On this day, Dutch immigrants fleeing religious persecution and economic distress followed their leader Rev. Albertus Van Raalte to West Michigan and founded Holland.
Sources :
Zlati Meyer, “City of Holland Founded by Dutch”, Detroit Free Press, February 3, 2013.
George Armstrong Custer, the famous Army general who grew up in Monroe, married Monroe native Elizabeth Clift Bacon on February 9, 1864.
Bacon, known as Libbie, was the only surviving daughter of an important local judge who initially opposed the marriage, according to the book “Elizabeth Bacon Custer and the Making of a Myth” by Shirley Leckie. The couple had met at a party in November 1862.
Once married, Elizabeth Custer tried when possible to stay with her husband during encampments and posts. After she was widowed at age 34, she worked tirelessly to polish her husband’s posthumous reputation. Her constant portrayal of him as a war hero and national martyr angered his detractors, yet many reserved their criticism of him until after her death in 1933.
For the full article, see Zlati Meyer, “This week in Michigan history: George Custer marries Monroe native Elizabeth Bacon”, Detroit Free Press, February 9, 2014.
Bill Loomis, “Custer and Michigan: A mutual love affair”, Detroit News, March 6, 2016.
February 9, 1864
The Great Escape, American Civil War era.
In one of the Civil War’s great prison escapes, William McCreery of Flint was one of many Union officers who tunneled their way out of Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. McCreery, who entered service in May 1861 as a sergeant in the Second Michigan Infantry, and later served as a Lieutenant Colonel commanding the 21st Michigan Infantry.
He fought with valor and was serious wounded at Williamsburg, Virginia, and at Chickamauga. In the latter battle, he was captured by the Confederates and sent to the rebel prison in Richmond.
After his escape in 1864, he eventually resigned his commission on account of the many wounds he received during the war.
The rest of the story.
Born in Mt. Morris, New York, in Aug 27, 1826(?), McCreer moved to Genesee County with his parents in 1839.
He was admitted to the bar of Genesee county in 1859 and practiced law until the breaking out of the Civil War.
Returning to Flint after serving in the military, McCreery entered the general merchandising business with F. W. Judd and also participated in the lumber industry with a sawmill on the banks of the Flint River just south of the Saginaw Road bridge.
In the Grant administration, he became the district collector of internal revenue.
He was involved in the Flint City Water Works Company as its president and as an original stockholder.
He also invested in the Grand Trunk Railway and facilitated a Flint-Lansing extension.
He was elected as the ninth mayor of the City of Flint in 1865 serving two 1-year terms.
Elected Michigan State Treasurer in 1875 serving until 1878.
He served as a member of the state board of agriculture for seven years.
Delegate to Republican National Convention from Michigan, 1888.
Appointed in 1890 as U.S. Consul in Valparaiso, Chile under the Harrison administration.
He helped organize and served as the first director of First National Bank of Flint.
McCreery died on December 9, 1896 in Flint, Michigan and was laid to rest at Glenwood Cemetery, Flint, Michigan.
Sources :
Michigan Historical Calendar courtesy of Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University.
February 9, 1934 was the coldest day ever recorded in Michigan history, according to the National Weather Service. It was 51 degrees below in Vanderbilt in Otsego County.
For the full article, see Zlati Meyer, “You haven’t lived here until… you complain about Michigan’s winters”, Detroit Free Press, February 9, 2014.
Pictured here is the last pre-war Packard to come off the line.
On February 9, 1942, production of civilian automobiles was halted across all manufacturers in Detroit, as the city shifted to wartime production and making Detroit the “Arsenal of Democracy.”
Sources :
Detroit Historical Society Facebook Page
Zlati Meyer, “Car manufacturing stopped for WWII munitions production”, Detroit Free Press, Feb. 7, 2015.
On February 10, 1763, England and France formally ended the French and Indian War with the Treaty of Paris, which officially transferred Michigan from French to British rule. By that time, English troops had already overtaken French forts at Detroit, Michilimackinac and St. Joseph and begun the shift from fur trades and forestlands to agricultural settlements.
Sources:
Michigan Every Day
Treaty of Paris, 1763, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian.
The Detroit Symphony became the first orchestra to have a concert broadcast on the radio on this day in 1922. From 1934 to 1942, the orchestra performed for millions across the country as the official orchestra of The Ford Sunday Evening Hour (later the Ford Symphony Hour) national radio show..
Sources :
Michigan History, January/February 2013.
On February 10, 1923, the first annual meeting of the Detroit Historical Society was held, featuring a discussion of the Underground Railroad. Today, the Detroit Historical Museum features a permanent exhibit on the same topic.
Sources :
Detroit Historical Society Facebook Page
See the Detroit Historical Museum’s Doorway to Freedom – Detroit and the Underground Railroad exhibit.
In 1962, who announced his ultimately successful candidacy for governor of Michigan? Republican George Romney, father of Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney.
Source : Today’s Test, Detroit Free Press, February 10, 2012.
President Barack Obama held up the city of Marquette and Northern Michigan University (NMU) today as examples of how the United States can meet his State of the Union goal of having wireless Internet available to 98 percent of the country.
For more information, visit Obama Plugs Wired Marquette, Inside MIRS Today, February 10, 2011. Access restricted to the MSU community and other MIRS subscribers.