802.
Also organized in 1818 were two counties that survive in present-day Wisconsin. Crawford was set up to govern the settlements on
the upper Mississippi River from its seat at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, while Brown performed a similar function for the settlements
around Green Bay. These would become part of the Wisconsin Territory in 1836.
Oakland County, Michigan was created in 1819, and over time was subdivided into all or parts of Genesee, Lapeer, Sanilac,
Shiawassee and Saginaw counties. Saginaw County would be split further into eight separate counties, three of which (Isabella,
Arenac and Midland) were established during the territorial period.
Lenawee County was created in 1822 from what had been Indian lands, and Hillsdale County was separated from it in 1829. Other
parts of Lenawee were turned into Cass and Berrien. Branch also sprung fully formed from Michigan Territory in 1829.
Chippewa County was created from Michilimackinac County in 1826.
Kalamazoo County, Michigan, established 1829 from St. Joseph County, was the dominant tract in Western Michigan and was
divided and subdivided into many other counties: Allegan, Barry, Calhoun, Eaton, Ionia, Montcalm, Kent, Ottawa and Clinton (some
created during the territorial period, others split off later).
Jackson and Ingham were created in 1829 from Washtenaw; Isabella was created from parts of Saginaw and Midland counties in
1831. Gratiot County was also established in 1831, with land from Saginaw and Clinton counties.
Seven of the 12 counties created in 1829 were named for members of President Andrew Jackson's Cabinet, and one was named
for Jackson himself.
Iowa County, with its seat at Mineral Point, was established in 1829 and transferred to the Wisconsin Territory in 1836.
Michigan Territory briefly governed lands west of the Mississippi, after the statehood of Missouri left the area north of the new state
as unorganized territory; this comprised what is now Iowa and that part of Minnesota west of the river. Such was the case until 1834,
when that area was placed under the government of Michigan Territory. Dubuque and Des Moines counties were created in 1834,
and transferred to the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 upon its organization.
Milwaukee County was established in 1834 and was transferred to Wisconsin Territory two years later.
George Washington Whistler
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YzRiODI3NzU3YjU0YzdiNTg3ODZjNGE2ZTE0NzRhZTU=
Whistler’s Father - Why didn’t he get a painting?
by James S. Robbins
Everyone knows — or at least has seen — James McNeill Whistler’s mother, Anna
McNeill Whistler, who was immortalized in her son’s 1871 oil painting Arrangement
in Grey and Black. But few remember Whistler’s father, George Washington
Whistler, who in his day was one of the most famous engineers in America.
George W. Whistler’s father, Major John Whistler, was a British soldier of Irish birth
who served under Burgoyne at Saratoga, and after he was discharged returned to
America to join the U.S. Army. George was born in 1800 in Ft. Wayne, Indiana,
where his father was post commander. When he was 14 he was appointed to the
U.S. Military Academy at West Point from Kentucky. Young Whistler excelled at his
studies and graduated tenth in the Class of 1819.
Whistler later partnered with his West Point friend William Gibbs McNeill, and worked on some of the first major
151
railroad projects in America, including establishing the route for the Baltimore and Ohio. (Most of the pre-Civil War rail
and canal routes were laid out by West Point graduates.) In 1833, Whistler resigned from the Army to work at the
Locks and Canals Company in Lowell, Massachusetts, where he designed canals and aqueducts and built
locomotives. He designed the first American locomotive equipped with a steam whistle, which coupled with the
coincidence of his last name, lead to the belief that he had invented it (it was actually invented in Britain).
Whistler also laid out the route for the Western Railroad linking Boston and Albany, a route so difficult it was said that
it would be like laying “a railroad to the moon.” But Whistler completed the project, constructing what was at the time
the longest and highest railroad in the world. He constructed the first keystone arch railroad bridges in America, which
are not only still intact, but several remain in use.
Whistler married Mary Roberdeau Swift, the younger sister of his classmate William H. Swift, the Goat of their class
(i.e., the cadet who graduated at the bottom). After his first wife died, George Whistler married his partner William
McNeill’s sister, Anna Matilda. Their first child was born in 1834, the future artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler
In 1842, George Whistler accepted an invitation from Russian Tsar Nicholas I to build a railroad between St.
Petersburg and Moscow, and moved his family to Russia. The project presented an engineering challenge since the
Tsar had decreed that the railroad run in a perfectly straight line between the two cities. Legend has it that he placed
a ruler on a map and drew the line himself. However, his thumb bumped the pencil, causing a slight jog in the line,
which planners faithfully recreated rather than dare question the Tsar’s hand-drawn route. The work was difficult,
mostly because of the intrigues and jealousies of the Russian Court, which Whistler was ill-disposed and ill-equipped
to handle. He remained steadfastly American in spirit, refusing to address the Tsar as “your majesty” and refusing a
high ranking commission in the Russian army. He labored on for seven years under difficult conditions, finally
succumbing to cholera in St. Petersburg in 1849, two years before the project was finished. When the railroad was
finally completed by lesser hands, the first two trains to travel it collided head-on.
James M. Whistler, 15 at the time of his father’s death, was offered a chance to enter the Russian Imperial School for
Pages. His mother decided instead to return to her home in Connecticut and seek admission for her son to West
Point. In December of 1850, Whistler’s tutor, Roswell Park, the top man in the Class of 1831 and a former West Point
chaplain who went on to become a noted clergyman, wrote an appeal to President Millard Fillmore seeking an At
Large appointment for the boy, which was granted. “Little Jimmy” Whistler entered West Point July 1, 1851, ten days
shy of his seventeenth birthday.
But unlike his accomplished father, James Whistler took a relaxed view of Academy life. His roommate, Henry M.
Lazelle, called him “one of the most indolent of mortals. But his was a most charming laziness, always doing that
which was most agreeable to others and himself. During the day he would rather make sketches than attend to his
lessons. During evening study sessions, Lazelle would look up from his book invariably to find Whistler sitting upright,
asleep.
Whistler was bold in his occasional ignorance. At a history exam he was asked the date of the Battle of Buena Vista,
and confessed that he did not know. “What!” the instructor said, “You do not know the date of the Battle of Buena
Vista? Suppose you were to go out to dinner and the company began to talk of the Mexican War, and you, a West
Point man, were asked the date of the battle. What would you do?”
““Do?” Whistler replied with hauteur, “Why, I should refuse to associate with people who could talk of such things at
dinner!”
Whistler’s forte at the Academy was drawing. He had begun sketching at the age of four, and quickly established
himself as a talent, ranking at the head of his drawing class. He was fond of his own work, and not given to having it
altered. One day Whistler was sketching a peasant girl in art class, and the drawing professor, noted Hudson River
School artist Robert Weir, stopped to examine the composition. He then went to his desk and filled a brush with ink —
Weir was an inveterate editor of his students’ work — and moved back towards Whistler. Whistler saw him coming,
raised his hands and said, “Oh, don’t sir, don’t! You’ll spoil it!”
Whistler became known among the Corps of Cadets for his comedic sketches. He would take the opportunity to make
drawings wherever he went, on loose paper, in books, on tent flaps, desks, or stools. George Ruggles, USMA 1855,
breveted four times in the Civil War and present at Appomattox, recalled Whistler’s “keen sense of the ridiculous. In
the recitation room, at church and almost everywhere... he would sketch, in a second or two, cartoons full of
character and displaying the utmost nicety of appreciation of its ludicrous points.” In the summer of 1852 he produced
a four-frame sequence entitled On Post in Camp. In the first drawing, “First half hour,” a cadet stands at attention with
his musket shouldered; the second half hour shows him leaning against a tree; in the third half hour he sits at the
base of the tree; and in the last half hour he is sound asleep.
152
Whistler was popular with cadets and faculty alike, and the son of a West Point legend. But no cadet can escape the
consequences of low grades and high demerits. In his plebe year Whistler ranked in the bottom ten of his class
overall, though was in the top ten in French. He had 190 demerits, which brought him close to expulsion. His offenses
were for the most part not serious — inattentiveness, lateness, carelessness: the kind of thing one would expect.
Fate struck in his third year. At the final chemistry examination, Whistler was asked to discuss silicon.
“I am required to discuss silicon,” he began. “Silicon is a gas...”
“That will be all,” the instructor said, and Whistler was marked deficient. The Academic Board voted to expel him.
Whistler was mortified. He wrote a lengthy letter to the secretary of War, future Confederate president Jefferson
Davis, asking for a re-examination. He said that after three years at the Academy, “all my hopes and aspirations are
connected with that Institution and the Army, and that by not passing, all my future prospects are ruined for life.”
The matter was referred to the West Point Superintendent, Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee. Lee reviewed
Whistler’s record and found that his combination of low grades and high demerit totals was too much to overcome. “I
can therefore do nothing more in his behalf,” Lee wrote, “nor do I know of anything entitling him to further indulgence.
I can only regret that one so capable of doing well should so have neglected himself and must now suffer the
penalty.” Davis concurred, and Whistler’s expulsion stood. When Whistler departed West Point, Professor Weir
observed that “with only the most ordinary industry [he] would make a name as an artist.”
Whistler always looked back fondly on his experience at West Point. He said he looked “dandy in gray,” and spoke
highly of Academy discipline and the honor code. After he became famous, he presented a book to the West Point
library inscribed, “From an Old Cadet, whose pride is to remember his West Point days.” Later in life he reflected on
the examination that had cost him his military career. “If silicon had been a gas,” he said, “I would have been a
Major General.” Whistler’s classmate Marcus Reno noted that if Whistler had been commissioned, no one would
have heard of his mother. But maybe more people would have remembered his father.
See also
http://books.google.com/books?id=t2AaY6mFVk8C&dq=%22George+W.+Whistler%22&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=Vfy9M
Z74Vd&sig=oVP--znYJ4M-JuEgWjrBlJUpgYE&hl=en&ei=gu5dSpPhHIj-M56Wta4C&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/g/a/r/Cheryl-Garrison-MI/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0001.html
Major John Whistler b. ca 1758 Ulster, Ireland?; d. 3 Sep 1829 Fort Bellefontaine (Near St. Louis), Missouri. He married (1) Ann
Bishop ca 1778. He married (2) Elizabeth Howard 1816.
Military service: Major, 1st Infantry.
http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/10,000_famous_freemasons/Volume_4_Q_to_Z.htm
John Whistler (1756-1829) U.S. Army Captain who was the builder and first commandant of Fort Dearborn (site of Chicago). b.
about 1756 in Ulster, Ireland. He ran away from home as a boy and enlisted in the British Army, serving under General Burgoyne
during the American Revolution. After the war he settled at Hagerstown, MD. Enlisting in the army, he was severely wounded in the
Indian campaign of 1791. Was promoted to captain 1 Jul 1797, and in the summer of 1803 was sent with his company of the 1st
Infantry from Detroit to the headwaters of Lake Michigan, where he completed construction of Fort Dearborn before the close of the
year. He attained the rank of brevet major and in 1815 was appointed military store-keeper, first at Newport, KY, and afterwards at
Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis, MO. He was a member of Nova Caesarea Lodge No. 10 (now Harmony No. 2) of Cincinnati,
OH. He died 3 Sep 1829.
Children of John Whistler and Ann Bishop are:
i.
+Edward Whistler,
b. ca 1780, Probably Hagerstown, Washington, MD, d. 1834, Ohio.
ii.
+William Whistler,
b. ca 1782, Probably Hagerstown, Washington, MD, d. 4 Dec 1863, Newport, Campbell, KY.
iii.
+Sarah Whistler,
b. 26 Sep 1786, Hagerstown, MD, d. 4 Oct 1874, Detroit, Wayne, MI; married James Abbott,
Jr. 1 Nov 1804 in Fort Dearborn (Chicago), Cook, IL.
iv.
John Whistler, Jr.,
b. ca 1787, d. Dec 1813.
v.
Samuel Whistler,
b. ca 1788,
vi.
Samuel's Twin Whistler, b. ca 1788.
vii.
+Catharine Whistler,
b. ca 1789, Maryland, d. 1874, Detroit, Wayne, MI.
viii.
Rebecca Whistler,
b. ca. 1790.
ix.
+Eliza Whistler,
b. ca 1791, d. 4 Jun 1823, Fort Howard, Michigan Territory (now Green Bay, Wisconsin).
x.
+Ann Whistler,
b. 1 Sep 1794, Fort Washington (near Cincinnati), OH, d. 29 Mar 1829, Litchfield, CT.
xi.
Harriet Whistler,
b. 1795, Ohio, d. 1873, Chicago, Cook, IL.
xii.
James Whistler,
b. ca 1796.
xiii.
Charles Whistler,
b. ca 1798.
xiv.
+George Washington Whistler, b. 19 May 1800, Fort Wayne, Northwest Territory (now Indiana), d. 7 Apr 1849, St.
Petersburg, Russia.
xv.
+Caroline Frances Abbott Whistler, b. 25 Dec 1802, Detroit, Wayne, MI, d. 31 Dec 1842, Sandwich, Ontario, Canada.
153
George Washington Whistler (son of John Whistler and Ann Bishop) b. 19 May 1800 in Fort Wayne, Northwest Territory (now
Indiana); d. 0 Apr 1849 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He married (1) Mary Roberdeau Swift on 23 Jan 1821. He married (2) Anna
Mathilda McNeill 3 Nov 1831 in New York City. Burial: Stonington, Connecticut; monument at Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn.
Military service: USMA; 2nd Lieutenant, 2nd Artillery.
Children of George Washington Whistler and Mary Roberdeau Swift are:
i.
+George William Whistler,
b. 09 Jul 1822, New London, CT, d. 24 Dec 1869, Brighton, England.
ii.
Joseph Swift Whistler,
b. 12 Aug 1824.
iii.
+Deborah Delano Whistler, b. 05 Oct 1826, d. 3 Dec 1908, England.
Children of George Washington Whistler and Anna Mathilda McNeill are:
i.
+James Abbott Whistler,
b. 10 Jul 1834, Lowell, MA, d. 17 Jul 1903, London, England.
ii.
William McNeill Whistler,
b. 22 Jul 1836, Lowell, MA, d. 27 Feb 1900, Hastings, Sussex, England.
iii.
Kirk Boott Whistler,
b. 16 Jul 1838, Stonington, CT, d. 10 Jul 1842, Springfield, MA.
iv.
Charles Donald Whistler,
b. 27 Aug 1841, Springfield, MA, d. 24 Sep 1843, On board a ship, Baltic Sea.
v.
John Bouttatz Whistler,
b. 29 Aug 1845, St. Petersburg, Russia, d. 14 Oct 1846, St Petersburg, Russia.
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (son of George Washington Whistler and Anna Mathilda McNeill) b. 10 Jul 1834 in Lowell, MA, d.
17 Jul 1903 in London, England. He married (1) Louisa Fanny Hanson. He married (2) Maud Franklin. He married (3) Beatrix Philip
on 11 August 1888 in St. Mary Abbott's, Kensington, England. Burial: Chiswick Cemetery, Hampstead Heath, England.
Children of James Abbott Whistler and Louisa Fanny Hanson are:
i.
Charles James Whistler Hanson, b. 10 Jun 1870, London, England, d. 10 Sep 1935, England.
Children of James Abbott Whistler and Maud Franklin are:
i.
Maud McNeill Whistler Franklin, b. 13 Feb 1879, London, England.
ii.
Ione Franklin,
b. ca 1877.
Whistler’s Mother
Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist's Mother (1871), popularly known as
Whistler's Mother, Musée d'Orsay, Paris
By 1871, Whistler returned to portraits and soon produced his most famous
painting, the nearly monochromatic full-length figure titled Arrangement in Gray
and Black: Portrait of the Artist's Mother, but usually referred to as Whistler's
Mother. According to a letter from his mother, one day after a model failed to
appear, Whistler turned to his mother and suggested he do her portrait. In his
typically slow and experimental way, at first he had her stand but that proved too
tiring so the famous profile pose was adopted. It took dozens of sittings to
complete.
James Abbott, Jr.
Above it was noted that James Abbott McNeill was the renowned painter, but he was named for Judge James Abbott,
Jr. the husband of his father’s sister, (b. 26 Sep 1786, Hagerstown, MD, d. 4 Oct 1874, Detroit, Wayne, MI), who
married James Abbott, Jr. 1 Nov 1804 in Fort Dearborn (Chicago), Cook, IL.
James Abbott, Jr. became a wealthy merchant in Detroit. He was known as "Judge Abbott" due to his position as
Justice of the Peace. He was appointed major and quartermaster of the Michigan Militia by General Hull in the War of
1812.
James Abbott, Jr. died in Detroit, 12 Mar 1858. He is buried at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Detroit, Michigan. Sarah
(Whistler) Abbott died, of old age, at her residence at Fort and Griswold Street in Detroit on 4 Nov 1874. She was
eighty-eight years old and had outlived all her children. Sarah Abbott is also buried at the St. Paul's Episcopal Church
in Detroit. Sarah Whistler had resided in Detroit for nearly seventy years. According to her obituary, Sarah "had seen
the city gradually develop from the struggling hamlet of seventy years ago into the splendid Detroit of today."
He was elected Master of Zion Lodge No. 10 on 2 Jun 1807. The evening of Monday, the 6th July, 1807, saw the
brethren for the last time under the Canadian warrant, with W.’. Abbot serving in the chair, and the Officers of Zion
Lodge No. 1 (62) were duly installed under their new warrant issued by the Grand Lodge of New York, dated 3 Sep
1806. Bro. Abbott served the Lodge for many years as Secretary and in Grand Lodge served on Committees and as
Deputy Grand Master in July 1826. The warrant of Zion Lodge was subsequently renumbered as No. 62 and then as
No. 3 by the Grand Lodge of New York, with Bro. Abbott still serving and in attendance.
http://www.earlychicago.com/encyclopedia.php
Abbott, James, Jr. (June 1, 1778-Mar. 12, 1858) Detroit fur trader; son of James (Dublin, 1724-c.1800) and Mary
(née Barkle, Philadelphia [c.1749-May 30, 1821]) Abbott, Sr., a prominent Detroit couple; older brother of Samuel, Sr.
James visited John Kinzie in Chicago on Oct. 27, 1804, as shown in Kinzie’s account book; married Sarah Whistler at
Fort Dearborn on Nov. 1, 1804, with John Kinzie performing the ceremony of Chicago`s second recorded marriage;
purchased the schooner Tiger for the American Fur Company`s Detroit Outfit on Sept. 6, 1822, as noted on a
Michilimackinac invoice; served as postmaster for the Michigan Territory until May 1833; later that year was awarded
154
$2,300 as an American Fur Co. agent in the treaty negotiated at Chicago; became a judge and senior partner of
James Abbott & Sons. The couple lived in Detroit and had seven children: James Whistler, William S., Madison Fitz,
Mary Ann, Caroline, Sarah and Cornelia.
During the War of 1812, James Abbott and his brother, Samuel, were on the American side, but the Ohio authorities
suspected him of British sympathies. His loyalty was strongly testified to by a Marietta neighbor, Solomon Sibley. Bro.
Abbott’s role as a commission merchant stood him in good stead as a leading supplier for military posts and as an
agent with the American Fur Company [founded by Bro. John Jacob Astor in 1808 – Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of New
York, 1798-1800].
The river came up to the rear of his storehouse deep enough for boats and canoes to unload furs, sugar, etc., which
was about half the length of what was the Abbott block, where he lived and had the post office for many years.
He removed from the central Detroit environ and built a two story wooden home on Woodward Avenue with a great
brass knocker, dormer windows and a well stocked liquor cellar. His hospitality was renowned in the area.
William Hull
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hull
William Hull (June 24, 1753–November 29, 1825) was an American soldier
and politician. He fought in the American Revolution, was Governor of
Michigan Territory, and was a general in the War of 1812, for which he is
best remembered for surrendering Fort Detroit to the British.
He was born in Derby, Connecticut and graduated from Yale in 1772,
studied law in Litchfield, Connecticut and passed the bar in 1775.
At the outbreak of fighting in the American Revolution, Hull joined a local
militia and was quickly promoted to captain, then to major, and to lieutenant
colonel. He was in the battles of White Plains, Trenton, Princeton,
Stillwater, Saratoga, Fort Stanwix, Monmouth, and Stony Point. He was
recognized by George Washington and the Continental Congress for his
service.
Hull was a friend of Nathan Hale and tried to dissuade Hale from the
dangerous spy mission that would cost him his life. Hull was largely
responsible for publicizing Hale's famous last words, "I only regret that I
have but one life to lose for my country." After the American Revolution, he
moved to his wife's family estate in Newton, Massachusetts and served as
a judge and state senator in Massachusetts.
Michigan Territory and War of 1812
On March 22, 1805, President Thomas Jefferson appointed him Governor of the recently-created Michigan Territory
as well as its Indian Agent. As almost all of the territory except for two enclaves around Detroit and Fort
Michilimackinac were in the hands of the Indians, Hull undertook the goal of gradually purchasing more Indian land
for occupation by American settlers. He negotiated the Treaty of Detroit with the Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandot and
Potawatomi nations, which ceded most of present-day Southeast Michigan to the United States. These efforts to
expand American settlement began to generate opposition, particularly from the Shawnee leaders Tecumseh and his
brother Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee Prophet, who preached resistance to the American lifestyle and to further land
giveaways.
By February 1812, it was becoming clear that war with Great Britain was imminent, and the British were attempting to
recruit the Native American tribes in Canada, Michigan, and elsewhere as their allies against the Americans. While
Hull was in Washington, Secretary of War William Eustis informed him that President Madison wished to appoint him
a Brigadier General in command of the new Army of the Northwest. Hull, then nearly 60 years old, expressed his
disinterest in a new military commission, and a Colonel Kingsbury was selected to lead the force instead. Kingsbury
fell ill before taking command, and the offer was repeated to Hull, who this time accepted. His orders were to go to
Ohio, whose governor had been charged by Madison with raising a 1,200-man militia that would be augmented by
the 4th Infantry Regiment from Vincennes, Indiana, to form the core of the army.
From there he was to march the army to Detroit, where he was to also continue
serving as Territorial Governor.
General William Hull, portrait by Rembrandt Peale.
155
March to Detroit
Hull arrived in Cincinnati on May 10, 1812, and on May 25 took command of the militia at Dayton. The militia
comprised three regiments, who elected as their commanding Colonels Duncan McArthur, Lewis Cass, and James
Findlay. They marched to Staunton and then to Urbana, where they were joined by the 300-man 4th Infantry
Regiment. The men of the militia were ill-equipped and lacked military discipline, and Hull relied on the infantry
regiment to quell several instances of insubordination on the remainder of the march. By the end of June, the army
had reached the rapids of the Maumee River, where Hull committed the first of the errors that would later reflect
poorly on him.
The declaration of war on Great Britain was signed on June 18, 1812, and that same day Secretary Eustis sent two
letters to General Hull. One of them, sent by special messenger, had arrived on June 24 but did not contain any
mention of the declaration of war. The second one, announcing the declaration of war, was sent via the postal
service, and did not arrive until July 2. As a result, Hull was still unaware that war had broken out when he reached
the rapids of the Maumee, and as the army was now on a navigable waterway, he sent the schooner Cuyahoga
Packet ahead of the army to Detroit with a number of invalids, supplies, and official documents. Unfortunately for Hull,
the British commander at Fort Amherstburg had received the declaration of war two days earlier, and captured the
ship as it sailed past, along with all of the papers and plans for an attack on Fort Amherstburg.
Invasion of Canada
Hull was, at least in part, the victim of poor preparation for war by the U.S. government and miscommunication. While
governor, Hull's repeated requests to build a naval fleet on Lake Erie to properly defend Detroit, Fort Mackinac, and
Fort Dearborn were ignored by the commander of the northeast, General Henry Dearborn. Hull began an invasion of
Canada on July 12, 1812. However, he quickly withdrew to the American side of the river after hearing the news of
the capture of Fort Mackinac by the British. He also faced unfriendly Native American forces, which threatened to
attack from the other direction.
Surrender of Detroit
Facing what he believed to be superior forces thanks to his enemy's cunning stratagems such as instructing the
Native American warriors to make as much noise as possible around the fort, Hull surrendered Fort Detroit to Sir
Isaac Brock on August 16, 1812. Accounts of the incident varied widely. A subordinate, Colonel Lewis Cass placed all
blame for the surrender on Hull and subsequently succeeded Hull as Territorial Governor. Hull was court-martialed,
and at a trial presided over by General Henry Dearborn, with evidence against him given by Robert Lucas, a
subordinate and the future governor of Ohio and territorial governor of Iowa. Hull was sentenced to be shot, though
upon recommendation of mercy by the court, Hull received a reprieve from President James Madison.
Later life
Hull lived the remainder of his life in Newton, Massachusetts and wrote two books attempting to clear his name
(Detroit: Defence of Brig. Gen. Wm. Hull in 1814 and Memoirs of the Campaign of the Northwestern Army of the
United States: A.D. 1812 in 1824). Some later historians have agreed that Hull was unfairly made a scapegoat for the
embarrassing loss. The publication of his Memoirs in 1824 changed public opinion somewhat in his favor, and he was
honored with a dinner in Boston on May 30, 1825. That June, Lafayette visited Hull and declared, "We both have
suffered contumely and reproach; but our characters are vindicated; let us forgive our enemies and die in Christian
love and peace with all mankind." Hull died at home in Newton several months later, on November 29, 1825.
“History of Meridian lodge, A.F.&A.M., of Natick, Massachusetts ...,” by Charles Casper Henry, Daniel Henry
Lawrence Gleason, John Rockwood, 1892. page 131.
http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA131&lpg=PA131&dq=%22william+hull%22+%22freemason%22&sig=IZR5JkE2HcYIoZKWM7
59asQglEc&ei=SP9dSsLeEJGcMKjX8b8C&ct=result&id=lX0PAAAAYAAJ&ots=MpbnQPTe2t&output=text
156
GENERAL WILLIAM HULL, FIRST WORSHIPFUL MASTER - 1797
This Revolutionary soldier and first Master of Meridian Lodge was born at Derby, Connecticut, June 24th, 1753. He
graduated at Yale in 1772; then studied divinity for one year, He then attended Litchfield Law School, and was
admitted to the bar in 1775.
The Revolution breaking out, he entered the patriot army as Captain and served throughout the war with distinction,
rising to the rank of Colonel.
He had at this time become interested in Masonry, and had attained to some proficiency in its work (having received
the degrees in some military Lodge); for a petition for a traveling Lodge, named Washington Lodge, was granted by
the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in 1779, with General John Patterson as Master, Colonel Benjamin Tupper as
Senior Warden, and Major William Hull as Junior Warden ; and on June 24th of the same year, on the occasion of the
celebration of Saint John's Day at West Point, an address was delivered by Brother William Hull, at which time
General George Washington and family were among those present.
Returning to Newton, Massachusetts, after the war, he became a very successful lawyer; and in 1781 married Sarah,
a daughter of Judge Fuller of that town.
In "Shay's Insurrection" in 1786, Brother Hull was a Major-General of militia; in 1789 was a Captain in the Ancient and
Honorable Artillery Company, and was also a distinguished member of the "Order of the Cincinnati," (composed of
officers of the Revolution, and founded, it is said, by General Knox. Of this society General George Washington was
President till the time of his death). These various affiliations are positive proof of the esteem in which our brother
was held.
He was also for a series of years a leading member of the Massachusetts House and Senate; became a "Judge of
Common Pleas;" and in the year 1793 was made Commissioner to treat with the Indians of Upper Canada.
On December 11th, 1797, Meridian Lodge received its Charter from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts; its formal
institution taking place on Wednesday, September 5th, 1798. In an account of the ceremonies attending this event,
published in the COLUMBIAN SENTINEL on Wednesday, September 12th, 1798, the name of William Hull appears as
Worshipful Master; thus giving authenticity to the claim that he was the first to hold that office in Meridian Lodge. It is
much to be regretted that the records of the society are lost, as no doubt a more satisfactory account of this, as of
other interesting events in the early history of our organization, would there he found recorded.
In 1805 brother Hull was appointed by President Thomas Jefferson as the first Governor of the Territory of Michigan;
and thither he moved with his family, remaining in this office, according to some authorities [see Johnson's
Encyclopaedia, from which much of this sketch is drawn], until 1814.
On the breaking out of the war with England in 1812, he became Brigadier General in command of the "Army of the
Northwest." and in this capacity he surrendered Detroit to the British General, Brock, on the 16th of August, 1812, for
which action he was court-martialed, and in 1814 sentenced to be shot for cowardice; but in consideration of his age
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and former bravery, and his service in the Revolution, he was recommended to, and received pardon; when he once
more returned to Newton and passed the remainder of his days in retirement.
In 1824 he published "The Campaign of the North-west Army," and a series of letters in vindication of his conduct;
which development of facts, in connection with other circumstances attending his court-martial, caused a change in
public opinion, tending to remove the cloud from his reputation, and in a great measure to restore his former fame, so
that he was quite generally accounted a victim to political intrigue. He died at Newton, Massachusetts, at the ripe age
of seventy-two years.
The life of Worshipful Brother William Hull, by Maria Campbell and Rev. James Freeman Clarke, his grandson, is
regarded as a full vindication of his character.
[Mr. Samuel C. Clarke, brother of James Freeman Clarke, writes me that Mrs. Maria Campbell, was the daughter of
General Hull.—S. H. A.]
General Alexander Macomb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Macomb_(American_general)
Alexander Macomb (April 3, 1782–June 25, 1841) was the commanding
general of the United States Army from May 29, 1828 to June 25, 1841.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, which at the time was part of British North
America, Macomb was the son of Alexander Macomb and Mary Catherine
Navarre.
He moved with his parents to New York City and at a Newark, New Jersey,
academy received a "classical education."
At the age of 16, he joined a New York militia company. In January, 1799,
with the recommendation of Alexander Hamilton during the French
emergency, he was commissioned a Cornet in the Regular Army. In March
he was promoted to second lieutenant, and honorably discharged, June
1800.
In February, 1801, he was commissioned a second lieutenant, 2d Infantry,
serving as secretary to a commission that treated with the Indians of the
Southeast.
He was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers,
which was established in 1802 at West Point to constitute a military academy, thereby being one of the first officers to
receive formal training there.
He then spent five years in charge of coastal fortifications in the Carolinas and Georgia. He also established
fortifications at Fort Gratiot, Michigan, Chicago, Mackinaw, Prairie du Chien, St. Peter's, and St. Mary's.
Command at the Battle of Plattsburgh
He won acclaim during the War of 1812 as brigadier general in command of the frontier of northern New York. At the
Battle of Plattsburgh on September 11, 1814, with only 1,500 regular troops and some detachments of militia, he was
opposed by a British force of 10,531 men under Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost. Macomb's heavily
outnumbered troops fell back before the British columns in a series of skirmishes as Prevost advanced towards the
American defensive works. The British were about to launch an assault on the American defences when the news
came through of the defeat of the British naval squadron on Lake Champlain. Prevost needed the British Lake
Champlain squadron to supply his planned advance into Vermont. Without it, he had no choice but to abandon the
Expedition. The British invaders marched off back to Canada. Although Commodore Thomas MacDonough's sailors
and not the Army had been largely responsible for stopping the British invasion, Macomb was nevertheless showered
with praise and styled "The Hero of Plattsburgh" by some of the American press. He was promoted Major General for
his conduct at this battle, receiving both the thanks of Congress and a Congressional Gold Medal.
Commanding General of the U.S. Army
When Major General Jacob Brown, the U.S. Army’s commanding general, died in February 1828, President John
Quincy Adams could have chosen as Brown's successor one of the Army's two brigadier generals. But the two —
Winfield Scott and Edmund P. Gaines — denounced each other publicly and for months had been contesting for the
position. Their quarrels scandalized the Army and drove Adams to nominate Alexander Macomb, the Chief of
Engineers, who by then had reverted rank to colonel, as the Army’s top general.
His last active service in a theater of battle was in the Seminole War in 1835.
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Macomb’s tenure as Commanding General was marked by "continuing uncertainty about the responsibilities and
authority of his position. To secure his seniority over the other two-star brevet major generals, Macomb added a
provision in the 1834 Regulations that 'the insignia of the major general commanding in chief should be three stars.'"
In the same document he sought to define his relationship to the Secretary of War and establish his primacy over the
bureau chiefs, including his successor as Chief of Engineers. This was easier said than done. Most issues were not
fully resolved until early the next century."
He advocated doubling Army strength, increasing enlisted pay, providing relief for some widows and orphans, and a
regularizing the officer retirement and replacement system. In 1840 the Army Corps of Engineers adopted the castle
uniform insignia and first described the Corps of Engineers’ distinctive Essayons (Motto: "Let us try") button.
In 1809 and 1841, he was the author of a seminal book (republished in the 21st century) on conduct of courts martial
and martial law.
Macomb was the first of five Commanding Generals/Chiefs of Staff (after the 1903 reorganization) who held Engineer
commissions early in their careers. All transferred to other branches before rising to the top. The others were George
B. McClellan, Henry W. Halleck, Douglas MacArthur, and Maxwell D. Taylor.
A curious feature of Macomb's career is that, like Dwight Eisenhower, he became a military hero without ever actually
coming under enemy fire in his life.
Congressional Gold Medal
Maj. Alexander Macomb
(Charleston, SC 1809),
by Charles-Balthazar-Julien Fevret de Saint-Mémin.
Macomb's Congressional Medal
(obverse),
Marshall Davies Lloyd Collection.
Following the Battle of Plattsburgh and the end of the War of 1812, a Congressional Gold Medal honoring Alexander
Macomb and his men was struck by Act of Congress (3 Stat. 247), to wit:
Resolved, That the thanks of Congress be, and they are hereby presented to Major General Macomb, and, through him, to the
officers and men of the regular army under his command, and to the militia and
volunteers of New York and Vermont, for their gallantry and good conduct, in
defeating the enemy at Plattsburg on the eleventh of September; repelling, with one
thousand five hundred men, aided by a body of militia and volunteers from New York
and Vermont, a British veteran army, greatly superior in number, and that the
President of the United States be requested to cause a gold medal to be struck,
emblematic of this triumph, and presented to Major General Macomb. -- Resolution
of Congress November 3. 1814.
Obverse: MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDER MACOMB. Bust of Gen. Macomb, in
uniform, facing the right FÜRST. Fecit. indicates the engraver Moritz Fuerst (17821840), who designed several medals of 1812 heroes for
the Philadelphia mint. The bust of Macomb found on the
Congressional Medal, however, is reminiscent of the
1809 portrait of Macomb by Saint-Mémin (1770-1852),
in which Macomb is wearing the undressed coat of blue
with black velvet collar and cuffs typical of an Engineering officer.
< Reverse: RESOLUTION OF CONGRESS NOVEMBER 3. 1814. The American army repulsing the
British troops, who are striving to cross the Saranac river. To the left, Plattsburgh in flames; to the
right, naval battle on Lake Champlain; in the distance, Cumberland Head. Exergue: BATTLE OF
PLATTSBURGH September 11. 1814. FÜRST. Fecit.
Historical recognition
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Alexander Macomb is recognized in a Michigan Historical Marker that is situated at the corner of Gratiot Avenue and
Macomb Street in Mount Clemens, Michigan. It is Registered Site S0418, erected in 1974. It states:
Alexander Macomb In 1818 Territorial Governor Lewis Cass proclaimed the third Michigan county to be called
Macomb. At that time the young General was Commander of the Fifth Military Department in Detroit. Born in that city
in 1782, son of prominent local entrepreneurs, Macomb had entered the U.S. Army in 1799. He had gained national
renown and honor during the War of 1812 for his victory at Plattsburgh in September 1814 over a far superior force of
British invaders. Later as Chief Army Engineer he promoted the building of military roads in the Great Lakes area.
From May 1828 to his death in June 1841, Macomb served as Commander in Chief of the Army. He is buried in the
Congressional Cemetery in Washington D.C. His birthday, April 3, is honored as Macomb County Heritage Day.
Macomb's statue in Detroit by Adolph Alexander Weinman.
He is recognized in several statues. One was sculpted by Adolph Alexander Weinman and erected in 1906 in
downtown Detroit, Michigan. This statue was made from melted down canons, and was a notable and monumental
task. Another is in downtown Mount Clemens, Michigan in front of the Circuit Court building at 40 N. Gratiot Avenue.
Several others exist.
Macomb died while in office in Washington, D.C. and is buried in the Congressional Cemetery. His remains, and
those of his wife, Catherine, were disinterred in June, 2008 so that the brick-lined burial vault beneath their 6 ton, 13foot-tall marble monument could be repaired to prevent its impending collapse. During the month it took to make the
necessary repairs, the couple's remains were kept at the Smithsonian and were viewed by several of the general's
descendants including his great-great-great granddaughter. After the $24,000 repairs were completed by the
Department of Veterans Affairs, their remains were reinterred on July 17, 2008.[16][17] It was said that the monument to
Alexander Macomb was "one of the most unusual in the nation."
Major General Winfield Scott was named his successor, after working "hard at mending fences in the intervening 13
years. . ."
Legacy
His son was Commodore William H. Macomb.
Alexander Macomb has been the source for the name of a number of communities, institutions around the country,
and a ship, including:
Macomb Township and Macomb County, Michigan
Macomb Community College
Macomb, Illinois
Macomb Mountain (New York)
Village of McComb, Ohio (The reason for the spelling, "McComb" instead of "Macomb", is that the village was
named by a Scotsman who fought under Macomb at the Battle of Plattsburg, and he used the Scottish manner of
pronunciation and spelling.)
In World War II the United States liberty ship SS Alexander Macomb was named in his honor.
The Alexander Macomb Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is situated in Mount Clemens,
Michigan, and was founded in June, 1899.
Macomb Hall, a dormitory on the Plattsburgh State college, several miles from the shore of Lake Champlain
http://mlloyd.org/gen/macomb/text/bhcl1001.htm
Alexander, the seventh child of Alexander Macomb Sr (although neither Alexander used Sr. or Jr. in their names] and Catherine
Navarre, was born in the old St. Martin home adjoining the stockaded inclosure of the fort, 3 Apr 1782. A more appropriate setting
for the birth of a future military hero could scarcely be imagined. The house itself, of massive construction, bore many scars inflicted
by tomahawk and gunshot, memorials of the terrible siege of 1763. It had recently become the property of William Macomb, brother
and partner of Alexander's father; and as one direct result of the War of 1813, it was destined to become for many years the home
of Lewis Cass and the virtual capitol of Michigan Territory.3 For the painted and bedecked warriors who swarmed to Detroit
throughout the Revolution, the Macomb place afforded a convenient camping ground, while within easy sight and sound the redcoated sentries of King George paced their monotonous rounds and over the town and rippling water daily reechoed the booming of
the sunrise and sunset gun.
In such an atmosphere of martial pomp and circumstance were the formative years of General Macomb's infancy passed. At the age
of eight years, following the parental removal to New York, he became a pupil at the academy in Newark, where, still a mere child,
he observed and to some extent shared in the partisan rivalries over the merits of the French Revolutionary movement, which then
agitated the minds of all Americans. Possibly a more important factor in the boy's development than his formal schooling resulted
from the fostering oversight of his brother-in-law. In 1795 his elder sister, Jane Macomb, married, as we have seen, Robert
Kennedy, son of the Earl of Cassilis. Possessed of means and social standing, the bridegroom enjoyed on an estate near Newark
the life of a country gentleman. He invited young Macomb to become an inmate of his home, and its atmosphere of refinement and
gentility contributed materially to the training of the future soldier.
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In the spring of 1798 he was elected to membership in a somewhat exclusive company of New York City militia. This same year the
dispute with the French government which brought our country to the commission of acts of war upon France became acute.
Macomb applied for a commission in the army which the government was organizing, and on the recommendation of Alexander
Hamilton, who was to be its commander, was appointed a cornet of cavalry. Although the expected war was averted, the young
officer, not yet seventeen at the time of his appointment, began his military education under the immediate eye of the commander of
the army. His progress was rapid, and in perusing its details one is impressed with his evident ability to command the friendly
attention of men of important official station, which contributed so frequently to his further advancement. Such a friendship with
General James Wilkinson gained him the appointment, in the summer of 1801, of secretary of the commission to treat with the
Cherokee, Creeks, and other tribes of the Southwest. A year was spent in this service. At its termination, a similar friendship which
Macomb had established with Major Jonathan Williams of the Engineers, procured his appointment to a lieutenancy in the Engineer
Corps of the army. He was ordered to West Point, where the now-famous military academy was just beginning to function. The
lieutenants and cadets of the Engineer Corps were regarded as students, and Macomb thus became one of the earliest graduates
of the academy. Upon graduation he was appointed to the duty of adjutant, and in this capacity he first organized and instructed the
cadets as a military corps.
An event of the autumn of 1805 sheds an interesting light upon the habits of the army in this period. General Wilkinson had issued
an order requiring officers and soldiers of the army to wear their hair close cropped. Colonel Thomas Butler, like Wilkinson himself, a
veteran of the Revolution, who still disported the queue fashionable in Revolutionary days, indignantly refused to obey the new
order. For this offense a general court-martial was convened in Fredericktown, Maryland, to try him, and Lt Macomb was summoned
from West Point to play the role of judge advocate to the court. Other trials followed that of Colonel Butler, and so well did Macomb
perform the duties of judge advocate that the members of the court urged him to compose a treatise on the conduct of courtsmartial. This work he carried out a few years later. At the time of his service as judge advocate he was but twenty years of age.
He remained at West Point until June, 1805, when he was promoted to a captaincy and ordered to Portsmouth to superintend
certain harbor construction work. The next year he was ordered to South Carolina, where he was stationed for several years. The
declaration of war upon Great Britain in IS12 found him a lieutenant colonel and chief engineer for the southern states. As on other
occasions, so on this, the American government blundered into war with a great military power ludicrously unprepared to conduct
military operations. Belatedly and futilely an effort was made to develop an army to prosecute the war already at hand, and Macomb
was summoned to Washington by the Secretary of War to assume the post of adjutant general of the army. Although his duties were
important, he was unwilling in time of war to remain aloof from the field of action. Staff officers were not eligible, under the
regulations then in force, to exercise active command, and Macomb secured his transfer to the artillery with the rank of colonel.
Repairing to New York, he proceeded to enlist and discipline the regiment to which he had been assigned. Toward the close of the
year he marched it to Sackett's Harbor to participate in an attack upon Kingston; winter was at hand, however, and the projected
attack was not carried out, and nothing of consequence could be undertaken until the following season.
The conduct of the War of 1812 by our government was so shamefully inefficient that no American can today read the story without
being stirred to a sense of anger and disgust over the role our country was made to play. Only occasionally is the dreary story of
official ineptitude and general incompetence relieved by some story of individual achievement. To Macomb, who was a capable and
zealous professional soldier, was accorded the opportunity to reap the glory of one of the most cheering interludes in the general
tale of disaster which the war afforded to America.
His opportunity came with the closing weeks of the war, in the autumn of 1814. Until then, he had continued to serve creditably but
inconspicuously on the Champlain-Ontario frontier, while older officers of higher rank monopolized the public eye and demonstrated
repeatedly their incapacity to command an army. Far from conquering Canada, the American dream at the beginning of the war, the
United States was itself being invaded at points as widely separated as Louisiana, Virginia, and Maine; and British officialdom was
seriously contemplating the permanent cession of northern New England to Canada, and the erection of the region northwest of the
Ohio River as a permanent Indian preserve, from which American civilization should forever be excluded, as a condition to making
peace with the United States.
Such was the general aspect of affairs when, in August, 1814, Sir George Prevost led the strongest army Great Britain had ever
sent to America southward from Montreal toward Lake Champlain. Eleven thousand of Wellesley's veterans, fresh from their
triumphs over Napoleon in the Peninsular campaigns, comprised the bulk of the invading army. Cooperating with it was a small
naval force under Captain Downie, whose particular mission it was to destroy the little American fleet on Lake Champlain
commanded by Commodore Thomas Macdonough. The two naval forces were more or less evenly matched, and no one could
reasonably foretell the issue of a conflict between them. On land, the Americans opposed some five or six thousand regular troops
under the command of General George lzard to the eleven thousand veterans led by Prevost. But with a capacity for blundering
which at times approached the character of genius, the Secretary of War on the very eve of the invasion ordered General lzard to
conduct most of the army to a distant field of action. Thus it came about that at the very moment when the Americans should have
been hurrying every possible reinforcement to Lake Champlain to oppose Prevost's invading host, General lzard marched away
toward distant Niagara with practically the entire army already on the ground.
Left behind to defend the American position at Plattsburg was General Macomb with a "miscellaneous" force of 3,500 men. The
flower of the army had marched with lzard, and the men remaining at Plattsburg have not inaptly been characterized as its "culls."
Macomb himself reports that his effective force did not exceed 1,500 in number. To dispute with such a force the advance of
Prevost's magnificent army was a project partaking of madness. Yet far from abandoning the field, as he might with entire reason
have done, Macomb marshalled [marshaled] his pitiful resources, and with unwearied energy and consummate skill prepared to give
battle to the enemy.
Prevost's advance was delayed for some days awaiting the appearance of Downie, whose fleet was to destroy Macdonough's flotilla
while Prevost disposed of Macomb. Early in September, the invasion was begun in earnest. Macomb sent out several detachments
of riflemen and light troops with instructions to harass the advancing British columns, and by every possible means delay and
oppose their progress. So little attention did the veteran regiments pay to this opposition, however, that they did not once bother to
161
deploy in line of battle, pressing steadily on in solid columns. By September 6, they were opposite the American works, and the time
until the eleventh was passed in making preparations for the assault, and awaiting the appearance of Downie.
The battle of Plattsburg, fought on September II, was a combined land and naval action. Macdonough had stationed his fleet in a
position where Downie was compelled to attack under conditions favorable to the Americans. The sequel of a furious battle of
several hours' duration was the complete defeat of the invaders. Meanwhile Prevost's storming columns moved forward to their
appointed task. One column, led by General Robinson, moved by a circuitous route to attack the Americans in the rear, while others,
assigned to storm the works in front, awaited, in readiness, for the sound of Robinson's attack, which was to be the signal for
launching their own assault. In preparation for such a contingency, Macomb had by night planted all the roads leading to his works
with evergreens, and had the roadways strewn with fallen leaves so as to conceal all appearance of a pathway. Not content with
this, he had constructed other roads, all opening into an old way, which led, not to the works, but to Salmon River, and' on this he
had posted his militia and a field piece to harass the enemy when he should appear.
The intended consequence followed. The attacking columns lost their way, and the actual assault was delayed until the cheers of
the Americans apprised the British of the disaster that had overtaken their fleet. This development induced Prevost to abandon the
invasion and return to Canada. The attack upon the forts was not pressed, and the losses suffered on either side were but trifling.
To the astonishment of the Americans, while they were still nerved to meet the expected assault, some British deserters came in
with the word that General Prevost was retreating from his position. So incredible was this report that it was not believed at once;
but on the following morning full confirmation was seen in the abandoned baggage-wagons and other equipage which alone
covered the field where a few hours earlier the great army had lain.
The battle of Plattsburg, it will be seen, was chiefly fought on the water. In describing it, most historians have centered their attention
upon the naval battle, and have ascribed to Macdonough principal credit for hurling back the invaders. That Macdonough performed
splendidly his allotted task, is clear. A patriotic Canadian historian has characterized him as "an officer of whom any navy in the
world might well be proud." But the backing of the land force, supplied by Macomb, made his victory possible; and although the
abandonment of the campaign by General Prevost denied to Macomb the glory of conducting a desperate defense, it is clear that
his own skill and unremitting exertion in preparing for the defense was in large measure responsible for the denial. Macdonough and
Macomb were both young officers, (Macdonough was thirty-one, Macomb thirty-two, years of age) and both were a credit to the
American nation. At Plattsburg both reached the high-water-mark of their careers. In their joint victory there was glory enough for
both, and a grateful country bestowed fame in ample measure upon them. Macdonough's victory was essential to the American
defense; it is equally clear that Macomb's resolute and skillful generalship made possible Macdonough's triumph.
But for Prevost's humiliation at Plattsburg, the British would have ended the war triumphant on every front save that adjacent to
Lake Erie, where Commodore Perry's victory of September 10, 1813, had given the Americans the ascendancy. 4 They were
prepared to demand, and the American government would have been compelled to yield, terms of peace which would have altered
radically the entire course of future development of the nation. Plattsburg ruined this agreeable prospect, and enabled the American
negotiators of the Treaty of Ghent to obtain peace on the basis of a return to the status existing prior to the commencement of the
war. Instead of a forced and humiliating concession of the territory won by the War of the Revolution, the United States came out of
the war with boundaries intact. For this we are indebted to the victory of Plattsburg, and chiefly to the splendid leadership of the
youthful commanders, Macomb and Macdonough.
The war ended on Christmas Eve, 1814, although several weeks were to pass before the fact became known in America. 5 The
return of peace entailed a reduction of the army, whose peace-time establishment was fixed at 10,000 men with two major generals
and four brigadiers. Macomb was retained in the service with the rank of senior brigadier general, assigned to command the Third
Military Department with headquarters in New York. Before long he was transferred to the Fifth Department with headquarters in
Detroit.
Thus it came to pass that he returned to the city of his birth, there to reside from 1816 until 1831. The unsettled conditions prevailing
throughout the Northwest in this period rendered Macomb's station of commanding general one of great importance and difficulty.
Under his direction posts were established at Mackinac, Green Bay, Chicago, St. Paul, Prairie du Chien, and Sault Ste. Marie. Their
history is intimately interwoven with the early annals of their respective regions. Most important of all the northwestern posts, of
course, was Detroit, where Macomb exercised control in person. Discord between the army and civilians was a normal feature of life
on 'the frontier. Macomb, however, possessed a rare faculty of getting on with the public, and the years of his administration in
Detroit were wholly free from civilian discord. On the eve of his removal to another station, in the spring of 1821, the townsmen
united to present him a silver tankard as a testimonial of their esteem. The somewhat stilted address composed by Judge Augustus
B. Woodward to accompany the presentation affirmed that no official and no citizen of Detroit had ever found occasion for complaint
against the General's administration. For one whose entire career had been spent in the regular army, and who now for half a dozen
years had commanded a garrison in the midst of a busy civilian community, this was a significant tribute.
The occasion of Macomb's removal from Detroit was the general curtailment of the army which was effected in 1821. Reduced to
the rank of colonel, he was returned to his old employment as chief of the engineer department of the army with headquarters in
Washington. Here he continued to serve until the death of General Jacob Brown, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, in February,
1828. Strange as it may seem, since the War of 1812 the government had neglected to prescribe the order of succession to the
position of commander-in-chief; on the death of General Brown, therefore, the rival claims of several officers to the succession were
ardently advanced by their friends, and it was even gravely affirmed that one need not even belong to the army to be eligible for the
appointment.
The President solved the problem by the appointment of Macomb, who in May, 1828, became a major general and commander-inchief of the army.
The boy who was born in a foreign land (Detroit was under the rule of Great Britain until 1796) had now achieved the highest station
his chosen profession opened to him. For his conduct at Plattsburg he had received the warmest expressions of appreciation of the
national government, of the States-of New York and Virginia, and of the City of New York. His administration of the army lasted
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thirteen years, from 1828 until his death in 1841. Indian wars aside, it was an era of peace for the nation, and no opportunity to win
spectacular distinction was afforded Macomb in this period. From the point of view of his military glory this was a great misfortune ;
had Macomb lived a few years longer, there is every reason to suppose that the fame achieved by Taylor and Scott in the Mexican
War would have been garnered, instead, by him. As it was, he played well his part throughout his entire career, winning the
steadfast approval alike of his associates in the army, his civilian superiors in public life, and of the masses of his countrymen. More
solid achievement than this could scarcely be anticipated, or desired.
To complete his story it remains to speak of his private life. In July, 1803, he married his cousin, Catherine Macomb, who was born
in Detroit, October 30, 1787, and was now a maiden of almost sixteen summers. Apparently it was an ideal union. To be with her
husband in his numerous changes of station, Mrs. Macomb "encountered the perils of climate in the North and in the South, and of
travel by land, and sea, and lake. She dared the hazards of war, in camp and garrison; and found a shield from all dangers and
sorrows in her husband's arms." Before her death in 1822 she had become the mother of twelve children.6 [On May 26, 1826,
General Macomb married Mrs. Harriet Balch Wilson of Georgetown. No children were born of this union, and nothing has been
learned by the present writer concerning Mrs. Wilson's career.]
Three of these died in early childhood, and two in early maturity. Both the remaining sons followed military careers, and most of the
five remaining daughters married into the army or navy. Alexander Saranac, born June 3, 1814, entered West Point in 1830, was
graduated, and attained the rank of major before resigning his commission in 1841. In 1840 he married Susan Kearny of New York,
sister of General Philip Kearny of Mexican and Civil War fame. William Henry, the remaining son, who was born in Detroit in 1819,
entered the U. S. navy as a midshipman in 1834 and died with the rank of commodore in 1872. He married a daughter of General
Henry Stanton, whose second wife was his elder sister, Alexandrine Macomb.
Catherine, eldest daughter of General Alexander Macomb, in 1821 married John Mason Jr. of Virginia, son of the author of the
famous Bill of Rights, and himself secretary of the U. S. legation to Mexico. Alexandrine, born in 1808, in 1834 married Henry
Stanton, colonel and brevet brigadier general in the army. He died in 1856 at Fort Hamilton, New York, where he had long been
stationed, and where all of their seven children were born. Czarina, born in 1810, married her- cousin, John Navarre Macomb of
New York, who spent his life in the army, and retired with the rank of colonel in 1883. Mrs. Macomb died in 1846 and the widower
later married a daughter of Commodore John Rodgers of the U. S. navy. A son of this union was Montgomery Meigs Macomb, who
retired from the army in 1917 with the rank of brigadier general. Sarah Macomb, who was born in Detroit in March, 1831, only a few
weeks before her father's removal from this place, married Henry Whiting Stanton, son of General Henry Stanton, who likewise was
a native of Detroit. He was graduated from West Point in 1842, attained the rank of captain, and was slain in a fight with the Apache
in 1855.7 The widow subsequently married John Charles Devereux Williams, son of John R. Williams of Detroit. The last of General
Macomb's daughters, for whom her mother's life was given, was Jane Octavia, born in Georgetown, September 17, 1883. True to
the family tradition, she married in 1841, Morris S, Miller, a graduate of West Point in 1831 and a lieutenant in the army, who
attained the rank of brevet brigadier general in the Civil War.
JEREMIAH MOORS.
GRAND MASTER 1849-1850.
No name is more prominently identified with the early history of the Grand Lodge of Michigan than that of Brother Jeremiah Moors.
He came from New Hampshire to Western New York, and from there to Michigan in the early part of the century, and was initiated
into Masonry in Zion Lodge, Detroit, in the year 1819. The following year he visited Rochester, New York, and there learned the
work and lectures, and when he returned to Detroit in 1821, he gave much attention to disseminating the work in which he had been
instructed, which was substantially as taught at the present day. He was active, with others, in obtaining a charter from the Grand
Lodge of New York for Detroit Lodge, No. 337, (Now No. 2) and was the Worshipful Master thereof when work was suspended in
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1829. We find him among those who organized the first Grand Lodge of Michigan in 1826, and he was appointed Senior Grand
Deacon, by General Lewis Cass, the first Grand Master. He remained an active member of this Grand Lodge until the "lights went
out" in 1829. When the anti-masonic excitement of those early years had died out and the fires were re-kindled upon the altars of
masonry, we again find him in the Master's chair in Detroit Lodge, and an officer and active worker in the Grand Lodge that existed
from 1841 to 1844, being elected Grand Visitor and Lecturer at the June meeting in 1844.
He was an active member of the present Grand Lodge from the time of its organization, serving in various official positions, and
nearly always being on some of the most important working committees, and in 1849 was elected Grand Master, and re-elected in
1850. He served the Grand Lodge with marked ability and retired from the exalted office with the well earned esteem and affection
of his co-workers.
Brother Moors was among the early workers in Royal Arch Mason ry in Michigan. He received the Capitular degrees in Monroe
Chapter No. 1, being exalted a Royal Arch Mason January 24, 1820 and in 1824 was the High Priest of Monroe Chapter in Detroit,
and for many years enjoyed the distinction of being the oldest P. H. P. in Michigan. He was Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter
R. A. M. of Michigan in 1852, and served with the same success that marked his labors in the Grand Lodge.
Brother Moors may truly be classed among those pioneers in Michigan masonry who have left their impress upon the institution
whose foundations they laid so deep and strong.
Brother Moors was an Architect by profession, being employed by the U. S. Government in the erection of the old arsenal at Detroit
in 1828, and in 1833 in the erection of the arsenal at Dearborn, and later as Chief Overseer of the construction of Fort Wayne, and
Fort Montgomery in 1837. Many buildings in Detroit, of which he was architect, attested for many years, his skill in his profession.
He died July 6, 1854, after only a few hours illness.
During the first year of Brother Moors' administration as Grand Master, he gave dispensations for eleven new Lodges, located at
Grand Rapids, Constantine, Ionia, Litchfield, Lyons, Romeo, Brighton, Fentonville, Howell, Berrien and Jackson, the latter one by
order of the Grand Lodge. It, however did not receive a charter and its existence was limited to the few months it worked under
dispensation. The Grand Lodge meeting in January, 1850, found thirty-three Lodges represented, nine of them being new ones
organized since the last annual meeting.
JOHN MULLETT,
GRAND MASTER. 1844—1845.
We now again take up the thread of the general masonic work in Michigan. We have noted the action taken by the
Grand Lodge that dissolved in November, 1844. We have seen how the three Lodges originally chartered by the
Grand Lodge of New York secured a renewal of their relations with that Grand Body. The time has now come when a
movement of the utmost importance to Michigan Masonry was to be inaugurated. From the ashes of the old
organization, the Institution is to arise, phoenix-like, to a new and grander life.
Before entering upon the history of masonic matters from this time forward, it is highly proper to give, in this place, a
brief sketch of the life of that distinguished brother, whose guiding hand was to pilot the newly launched ship for the
next two years.
John Mullett was born in the town of Halifax, Windham County, Vermont, July nth, 1786. When about twenty years of
age here- moved with his father's family to Genesee County, New York. At that time, this was the "Far West."
Remaining with his father until he was settled, he then went to Buffalo, where he engaged in the tailoring business.
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On the 9th of February, 1814, he was married, in his native town, to Lucy Henry, of that place, and immediately
returned to Buffalo with his wife. The toil and incident of this wedding journey at that time would exceed that of a
journey around the world, with our present facilities of travel. In the year 1820, he removed with his family to Detroit.
Shortly after he had taken up his residence in this place, he was appointed Surveyor of Government lands, in which
business he was engaged upwards of thirty years. During this time he surveyed a large portion of the States of
Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. In the prosecution of this business he was brought in contact with all
classes of men, and secured the confidence and respect of all who knew him. As the result of so much travel, his
fund of incident and anecdote was inexhaustible, which made him an interesting companion in every circle of which
he became a member. He was made a Mason, and became a member of Western Star Lodge [No. 239], during his
residence in Buffalo.
On September 5, 1821, the Grand Lodge of New York granted to John Mullett and others a warrant for holding a
Lodge in the city of Detroit, Territory of Michigan, by name of Detroit Lodge, No. 337. (now No. 2.) He was the first
Master of this Lodge, serving two years. From this it will be seen that Brother Mullet's Masonic work in Michigan
began several years prior to the organization of the first Grand Lodge in this state. History shows him to have been
one of the most active Masonic workers of his day, and the honors that came to him in later years conclusively show
that his labors were duly appreciated by the fraternity. He held no official position in the first Grand Lodge that had an
existence from 1826 to 1829, but was a prominent and influential member of the Grand Lodge of 1841-4, and was
elected its Grand Master at the annual meeting in 1844. On the dissolution of that body and the organization of the
present Grand Lodge on September 17, 1844, he was elected its first Grand Master and was installed into that office
by Past Grand Master General Lewis Cass, at a subsequent meeting held for that purpose.
He was re-elected the following year, and his wise counsels and untiring zeal in the early history of this Grand Body
have left their impress upon Masonry in our peninsular state.
Brother Mullett was also an active worker in Capitular Masonry. In 1848 he was high Priest of Monroe Chapter, No. 1,
of Detroit, and participated in the convention that organized the Grand Chapter of Michigan in that year, at which time
he was elected Grand Scribe, and he was a constant attendant and an active worker in the meetings of that Grand
Body for several years.
He removed from Detroit to Ingham County in the year 1854, where he resided for the few remaining years of his life,
winning the respect and confidence of all with whom he came in contact.
He died January 15, 1862, at the ripe age of seventy-six years, after living to see the Grand Lodge which he
helped to organize grow from four weak Lodges with small membership, to a large and powerful organization,
numbering one hundred and thirty-eight Lodges and more than six thousand members.
Previous Meeting Places in Detroit
http://www.detroitmasonic.com/oldtemple.html
The first Masonic Lodge in Michigan (which at the time was in the Northwest Territory) was founded in 1764. They
have had a couple of names and have been chartered under a few different
Grand Lodges, but today they are Zion No. 1. I am not sure if we can list all
the meeting places used in Detroit prior to the current Masonic Temple at
500 Temple Ave. By using James F. Smith's "Dateline 1764 Michigan
Masonry Vol. 2", I am going to try. J. F. Smith shows a sketch of the citadel
and states that "it was in the officers mess that the Lodge No. 1 at Detroit
met." No dates are given as to how long they met there.
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The Steamboat Hotel also appears to be an early meeting place for Detroit Masons. For in his book, Brother Smith
reports "It was on August 10, 1821, that a number of Master Masons met here to consider the need for a second
lodge. An adjourned meeting was held four days later and eleven brethren were present, and it was on this occasion
that the petition was signed by those present, seeking a warrant from the Grand lodge of New York. The request went
out on August 20, 1821. It was in this hotel that the larger Masonic banquets of the period were held."
He goes on to say that the Council House on the Southeast corner of
Jefferson and Randolph became the Masonic Hall in 1826 and was the
birthplace of the Grand Lodge of Michigan. After petitioning Grand Master
Lewis Cass, who then was also the Territorial Governor of Michigan, the
Craft, which at that time included Zion Lodge No.1, Detroit Lodge No. 2,
and Monroe Chapter No. 1, was given permission to build a second story
on the old Council House. A building committee was appointed and
another story added which was lathed and plastered outside and gave the
building a unique appearance.
The Oliver Newberry Building, at the corner of Jefferson and Cass was the
meeting place of Detroit Masons from 1841 to 1851. When discussion was
held to build a new hall, the Newberry building was described by Brother
Farnsworth of Detroit No. 2 as: "It was a big bare place of which the chief
ornament was a great iron stove weighing, perhaps, 1,500 pounds." The
building had been the scene of a fire and while the first floor had apparently
been reconditioned, the room in which the Masons met had received little
attention and thus it was that the bodies were desperately anxious to find
newer and better quarters. Monroe Chapter No. 1 proceeded by a special act
of the Michigan legislature to form a corporation capable in law "to purchase,
take, receive, hold and enjoy …estates real and personal." The Chapter then
contracted for a thirty-year lease of a lot at 131-135 West Jefferson Avenue.
After securing assurance from all of the Masonic bodies then meeting in
Detroit that they would become tenants; the chapter proceeded to erect a
four story building on the leased land. The land was leased from Brother
Joseph Campau. (Sorry but this picture would not scan and fit here)
The terms of the lease called for the erection of a four story brick building to cover the whole of the Jefferson front
and extend back some eighty feet with a good stone wall foundation at least sixteen inches thick. The four stories had
to average at least ten feet each and the cellar wall to be at least seven feet six inches in height. The basement was
dug and the Cornerstone laid on September 2, 1851 by Past Grand Master E. Smith Lee, a Past High Priest of
Monroe Chapter and the first Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Michigan. The building when completed
consisted of two stores on the ground floor and four offices on the second floor. The third and forth floors were
apparently used entirely for Masonic purposes. Meeting in the Temple along with Monroe Chapter No. 1 were Zion
Lodge No. 1, Detroit Lodge No. 2, Monroe Council No. 1, and Detroit Encampment No. 1 (now Detroit Commandery
No. 1 K.T.) The building was first occupied in 1852. Thus, Detroit had its first building built for the purpose of being a
Masonic Temple. All previous buildings were built for other purposes and used for Masonic meetings. The building
was not dedicated until St. John the Baptist Day, June 24, 1857. During its thirty-year period of service, other
Masonic organizations became occupant of the building. These included Charity Lodge No. 94, Ashlar Lodge No. 91,
Kilwinning Lodge No. 297, Peninsular Chapter No. 16, the Detroit Scottish Rite Bodies and the St. Andrews Society.
In was in 1891 that the need for a larger Masonic Temple was first actively considered. Plans to finance it were then
begun. On August 11, 1892, the preliminary organization purchased three lots at First and Lafayette for a price of
$50,200. By the end of the year they had collected $60,000 in gross receipts from all the
Masonic bodies. Brother Smith goes on to say: "At this time Michigan Sovereign
Consistory owned the property adjoining the lots purchased by the preliminary
organization. Through a well-timed negotiations the two properties were merged, and a
permanent Masonic Temple Association was formed. Each organization turned over its
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funds to this Association and instructed the officers to proceed. This was the beginning of the current Masonic
Temple Association who owns and operates the current Masonic Temple at 500 Temple Ave. The Association was
finally incorporated in 1894. It is interesting to note that the Masons of this time period raised funds equal to $80 per
member, in the midst of one of the greatest periods of financial depression that this country had seen up to that time.
It is also interesting to note that the Lafayette Temple was completely inadequate in less than 20 years. The Temple
was seven stories tall and was dedicated and opened in 1895.
Brother Smith wrote in the book, 150 Epic Years, Detroit Lodge No. 2:
It was a Seven story red stone structure. The height of the entire building from grade to top of the ridge measured
exactly 140 feet and the height below grade as 12 feet. The Cubic content of the building was 1,743,600 and the
seating capacity of the auditorium was 400 on the floor and 350 in the balcony. The excavation for the temple started
on October 1, 1894, the concrete foundations were laid October 22, the foundation stone was laid November 12, and
the Cornerstone was laid January 23, 1895 The total building cost were $344,198.00. Dedication ceremonies were
held on June 24. St. John the Baptist Day, 1895, and following the elaborate ceremonies, thousand of Detroit Masons
and their families made a tour of the building. The Mayor of the City of Detroit, Past Master William Maybury served
as chairman of the Masonic Relations Committee.
West room, Detroit Masonic Temple on Lafayette
Center room, Detroit Masonic Temple on Lafayette
East room, Detroit Masonic Temple on Lafayette
Masonic Temple on Lafayette in Detroit, 1895-1926
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This picture is from a book called Palestine Album that was printed in 1905. The book says: "reunion of Palestine
Lodge, December 6, 1901. 550 at dinner, 505 being brethren of Palestine Lodge. The largest number of members of
a single Lodge ever brought together." The reason I include this picture here is that from the date, and from other
descriptions of rooms in the old temple, it is my belief that while it is not labeled as such, I believe this room is the
drill hall on the top floor of the old temple on Lafayette. Below you will read about the Cadillac Athletic Club who
bought the temple from us. They describe the top floor as: "The top floor is one of the largest and best ventilated
gymnasiums in the state -- thirteen thousand square feet of floor space,"
The above picture is scanned from "Freemasonry in Michigan, Vol 2." It appears on page 484.
Top left: Red Cross Room (Commandery)
Top right: a lodge room (doesn't say which one)
Bottom left: Commandery Asylum
Bottom right: Royal Arch Chapter Room
Center: Michigan Sovereign Consistory Cathedral
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This is a second picture from the same book. It is from page 490.
Top left: Lodge Room Library
Top right: Main Hall
Bottom left: One of the banquet rooms
Bottom right: Michigan Sovereign Candidates Room
Center: Front door
Starting on page 477 we find: The East Lodge Room on the third floor was occupied the first four evenings
of each week by Union, Oriental,Schiller, and Ashlar Lodges respectively. The West Lodge Room by
Kilwinning, Detroit, Zion, and Palestine Lodges. The large hall on the fourth floor floor was devoted Mondays
to Monroe Council, and the next four evenings of each week to King Cyrus, Peninsular, and Monroe
Chapters; and Detroit Commandery in the order named.
Detroit Masonic Temple
For an interesting history of the Temple see
http://themasonic.com/history.html or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Masonic_Temple
http://www.detroitmasonic.com/
Dedicated November 25, 1926, this 1037 room, 14
story building was unique among Masonic buildings
because all of the various Masonic bodies were housed
in the same structure. As of 2006, it became a York
Rite Masonic Temple. We currently are the home to 11
Masonic lodges, 2 Royal Arch Chapters, a Council of
Royal and Select Masons and Detroit Commandery
No. 1 Knights Templar. The Detroit Masonic Temple
also houses the national offices of the Sovereign York
Rite College of North America.
There are some twelve million cubic feet of space,
making it the largest and most complex building of its
kind in the world.
The first shovel of dirt was turned on Thanksgiving Day
1920 and the Corner Stone was placed on September
18, 1922. George Washington's own working tools
were brought from Virginia to be used for the
ceremony. The Temple was formally dedicated on
Thanksgiving Day, 1926. Thousands gathered for the
formal ceremony and consecration by the Grand Lodge
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of Michigan.
There are seven Craft Lodge Rooms - all having different decorative treatments, the motifs of decoration being taken from
the Egyptian, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Italian Renaissance, Byzantine, Gothic and Romanesque. The rooms are all true to
the period. All of the art work throughout the building, especially the beautifully decorated ceilings was done under the
personal direction of famous Italian artists. There is also a Royal Arch room, and a Commandery Asylum.
The Cathedral has a seating capacity of 1600 and its fully equipped stage with a width of 64 feet from wall to wall and a
depth of 37 feet from the foot lights. The Cathedral is a beauty spot of the Temple, made rich by carvings and color work
which is most effectively carried out in the ceiling.
In the center portion of the Temple is located the auditorium or public portion of the structure. In this section of the building
on the third floor mezzanine is the mammoth drill hall, comprising 17,500 square feet of open floor space. The drill hall is
used by Detroit Commandery. As of 2006, the Drill Hall is also the home of the Detroit Derby Girls Roller Team. This drill
hall is equipped with one of three floating floors in the United States; that is, the entire floor is laid on felt cushions. This
type of construction provides more or less give to the floor which tends to relieve the marchers.
Immediately under the drill hall is the main theatre. The Detroit Masonic Theatre is one of the finest public halls in the
United States, having a seating capacity of 4404. Because of its arrangement, there is a very intimate contact between
the audience and stage. A great deal of careful study was given to the acoustical treatment of this room which has
produced an auditorium where the hearing qualities are perfect from every seat. The stage of the auditorium is the second
largest in the United States, having a width between walls of 100 feet and a depth from the curtain line of 55 feet.
JUDGE AUGUSTUS WOODWARD
b. 1774 as Elias Brevoort Woodward
A Freemason and Founder of the First Complete Public Education System in America *
by Richard H. Sands, 33o, P.G.M.
Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of Michigan
http://www.bonisteelml.org/Woodward2.htm
Abstract
The Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons is the oldest existing fraternity in the world. Freemasons
historically have made important and essential contributions to the War for Independence and the fabric of
this country. Among the Freemasons responsible for the first public school system (elementary and
intermediate with a university at its apex) in America*, including the beginnings of the University of Michigan,
was Judge Augustus Woodward, the first of three federally appointed judges in the Territory of Michigan.
His life, education, and contributions are traced in this paper.
He made a name for himself when he represented Oliver Pollack before Congress in his case for restitution
of funds expended in support of the expedition of George Rogers Clark to recapture the Northwest
Territories from the British. Woodward became a close friend of Thomas Jefferson.
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Arriving shortly after the fire that leveled Detroit, he left his imprint on the layout of the streets of Detroit.
Woodward was the only one of the civil officers to remain in Detroit during the War of 1812. He was widely
read and developed a system of scientific classification and nomenclature that rivaled the best of the time.
He championed the needy during and after the war of 1812 and drafted the act of 1817 that established the
University of Michigania and began the first truly public school system in America*.
In 1824, he lost his judgeship to "dirty" politics, but was able to clear his name and received an appointment
as a judge in the new Territory of Florida, where he later died on June 12, 1827, at the age of fifty-two. His
grave is unknown.
The Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons is the oldest extant fraternity in the world. Members of the
Fraternity (hereinafter referred to as Freemasons or Masons) and its teachings played major roles in the
War for Independence and the beginnings and evolution of this country. Among these were men such as
George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, Baron Von Steuben, Marquis de Lafayette, George
Rogers Clark, John Hancock, and many others. They pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred
honor that they and we might enjoy freedom from oppression.
-------* There is one other contender for this honor - the Georgia legislature that in 1801 gave supervisory power
over the public schools to the President of the University of Georgia 1. To date, I have been unable to learn
when and how he exercised that power or if the University of Georgia was truly public in its admissions at
that time.
We are here to discuss Freemasonry in Washtenaw County. It is most appropriate that this should be done
on the University of Michigan campus, because Freemasons played a significant part in the beginning of this
University, albeit that the latter took place in Detroit in 1817 before it evolved to a true university in Ann
Arbor in 1837. Among the Freemasons responsible for that beginning, one man stands out; namely,
Augustus Woodward, the first of three federally appointed judges for the new Territory of Michigan.
The origins of the Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons are lost in antiquity. Our oral history tells us that
we grew out of those operative lodges of Freemasons that built the great cathedrals of the Middle Ages;
however, we have no written proof of that. We can trace it in great detail only to the meeting of four lodges in
London, England, in 1717; but these were already social lodges of Freemasons. Members of the Fraternity
make no pretext of learning the skills of operative Freemasonry; we simply use the tools of the operative
craft to teach fundamental truths of human behavior or "morality," if you like. The Society of Free and
Accepted Masons (some 3 Million strong, worldwide) is a fraternity that has built within it a system of moral
instruction that is taught in the most palatable manner possible; namely, by symbols and by allegory. Every
Freemason must be of mature age and profess a belief in Diety. If anyone wishes to be a member, he must
ask - no Mason can invite him. The purpose of the organization is to take good men and help them to
become better men by offering them these moral lessons and opportunities to practice charity in an
atmosphere of brotherly love. You will hear later in this program of the history of some of these lodges of
Freemasons in Washtenaw County.
Because bettering oneself is a major part of Freemasonry, Freemasons have always stressed the
importance of education. The first full public school systems in America and in Europe were started by
Masons, and Masons were instrumental in starting many of the major colleges and universities in this
country; examples are the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan and the University of North
Carolina. In discussing the beginnings of the University of Michigan, we need to review the life and works of
the principal player in those beginnings; namely, Judge Augustus Woodward and the circumstances that
Woodward, p. 3
In order to keep the Northwest Territories Congress needed to populate the area. To facilitate the latter, they
needed a system of laws and governance; and The Northwest Ordinance 3 was the first effort in that
direction. It is of note that this ordinance was adopted by the Continental Congress in 1787 before our
Constitution was written. It outlawed slavery, promoted education, and provided for a governor, a secretary
and three judges appointed by Congress. But the territories were vast, and the inhabitants were forced to
travel inordinate distances to seek justice. As the numbers of settlers increased, new territories were broken
out from the original. Finally, the Territory of Michigan was established with its own governor, secretary and
three federally appointed judges of whom Augustus Woodward was one.
He was born in New York in 1774 and, on November 6 in a Reformed Dutch Church, was baptized Elias
Brevoort Woodward, after his maternal uncle. Elias Brevoort was one of pre-Revolutionary Manhattan's
leading citizens with a substantial estate. Woodward enrolled in Columbia College at the age of fifteen and
received his A.B. degree. He read widely, was well grounded in Greek and Latin and became fluent in
French. Elias Woodward later changed his name from Elias to Augustus, thinking that it better suited
his personality. It was his habit to keep a small notebook in which he jotted down whatever interested him.
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After graduation in 1793, he took a job in Philadelphia where he was employed as a clerk in the Treasury
Department. The uncle left him an inheritance of 150 English pounds. With this inheritance, he set out for
the new city of Washington on the Potomac, where he invested in real estate.
While in Rockbridge County in 1795, he was received in Monticello and admitted to Thomas Jefferson's
intimate circle. This was the beginning of a lasting friendship.
Augustus moved to Georgetown in the District of Columbia. He became acquainted with Charles L'Enfant
and his plan for Washington. On the inside cover of his notebook he pasted a copy of L'Enfant's plan for
Washington with the location of his ten properties marked. On March 23, 1801, he presented himself at the
opening of the first session of the new court of the District of Columbia and was admitted to practice before
it. He was tall, six foot three or four and was stooped with a large crop of dark hair, a narrow face and a
large nose.
He claimed no formal religious association, but he was never irreligious. He was on good terms with the
clergy of many denominations, including Father Gabriel Richard of the Catholic faith and Reverend John
Monteith of the Protestant faith. He never displayed impiety or looseness of character and was never known
to use profanity.
Prior to 1801, Jefferson was only the Vice-President, whose duties were minimal. Many a day, he and
Woodward would sit before a warm fire discussing their theories of government and sharing books that they
had read - both were voracious readers. Woodward spent a lot of time on a committee for the poor.
The Washington bar of 1802 consisted of only eleven members. There was business for all; and Woodward
had his share. One case, in particular, earned him distinction: his representation of Oliver Pollock before a
committee of Congress to pursue a long-standing claim for reimbursement of funds advanced to the patriotic
cause during the Revolution. Pollock's financial assistance surpassed that of any other person. That the
Northwest was won and that it became a part of the United States was the result, largely, of the efforts of
Oliver Pollock. He was a native of Ireland, emigrating to Pennsylvania in 1761 at the age of 24. He had a
natural talent for business - whatever enterprise he attempted, it prospered. After beginning operations out
of Philadelphia with West Indies ports and with New Orleans, he established his headquarters in New
Orleans in 1768. The Spanish took possession of Louisiana in the following year, and he began supplying
the Spanish army. He was wise enough to charge reasonable prices and not the usual profiteering. This
won him the respect of the Spanish authorities who gave him free trade throughout Louisiana. Rapidly
Pollock acquired considerable wealth with large land holdings near New Orleans where he established
plantations with slaves to work on them, and his mercantile interests were wide spread. After the start of the
Revolution, agents from Virginia appeared in New Orleans seeking supplies for the patriotic cause.Through
Pollock's intervention and influence with Spanish officials, he was able to arrange for ten thousand pounds
of powder to be shipped to the colonies.
From Detroit, the British unleashed their Indian allies in a wave of terror. In order to stop this Indian menace,
Bro. George Rogers Clark proposed a plan to mount an expedition against the Illinois country, which was
not strongly held, and then to move against Detroit. It took a steady flow of supplies to enable Clark to
execute his plan. From New Orleans, Pollock sent boatload after boatload of food, powder, blankets and
clothing up the Mississippi, using his own funds. As the demands increased, he mortgaged his lands and
slaves, and advanced more than $300,000, much of it pledged against his personal credit. Clark's victory
was an expensive one for Pollock, and he became a ruined man. Payment was demanded by his Spanish
creditors and they imprisoned him in a debtor's jail in Havana. Repeatedly, he appealed to Virginia and
Congress for relief.
He became concerned when some individuals claimed that the obligation contracted by Virginia was not
binding on the Federal government. He retained Woodward to secure recognition of his rights to payment.
Woodward's arguments and the justice of Pollock's cause prevailed.
Pollock eventually received all but some $9,000 of his claim. Just as
importantly, Woodward's involvement in this case peaked his interest in
the Northwest Territories and, undoubtedly, was a factor in his
acceptance of public service in that part of the country when he was
offered it by Jefferson.
In Detroit on Tuesday, June 11, 1805, a driver hitching up his cart
to get a fresh supply of flour, knocked out his pipe, and a live coal
was blown into the hay. In less than two hours, the whole town
was in flames and all that remained of the town were charred
chimneys. Fortunately, no lives were lost and only two were injured: an
elderly woman and a young child. The destruction was total; only the
old Block House survived.
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Woodward knew nothing of this when he arrived in Detroit on June 30. Woodward's fame had preceded him;
the citizens made it clear that Woodward represented a community hope. Detroit needed a figure of
authority. Since the fire, the citizens had bickered among themselves about when and how they should start
to rebuild. The new governor, William Hull, accompanied by his secretary, Stanley Griswold, arrived from
Albany later the next day. The following morning, as his first official act, Hull administered the oaths of office
to Secretary Griswold and Justices Woodward and Bates, the former assuming the office of chief justice by
virtue of an earlier commission. Hull had been sworn in enroute by the Vice-President, George Clinton.
Hull, Woodward and Bates formed themselves into a land board to plan a layout for the new city. They
asked the populace to wait patiently. Woodward was chosen as a committee of one to layout the new
Detroit. It was a year and a half before Woodward's plan was completed, and you can see L'Enfant's imprint.
The plan consisted of an equilateral triangle with 4,000 foot sides, divided into six sections by a
perpendicular line from every angle bisecting the opposite side, with squares, circuses and other open
spaces where six avenues and where twelve avenues intersect, large circular plazas one thousand feet in
diameter, were connected and intersected by north-south and east-west grand avenues, each two hundred
feet wide. From each of the hub-like plazas or circuses, eight other avenues would radiate like spokes of a
wheel. These were one hundred and twenty feet wide and connected at intervals by sixty-foot wide streets.
The grand circuses were intended to be sites for public buildings, churches, schools - all the space to be
landscaped, adorned with fountains and statuary, and lined with trees. The base of the first triangular unit
paralleled the river for four thousand feet. The apex of the original was at the present Grand Circus Park and
the intersection of the avenues which would have bisected its angles can still be seen at the Campus
Martius. The first unit was designed for fifty thousand. It could easily be enlarged by adding a second or third
triangle by making one side of the original triangle, the base of the new one.
This was a city plan beyond the understanding of the frontier citizens who had never seen a European city
and could not appreciate an advanced idea of scientific planning. After eleven years, Woodward's plan was
abandoned. If Detroit had followed this, it would be the envy of other cities without the congestion of today.
(From the hand-written minutes4 of Zion Lodge, we learn that Augustus B. Woodward was made a
Freemason on September 5, 1808, in Zion Lodge No. 1, chartered under the Grand Lodge of F.&A.M.
of New York. He was proposed by Brother Scott, elected to receive, and received the Entered
Apprentice degree the same night. He was passed to the Fellowcraft degree on October 3, 1808;
however, he had a series of excused absences from Zion Lodge until September 4, 1809. He was
raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason on October 14, 1809.)
By 1808, the intention of the British for war was apparent. The unrest of the Indians was being secretly
encouraged by the British. War with Britain was inevitable. The only question was when? Appeals to the
federal government to reinforce the frontier fell on deaf ears until 1811.
Hull chose this time to return to Massachusetts for the winter of 1811-12; but before his leave expired, he
spent several months in Washington discussing defense arrangements. Governor Hull, now Brigadier
General Hull, returned to Michigan Territory in July, 1812, as commander-in-chief of an army of two
thousand men consisting of three regiments of Ohio volunteers and one regiment of regulars. War with
Great Britain was declared while Hull was marching from Urbana, Ohio. The army's objective was an
immediate invasion of Canada, the capture of Fort Malden, and the occupation of the country as far east as
the Thames River. Hull's subordinates included the three colonels of the Ohio regiments, McArthur, Findlay
and Lewis Cass, all of whom urged an immediate invasion of Canada. Hull delayed until he received orders
from Washington, and not until July 12 did the army cross the river. Hull showed no inclination to do more,
refusing to attack Malden.
While Hull was delaying, the British were actively reinforcing. In the North, an enemy expedition took
Mackinac by surprise on July 17. Following this, the Indians swarmed to the British side. Hull respected the
British, but feared the Indians and on August 8 he ordered his troops back across the river and on the same
day his orders reached the small garrison at Fort Dearborn to evacuate. The soldiers and their families
marched out of that fort and were ambushed by the savages, many brutally massacred and most taken
prisoner. At the same time, Major General Isaac Brock took command of Fort Malden. Playing upon Hull's
fears, he demanded Detroit's surrender, hinting that he might have trouble restraining the Indians. He
planted a battery opposite Detroit and began to bombard the town. On the morning of August 16, Brock
dressed a few of his militiamen as British regulars to make his force appear stronger, then transported them
across the river and, with Tecumseh's braves howling around the stockade, marched toward the town.
To the disgust of his troops, Hull ran up the white flag, surrendering unconditionally without firing a
shot. Brock left two hundred and fifty men under the command of Colonel Henry Proctor, and decreed that
American laws should remain in effect.
Hull as a prisoner of war was carried off to Montreal. The Ohio volunteers were sent home under parole.
Before long Hull was exchanged, tried by court martial, convicted of cowardice and sentenced to death.
173
Woodward was the only one of the original civic officers to remain in Detroit; and since the British decreed
that American law would continue to prevail, Proctor (without consulting Woodward) appointed him as
Secretary of the Territory (second in command). This placed him in a difficult position (which he declined);
however, Woodward became the emissary of the people. He mounted a relief group to trace the prisoners
from Fort Dearborn.
(It is of interest to note that Zion Lodge ceased to meet during the British occupation 4, despite the ruling that
American laws should remain in effect. The lodge minutes do not give a reason, so we are left to speculate.
Either they no longer had enough members to open or they did not want to have to welcome British brethren
into their lodge. We will never know.)
Proctor surprised a division of William Henry Harrison's army under the command of General Winchester at
Frenchtown on the night of January 21, 1813, and after a fight, forced him to surrender his entire force.
Proctor returned to Malden, leaving the wounded American prisoners in Frenchtown. The British assured
Winchester that the men would be safe, but despite this, the Indians got out of hand and murdered, scalped
or carried away three hundred and ninety-seven Kentuckians while the British officers stood idly by.
Woodward's relief committee was called upon again, raising money for ransom and providing for the
prisoners' general comfort.
Woodward ceased amicable relations with Proctor and requested a pass to leave. After some delay,
Woodward was granted a pass on February 19. On March 16, he was in Albany where he reported by letter
to Secretary of State Monroe. In his letter he pointed out that he had declined commission as Secretary of
the Territory under Proctor and had accepted no remuneration from the British.
Woodward then went to Washington where he gave his papers to Congress, he conferred with Madison and
congressional leaders on the situation in the West and the conduct of the war. He learned that his reputation
had not suffered at all. While Woodward was relaxing from official duties, the war was turning in the West.
In May, the British laid siege to the Fort Meigs on strategic Maumee River, but Gen. Harrison's forces made
a determined stand and repulsed the British forces. A second siege was repulsed in July, and the British
needed a victory to assuage their Indian allies, so Proctor attempted to capture Fort Stephenson with a
bayonet charge; however, the 160 men under Major George Croghan bloodily repulsed it and Proctor was
forced to retreat back to Fort Malden. In September, Oliver Hazard Perry's fleet sailed out of the harbor at
Presque Ile on Lake Erie and decisively defeated the British squadron at Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island.
With the Great Lakes under American control, General Harrison retook Detroit and invaded Canada. At the
Thames River, he overtook and defeated the fleeing Proctor and smashed the Indian confederation. Once
more, the Michigan Territory and the Northwest were under the United States.
On October 29, 1813, President Madison appointed Lewis Cass (a Mason) to replace Hull as the new civic
governor of Michigan. In the Spring of 1814, he set the 3rd Monday of August for the resumption of
governmental operations and notified the judges to be on hand. Cass secured the appointment of his close
friend, William Woodbridge, as Secretary.
In Michigan in 1814 the settlements at the Rouge and Raisin were in dire straits, and the devastation from
war was ubiquitous. Fur trade had been suspended during the war, so no credits were available for food and
clothing. In a territory that was not self-sufficient, the lack of imports resulted in serious hardship. Agriculture
ceased because with hostile Indians in the woods, the farmers did not dare go into the fields. The livestock
had been stolen by the Indians or commandeered by the British. Famine was everywhere.
During most of 1814 and the early months of 1815, Governor Cass was absent, winding up his affairs in
Ohio. The people turned to Woodward who had never failed them before.
Woodward reported to the Secretary of War that "no kind of flour or meal was to be procured and nothing for
the subsistence of the cattle. No animals for slaughter. The fencing had been destroyed by the incursion of
the enemy for fuel for the military. Their houses were left with no glass. Their clothing plundered by the
Indians. ……the inhabitants of the River Raisin had to resort to boiled chopp'd hay for subsistence."
Woodward appealed for supplies, including seeds for spring planting. Father Richard and Cass, upon his
return, added their appeals. In reply, Washington sent relief, food for the people and livestock for the farms.
The gratitude of the people to all three was boundless, and Woodward was revered by the French.
In 1817, President Monroe visited Detroit soon after his inauguration. In that year, too, Detroit's first regular
newspaper. The Gazette, was published. Furthermore, legislation was introduced to establish the first state
or territorial support for a public education system with a university as a key part. The background for this
was extensive.
Woodward in his youth sought to understand a variety of natural phenomena. He wondered about the sun,
electricity, light, heat and magnetism. He performed many experiments. None of the explanations he found
in books satisfied him. In 1801, at the age of twenty-seven, he published a booklet entitled Considerations
on the Substance of the Sun.
174
From his boyhood days, Woodward was aware of the apparent lack of a sufficient classification of the
various branches of knowledge. What was needed was a comprehensive system of classification which
could catalog and assign proper place and order to the various branches of knowledge. The relative isolation
of his residence in Michigan gave him the opportunity to pursue this undertaking. Jefferson, too, was
interested in a system of classification for the practical purpose of cataloguing his library.
Woodward developed his ideas during his numerous eastern trips while he was a territorial judge. He visited
libraries in New York, Philadelphia and Princeton. He discussed his plans with many eminent scholars
including the President of Princeton and members of the faculty. He read widely and he undoubtedly
possessed a knowledge of scientific thought as great as anyone then living in the United States.
The heart of his plan was the nomenclature. This had to be universal, which meant that it had to be exact, so
he could not use terms then in use - he had to invent them. In devising his own terminology, Woodward
drew upon Greek roots. For a general designation that would include all of science he chose "encathol
epistemia" or literally, "universal science." By 1815, his task was nearly complete and in 1816 upon another
journey East, a syndicate of Philadelphia printers published his A System of Universal Science.
Woodward was concerned by the lack of any publicly-supported education in the Territory. The well-to-do
traders and officers sent their sons East to be educated. Father Richard had dreamed of establishing a
seminary and common and vocational schools for the Indians and the whites. He had even attempted to
start such schools, but they failed. He had appealed to Congress, the President and the Governor and
Judges for financial support, but the French inhabitants, who represented the majority, were not interested.
In 1816, the Reverend John Monteith, a native of Pennsylvania and a graduate of Princeton Seminary,
where he had prepared for the ministry and for a teaching career, came to Detroit at the call of a committee
of citizens to conduct non-denominational Protestant services and hopefully to teach school. Monteith and
Father Richard were kindred spirits. Their interest in education formed a strong bond, and they along with
Woodward and others formed a single-minded group that was determined. On June 20, 1817, Monteith
wrote in his diary that "Judge Woodward invites me to an interview on the subject of a University."
Pressure was applied to the public. Even the French began to show interest, undoubtedly inspired by Father
Richard, who posted a notice in the August 8, 1817, Gazette imploring them to educate their children so that
the latter could compete for jobs.
From mid-August to late September, Governor Cass left Detroit to attend to official business. Secretary
Woodbridge took over as acting governor in his absence. Before Cass's departure, an understanding was
reached and arrangements made for some important legislation to establish a university in Michigan
Territory. A call was issued for a meeting of the legislative board on August 26. Woodward was assigned the
task of drafting the legislation. His System of Universal Science would provide the basis.
He entitled the legislation, "An act to establish the catholepistemiad, or university of Michigania."
Acting Governor Woodbridge and Judges Woodward and Griffin in signing the university act of August 26,
1817, presented to the pioneer community of Michigan a framework for an educational system which was far
ahead of anything then existing in the United States or anywhere. As James B. Angell, president of the
University of Michigan pointed out nearly three quarters of a century after the act of 1817 was adopted: "In
the development of our strictly university work, we have yet hardly been able to realize the ideal of the
eccentric but gifted man who framed the project of the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania."
The act itself described a solid well-conceived structure. It established the form and functional processes of
the Catholepistemiad, including the broad instruction that it would offer. Thirteen departments were
provided. They were to be known individually as didaxia, which covered just about all of human knowledge.
The governing body was to be the didactors, or professors, and the President was to be a didactor. Their
authority was extensive; they were an administrative body with power to name faculty members and carry
out the executive functions of the university. General taxes were to be increased fifteen percent and four
lotteries were to provide immediate funds. An appeal also was made for private contributions, to which the
citizens of Detroit generously responded by raising three thousand dollars. Woodward's act contemplated a
complete educational system. The university was to be the nucleus, and subordinate to it were to be
colleges, academies, schools, libraries, museums, athenaeums, botanical gardens and "other useful literary
and scientific institutions consonant with the laws of the United States and of Michigan." At the head of these
various subdivisions were to be whatever directors, visitors, curators, librarians, instructors and "instuctrixes"
the president and didactors might find necessary. Use of the term "instructrixes" implies that Woodward
envisioned the institution to be coeducational. See Appendix A for a list of the didaxia.
Immediately following the adoption of the act creating the Catholepistemiad, Montieth was appointed
president and given seven of the didaxiim; Father Richard was made vice president with six didaxiim.
175
When the act was adopted, an appropriation of $180 was made to acquire a building lot and "in aid of the
resources for constructing buildings for use of the University." A major stimulant was given to the cause by
five contributors. See Appendix B for a list of the initial contributors.
On September 24, Woodward presided at ceremonies for laying the cornerstone of a university building.
This was to be a two-story structure on Bates Street, around the corner from St. Anne's Church. See
Appendix C for a sketch of the first university building.
(Prior to Michigan becoming a state in 1837, an act specifying a system of public education and a university
was drafted by General Isaac Edwin Crary and Reverend John D. Pierce, modeled after the first successful
system of public education in Europe; namely, in Prussia instituted by Frederick the Great, a Freemason!
See the histories in references 5 and 6)
There was general agitation for government reform, and particularly for representation in Congress. Cass
was able to prevail upon Congress for the election of a representative, who would relieve Cass of the
necessity of leaving his post to go to Washington. Woodward, realizing that the present form of government
was likely to be changed, announced his candidacy for the office of representative. Cass, however, had his
own choice, which was Woodbridge, his Secretary and close friend. Charges were levied against Woodward
which were untrue, but injury had been done. The presence of many new Yankees who were unacquainted
with Woodward spelled his doom and he lost the election in September,1819. When Woodbridge resigned
after one session of Congress, Woodward again sought the office, but was narrowly defeated by similar
tactics. He ran again in 1821, and lost again.
In 1823, Congress agreed to expand the number of judges by one and give him jurisdiction over the
Northern district of the Territory. In August, 1823, there was a mild epidemic of typhus fever in Detroit, and
Woodward became ill just before the opening of the court in September. His doctor prescribed draughts of
"aether, wine, brandy, spirits, opium and mercury." Well saturated with these, Woodward started for the
Council House in his gig.
Too weak to walk, he had to be assisted to the bench and there, publicly, he dosed himself again. This was
all his foes needed. Letters, accompanied by affidavits, were speeded to Washington, charging the chief
justice with drunkenness in court. On January 20, 1824, President Monroe completed his list of
appointments to the Michigan court, and Woodward's name was among them; however, the charges of
intemperance arrived at the White House and Monroe struck Woodward's name and substituted John Hunt,
who had traveled all the way to Washington to present the charges in person. The senate gave swift
approval to the revised nominations. When the news reached Detroit two weeks later, Woodward was
flabbergasted. He thought his only hope for future appointments lay in clearing his name.
He began to dispose of his property and pack his belongings. Watching his preparations for departure,
Detroit suddenly had an attack of conscience. They threw a lavish party where Woodward's past exploits
were lauded, and his detractors apologized profusely for their actions. Woodward replied quietly and with
dignity. A few days later he announced his intention of going to Washington and met with his debtors.
Upon his arrival in Washington, he discovered that the President was not hostile to him, and if he could clear
his name of charges of intemperance, the President would give him another appointment. This was done via
letters from Cass and other affidavits, and President Monroe on August 26, 1824, appointed him to a
judgeship in the new Territory of Florida.
Woodward was welcomed and served nearly three years, and he died on June 12, 1827, at the age of fiftytwo. His grave is unknown.
If the Masons of Michigan are looking for someone to emulate, they need look no further than Augustus
Woodward. He continually gave of himself to the betterment of others, he applied himself to the attainment
of useful knowledge and he applied that knowledge to his duties to God, his neighbor and himself, never
sitting down contented when there were others in need. He was an idealist, who gave to all of us the best
that he had.
APPENDIX A. The didaxia for the Catheloepistemiad or the University of Michigania
Thirteen didaxiim were specified. Today these would be colleges or departments. At the head of the list was
a chair of catholepistemia, or universal science. The special concern of its didactor would be "the
interrelation and correlated development of all departments of learning." This man was to be President of the
University. Of the twelve remaining didaxiim, Woodward provided designations drawn from his Universal
Science.
The didaxiim other than catholepistemia were:
1.
2.
3.
Anthropoglossica, or literature, including all subjects relating to speech, composition and grammar.
Mathematica, or mathematics in all its branches
Physiognostica, or natural history and science.
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4.
Physiosophica, or natural philosophy
5.
Astronomia or astronomy
6.
Chymia, or chemistry
7.
Latrica, or medicine and its related sciences
8.
Oeconomica, which included agriculture, manual and fine arts, education and political economy
9.
Ethica, or philosophy, law and political science
10. Polemitactia, or military science
11. Diegetica, or historical sciences
12. Ennoeica, or intellectual sciences "relative to the minds of animals, to the human mind, to spiritual
existences, to the Diety and to Religion." The occupant of this chair was to be the University's vicepresident.
APPENDIX B. A list of the initial contributors7 to the Catheloepistemiad
On September 19, the newly established Detroit Gazette listed the first five contributors, stating:
"We congratulate our fellow citizens on the rapid and liberal manner in which the Subscriptions List for the
University has filled. We are informed that considerably upward of a thousand dollars was obtained the first
day. The buildings have already commenced, and the first hall is expected to be completed the present
autumn.
Subscription List in Aid of the University of Michigania:
No. 1 William Woodbridge, Secretary of Michigan with the authority of Governor, in behalf of said Territory
180.00
No. 2 Sylvester Day, Worshipful Master of Zion Lodge, No. 62, in behalf of the Lodge and by order of the
same . . .
$ 250.00
No. 3 William Woodbridge, for himself fifty dollars per annum for four years . . . $ 200.00
No. 4 James Conner, sixty dollars per ann. for three years . . .
$ 180.00
No. 5 James Abbott, twenty-five dollars per ann. for ten years . . .
$ 250.00.
Total
$1,060.00"
Of the first five contributors, three, including the two largest were Masonic; namely, Zion Lodge, James
Abbott, PM, and James Connor.
On October 10, the Detroit Gazette published the names and contributions of another thirty subscribers.
The amount on this occasion totaled $1,941. One other subscription was from Judge Woodward for $200.
Of the original thirty-five subscriptions totaling $3001.00, some $2100.00 (over two-thirds) came from
Zion Lodge and its members.
The minutes of the Lodge show that an emergency meeting was held September 15, 1817 "… to take into
consideration the propriety of subscribing, as a Lodge, in aid of the University of Michigan…."
The minutes then state:
"On motion, RESOLVED, that the Worshipful Master be authorized to subscribe, in behalf of the lodge
$250, in aid of the University of Michigan, payable in the sum of $50 per annum.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the said sum of $250 be subscribed as above, to be paid out of the sum
appropriated by the lodge for refreshments, and that refreshments be dispensed with until the same is fully
paid."
The motion passed by unanimous vote of the lodge. Zion's records4 show that Brother Woodward was
present that evening. (It is of interest to note that Zion Lodge4 contracted to lease the top floor of the new
university building if it would be completed in two years.)
A comparison of the list of additional individual subscribers with the records of Zion Lodge shows that
the following individual subscribers were members of Zion Lodge:
James Conner (Connor)
James Abbott
Abraham Edwards
Benjamin Stead
Philip Lecuyer
Samuel T. Davenport
Conrad Ten Eyck
Abraham Wendell
John Anderson
Thomas Rowland
Solomon Sibley
George McDougall
Oliver Williams
Benjamin Woodworth
John P. Sheldon
Augustus B. Woodward
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_Sibley
Solomon Sibley, b. 7 Oct 1769; d. 4 Apr 1846, was a politician and jurist in the Michigan Territory. He was born in Sutton, MA, and
after completing preparatory studies, he graduated from Rhode Island College (now Brown University) at Providence in 1794. He
177
studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1795 and began a practice in Marietta, Ohio, which was then part of the Northwest Territory.
He soon moved to Cincinnati and then moved again to Detroit in 1797, shortly after the British handed over the fort in 1796. When
he arrived, Sibley was one of only two lawyers in Detroit. Being a pioneer lawyer was a physically challenging profession, often
requiring long travel by horseback through wilderness over Indian trails in all types of weather to attend the territorial courts in
Cincinnati, Marietta, or Chillicothe, Ohio.
In December, 1798, Detroit elected a delegate to the legislature of the Northwest Territory. This, the first election in Michigan under
United States control, was held in a Detroit tavern. Although Sibley was elected, his opponent, James May, claimed he had won by
providing liquor for the voters. Despite the protestation, Sibley represented Wayne County in the first legislature of the Northwest
Territory, commencing his term in January 1799.
Sibley was instrumental in passing the legislation in 1802 by which Detroit was incorporated as a town. Sibley was elected first as
Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and then under the first city charter of 1806 as the first mayor of Detroit. During the War of 1812,
Sibley commanded a company of riflemen in defense of Detroit, though the British attack was successful and William Hull
surrendered the fort. After the war, Sibley served as Auditor of Public Accounts for the Michigan Territory from 1814 to 1817.
Sibley was appointed as the first US Attorney for the Michigan Territory by President James Madison, serving from 1815 to 1823.
When William Woodbridge resigned on 9 Aug 1820 as territorial Delegate to the 16th US Congress, Sibley was elected to fill the
vacancy. Sibley won re-election to the 17 Congress, serving in total from 20 Nov 1820 to 3 Mar 1823. Sibley continued to serve as
U.S. Attorney, and thus held concurrent legislative and executive positions. During this period, Sibley was also commissioned, along
with Lewis Cass, to negotiate the 29 Aug 1821 Treaty of Chicago with the Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Chippewa, in which the tribes
ceded most of their territory south of the Grand River.
Sibley was not a candidate for re-election to Congress in 1822. In 1824, he was appointed as one of three justices on the Michigan
Territorial Supreme Court by President Monroe, becoming the sixth Territorial Justice. From 1827 until 1837, when he had to resign
due to deafness, Sibley was Chief Justice of the court.
Sibley married Sarah Whipple Sproat Sibley (1782-1851), the only daughter of Colonel Ebenezer Sproat, a veteran of the
Revolutionary War. They had nine children, one of whom, Henry Hasting Sibley, was a territorial delegate from Wisconsin, 18481849 and from Minnesota, 1849-1853 and Governor of Minnesota, 1858-1860. Another child, Catherine Whipple Sibley, married
Charles Christopher Trowbridge, Mayor of Detroit in 1834 and unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Michigan in 1837.
Sibley died in Detroit and is interred in Elmwood Cemetery there. Upon his death,
many members of the Bar wore a badge of mourning for 30 days.
http://www.historydetroit.com/people/solomon_sibley.asp
Solomon Sibley
Solomon Sibley was born on October 7, 1769 in Sutton, Massachusetts. He came
to Detroit soon after the fort was handed over to the Americans in 1796. In
October of 1802, Sibley married Sarah Whipple Sproat. Together they had eight
children:
Ebenezer Sproat, Katherine Whipple, Henry Hastings, Augusta, Mary, Alexander
Hamilton, Sarah Alexandrine, and Frederic Baker.
In January of 1779, Sibley was elected to the General Assembly of the Northwest
Territory as a representative of Wayne County. In the second election after Detroit
was incorporated as a town, by the Act of 1802 which he helped pass, Sibley was
elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees. In 1806, he became the first Mayor of
the TOWN of Detroit. From 1814 to 1817, Sibley was Auditor of the Territory.
From 1815 to 1823, he was a US attorney. From 1821 to 1823, he was a
Michigan Delegate in Congress. From 1823 to 1837, Sibley was a Supreme Court
Justice of the Territory.
Sibley died in Detroit on April 4, 1846.
178
Thom's Painting8 Depicting the Meeting of Zion Lodge on Sept. 15, 1817
In addition, Oliver W. Miller, subscriber of $100, was a member of United Brothers Lodge of New York and
had visited Zion in December, 1807. Of the 36 known contributors, at least half of the subscribers, including the
subscription by the lodge, were from Masonic sources.
APPENDIX C. Sketch of the first building for public education in Michigan
The first university building was constructed in Detroit on Bates Street near the corner of
Congress Street. It was razed in 1859.
The first seal was adopted in 1817, but probably never used.
A Sketch of the University Building on Bates Street from W. B. Shaw5
Late in 1818, the University building was still incomplete because many of the pledges were late,
so that it was unprepared for cold weather or to attempt school and library functions. In "The First Annual Report of
the University of Michigan," prepared on November 19, 1818 by Register John L. Whiting, Past Master of Zion
Lodge, a founder of the Grand Lodge and its first Grand Secretary, Montieth reported on the institution's
progress during the first year. Particular attention was paid to financial matters related to the buildings construction.
He emphasized that the faculty had especially sought to provide the framework for elementary schools in Detroit,
Monroe and Michimilimackinac, in addition to Academy (High School) and College facilities. Unfortunately, there were
no qualified university students, so attention had first to be directed toward elementary and high school facilities.
In "A Statistical Abstract of Detroit" published on January 29, 1819, we learn that residing in Detroit were some 1110
persons, 1,040 white and 70 "free people of color", 142 dwelling houses and 131 stores, mechanics shops, public
buildings, etc. Among the public buildings listed was "The Academy - built of Brick, two stories in height, 50 feet in
length and 24 in breadth." The building was the first building of the new University of Michigan and housed the
Classical Academy and Primary School, the first instructional units of a proposed territory-wide educational system.
The building remained in use as a school building until 1858, when it was torn down.
References
1. Ten Brook, Andrew, American State Universities, Their Origin and Progress, Robert Clarke & Co, Cincinnati 1875.
2. Woodford, Frank B., Mr. Jefferson's Disciple: A Life of Justice Woodward, Michigan State College Press, East
Lansing, MI 1953
179
3. Barrett, Jay A., Evolution of the Ordinance of 1787 with an Account of the Earlier Plans for the Government of the
Northwest Territory, G. P. Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, New York 1891; Taylor, Robert M. Jr., ed., The
Northwest Ordinance 1787, A Bicentennial Handbook, Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, IN 1987
4. These dates and information were obtained by the author from the bound minute book of Zion Lodge No. 1 by
courtesy of the current Secretary of Zion Lodge, Arshag Daiyan, PM.
5. Shaw, Wilfred, The University of Michigan, Harcourt, Brace and Howe, New York 1920. For the sketch, see
Sagendorph, Kent, Michigan, The Story of the University, E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., New York 1948, page 41.
6. Hinsdale, Burke A., History of the University of Michigan, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 1906
7. Smith, J. Fairbairn, and Fey, Charles, History of Freemasonry in Michigan, The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge
Free and Accepted Masons of Michigan, Fort Worth, TX 1963
8. The original of this painting (in color) by Robert Thom (commissioned in 1967) is at the Bentley Historical Library,
1150 Beal Ave., North Campus, University of Michigan. The three men standing in front of the Worshipful Master of
Zion Lodge (Sylvester Day, with the hat) are from left to right: Father Gabriel Richard, Rev. John Monteith, and Judge
Augustus Woodward. (For the benefit of the Masons, you will note that the lodge has not yet opened: the square and
compasses are separated, the tapers are not lit, and the tyler's door is open.)
Robert Thom’s Historic Painting Depicts Zion Lodge’s Action on September 15, 1817
to found University of Michigan.
http://www.bonisteelml.org/Robert_Thom_painting.htm
Masonry makes history. Supplies seed money to build U of M’s 1st hall. Grand Lodge commissions Robert Thom,
renowned painter of history. World’s greatest recreator of history paints Zion Lodge scene of 15 Sep 1817.
180
Photo by Mitchell Ozog, 2002
The formal presentation of Robert Thom’s painting of Masonry’s role in the founding of the University of Michigan was
made to the University by the Masonic Foundation of the Grand Lodge, F. & A.M. of Michigan, Sunday, November
26, 1967 in the Rackham Building at Ann Arbor. Past Grand Master Roscoe O. Bonisteel was Master of Ceremonies.
Farmer U of M President Harlan Hatcher formally accepted it on behalf of the University.
The painting depicts the scene in Zion Lodge No. 1 on the night of September 15, 1817, when the Lodge met in an
emergent session for the purpose of making the first donation to the University. Painstaking research and a long and
difficult search for authentic likenesses of the early 19th century Freemasons who were the first donors to the state’s
great University were an integral part of the artist’s preparation for this recreation of the historic scene.
The large figures in the foreground left to right, are: Worshipful Master Sylvester Day, an officer in the U.S. Army
Medical Corps; Father Gabriel Richard, Roman Catholic Priest; John Monteith, Presbyterian Minister; and Judge
Augustus Brevoort Woodward, the prime and driving force behind the birth of the University. Seated at the desk is
Treasurer Abraham Edwards, and standing with his hand on the desk is Henry Jackson Hunt, Mayor of Detroit; and
next to him is Senior Deacon pro tem, Austin E. Wing. In the doorway at the back is Ebenezer Reed, Tiler pro tem,
publisher of the Detroit Gazette, first Michigan daily, which was founded in the same year that the University of
Michigan had its birth. Other figures in the background, at the extreme left, seated, Judge James Abbott; standing at
the back, Army Lieutenant Edmund Kirby, who was the first High Priest under the dispensation of Michigan’s first
Royal Arch Chapter, Monroe No. 1, and who was the son of the first General Grand High Priest of the General Grand
chapter, Ephraim Kirby of Rhode Island’ a fellow Army Lieutenant, Thomas Hunt; and seated between the two military
men, at the rear, George McDougall. At the other side of the door are Junior Deacon Thomas Rowland (seated); and
Senior Warden Robert Irwin. Other background figures are not identified, but represent lodge members of the day.
A supplementary perspective pertaining to the subject at hand . . .
http://books.google.com/books?id=EwdKAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA316&lpg=PA316&dq=%22zion+lodge+no.+1%22&source=bl&ots=3FwDtgFjL&sig=uqe4HgsoJnDsgTSzDjsixMJJhJ0&hl=en&ei=uudhSoWKEpPulAeOzfX9BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10
page 317.
Michigan. — April 27, 1764, George Harrison, Provincial Grand Master of New York, granted a warrant to open a
lodge at Detroit, to be known as Zion Lodge, No. 1, to a number of brethren belonging to the 6oth Royal American
Regiment. It was intended to be a Military lodge; but evidently became local, for the warrant was used long after the
regiment left. Its records are supposed to have been destroyed in the fire that consumed Detroit in 1805. It is not
known how long the lodge continued active, nor can anything connected with its history be learned. The original
warrant, however, is in the archives of the Grand Lodge of New York.
Warrants were issued by the Grand Lodge of England (Moderns) for two lodges at Detroit, No. 289, in 1773, and No.
320, in 1783, also for St. John's Lodge, No. 373, at Mackinaw in 1785. These were purely " Military lodges," having
been issued to British regiments; and when England, in 1796, surrendered Michigan soil to the United States, the
warrants went with the regiments.
Two years prior to this date, September 7, 1794, a warrant was issued by the Provincial Grand Lodge of Canada for
Zion Lodge, No. 1o. Whether this was a revival of the Zion Lodge, No. 1, of 1764, or an amalgamation with it, is not
known. In 1806 the members applied to the Provincial Grand Lodge of New York for a warrant, at the same time
surrendering the original warrant received in 1764, but not the one received from the Canadian Grand Lodge. The
warrant was granted September 3, 1806, under the original name and number, Zion Lodge, No. 1.
The records of this lodge have fortunately been preserved; and from them it is learned that, in consequence of the
capture of Detroit by the British forces, August 16, 1812, it was resolved to close the lodge until September 12th; but
at that date, finding that the military conflict continued longer than was anticipated, it was agreed that the charter,
jewels, and implements of the lodge should be deposited with a certain brother for safe keeping, and the lodge then
adjourned for one year. Owing to the stirring events of the war in the neighborhood, the lodge did not resume work
until some time after the conclusion of peace, when, the charter having lapsed, application was made to the Grand
Lodge of New York for its renewal. This request was granted, but the lodge was to be known in future as Zion Lodge,
No. 62; and on April 15, 1816, Brother General Lewis Cass, formerly of Ohio, but now governor of the Territory of
Michigan, was elected its Master. In 1819, the original warrant of 1764 having been found, its number was changed
by the Grand Lodge of New York from No. 62 to No. 3, because it was regarded as the third lodge in point of date on
the Registry of the Grand Lodge of New York.
Until the year 1821, this lodge was the sole representative of Freemasonry on the soil of Michigan. On September 5th
of that year the Grand Lodge of New York granted a warrant for Detroit Lodge, No. 337. Three other lodges were
soon after organized in the Territory by the same authority, as follows : Oakland Lodge, No. 343, at Pontiac, Oakland
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County, March 7, 1822 ; Menominee, No. 374, in the town of Green Bay (now in Wisconsin), September 1, 1824; and
Monroe Lodge, No. 375, in Monroe, December 1, 1824.
On June 24, 1826, these four lodges, all in the Territory, except Oakland, No. 343, met in convention in the city of
Detroit for the purpose of forming a Grand Lodge. A constitution was agreed upon, and at an adjourned meeting held
July 31st, Grand Officers were elected, Brother Lewis Cass being elected Grand Master.
There are ho minutes of this body known to exist; the only knowledge there is regarding its brief career has been
derived from the records and documents in the possession of the Grand Lodge of New York.
The new Grand Lodge was incorporated by an act of the Territorial Council of Michigan, April 27, 1827, and four new
lodges were organized under its authority, viz.: Stony Creek, Western Star, St. Cloud, and Friendship. As stated, little
of the doings of this body are known, but in a letter written by four brethren who had been connected with it, to the
Grand Lodge of New York, January 10, 1844, it is said that, sometime in 1829, because of the political bitterness and
private animosity of the Anti-Masons of that day, a regular meeting of the Grand Lodge was held in which a resolution
was passed to suspend labor for the time being, and recommending the subordinate lodges to do the same. All the
subordinate lodges in the Territory, except Stony Creek, complied with the advice of the Grand Lodge. For eleven
years, with the exception of this one lodge, Masonic silence prevailed in this jurisdiction, and until the flood of political
Anti-Masonry had spent its fury.
It was not until Zion, Detroit, and Oakland Lodges applied to the Grand Lodge of New York for warrants, which were
granted, June 8, 1844, that the attempts to form a Grand Lodge were successful. Two years prior to this, the brethren
at Niles, Berrien County, received a charter for St. Joseph Lodge, No. 93; the legal representatives of these four
assembled in convention at Detroit, September 17,1844, adopted a constitution, and elected Grand Officers. And
thus was organized the present Grand Lodge of Michigan. Recognition was at once and cordially extended to it by all
the Grand Lodges in the country. The illegal Grand body which had been acting during the four years was dissolved,
and all its property transferred to the new Grand Lodge, which has since had a most prosperous existence.
Three of the lodges forming the Grand Lodge are existing, viz.: Zion, No. 1; Detroit, No. 2 ; St. Joseph Valley, No. 3.
The Grand Lodge owns no building or temple in its own right, but many of its lodges own halls or temples.
The present Grand Lodge was incorporated April 2, 1864, but the incorporation of subordinate lodges is forbidden. It
is a movable Grand Lodge, holding its communications at different places. The office of the Grand Secretary is
located at Grand Rapids.
The Masonic Home Association of Michigan was formed a few years since, for the purpose of providing a home for
indigent Master Masons, their widows and orphans. The work has been carried on by voluntary contributions from the
various Masonic bodies in Michigan, and from members and friends of the Fraternity. The Grand Lodge voted $3000
to the Association, but assumes no responsibility for its control or management. The corner-stone was laid by the
Grand Lodge, May 1, 1889. The site selected contains thirty-three acres of land within two miles of the city of Grand
Rapids, Michigan, and within easy access to several railroads. The building is now completed, and was dedicated,
January 28, 1891. It will have accommodations for one hundred inmates (that is, for Michigan Masons, their widows
and orphans): its cost, including grounds, was $80,000.
The below engraving, while not directly related to the history of the Grand Lodge New York’s participation in the Grand Lodge of
Michigan is simply too well drawn not to include in this present work.
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Masonic Home, Grand Rapids, Michigan
The corner-stone was laid by the Grand Lodge of Michigan, May 1, 1889.
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