J
ohn R. Williams became Detroit’s first mayor on April 4, 1825.
The Detroit native and slave owner won with 102 votes, compared with the 11 votes cast for all his opponents together.
Williams, a onetime trade agent whose native language was French, had an impressive resume — War of 1812 officer, justice of the county court, University of Michigan and Detroit Board of Education trustee and delegate to Michigan’s first constitutional convention, according to the Detroit Almanac.
He used his middle initial to distinguish himself from another political figure at the time named John Williams.
In 1823, John R. Williams had hoped to represent the Michigan Territory in Congress and, as a well-connected Catholic in a Catholic stronghold, he thought he had the election sewn up — until Father Gabriel Richard pulled off a win. He knew he couldn’t out-Catholic a priest, so he argued that the French-born father wasn’t an American citizen, which made him ineligible to run. Richard successfully applied for citizenship and went on to win the election.
Williams left the church as a result, and when he died in 1854, he was buried in the Protestant Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.
Sources :
John R. Williams wikipedia entry
Zlati Meyer, “This Week in Michigan History, Detroit Free Press, March 31, 2013.
Daughter of a French-Canadian Fur trader and an Ottawa mother, Madeleine was only 3 months old when her father died in 1780. She was raised in an Ottawa village on the Grand River among her mother’s people. Here, she must have been a person of some status as her grand father was Chief Kewinoquot. She married Joseph LaFramboise and had her daughter Josette by the time she was 15 years old. Josette was baptised in 1799 at St. Anne’s of Mackinac and was the first entry in the church’s register. Madeleine was a great asset to her husband in the fur trade. In addition to all the languages she spoke, she knew the fur trade and assisted him in negotiations. In 1804, her husband was killed by an Indian while they were at their trading post near where Lowell is today. At this point Magdeleine gathered up her winter furs and took her husband’s body to Mackinac Island.
For the next 14 years, Madame LaFramboise, as she was known by, continued a difficult yet romantic existence. She wintered in the Grand River Valley collecting her furs from trappers and then in the late spring she supervised the transportation of the furs to Mackinac Island. She amassed a great fortune and built a very fine home on Mackinac Island. She was able to provide a Montreal education for her children, Josette born 1795 and Joseph born 1804. She was so successful, that John Jacob Astor decided to quit competing with her, and, in 1818 he bought her out. She was able to live in great comfort for the rest of her life.
In 1816, her accomplished and educated daughter, Josette married Benjamin K. Pierce, commandant of the fort and brother to the future president of the United States. Their marriage was the event of the summer and took place at the home of Madame LaFramboise’s dear friends, the Mitchells. The wedding guests wore their finest silks and satins while Madame LaFramboise, Therese Schindler, Josette’s aunt, and Elizabeth Mitchell wore their best traditional regalia. Josette and Benjamin, however, were met with tragedy and their marrage was brief. Josette bore Benjamin 2 children, Josette Harriet and Benjamin. Only four years after their marriage, Josette and her infant son died. Benjamin left Harriet on the Island in the care of her grandmother.
After the death of her beloved daughter and grandson, Madeleine determined to teach herself to read and write. Her home was at times a school, used for religious purposes and at times a welcome haven for passing notables. In her parlor, Madeleine entertained historical figures such as Alexis de Tocqueville, John and Juliette Kinzie, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft as well as her own native family members.
She was fond of traveling, perhaps because of her years in the fur trade, and she frequently visited her son, who became successful in business, in Montreal. In 1827 she donated a large portion of her property for the building of a catholic church with the condition that she be buried under the altar.
Madeleine LaFramboise died on April 4, 1846 and was buried under the church alter along side her daughter Josette. Her will gave her granddaughter, Harriet, her stately home and provided amply for her son and her dear friend Agatha Biddle. During the last half of the 20th century, the tombs were moved from beneath the church to a garden on the grounds to make way for renovations. It is still there today. Her lovely home has been expanded and is now a gracious hotel for Mackinac Island visitors ( Harbour View Inn ), much as it was in her day.
More notes:
The historical marker for Joseph and Madeleine La Framboise’s trading post on the Grand River is located in Stoney Lakeside Park in Lowell, though no one knows where, exactly, the trading post sat. According to a 2011 article in the Grand Rapids Press, staff from the Lowell Area Historical Museum decided that the post’s most likely location was on the Grand River’s north bank, between Stoney Lakeside Park and Cumberland Avenue.
Source and additional information :
Theresa L. Weller, Madeleine LaFramboise RootsWeb entry. The entry was originally written for an exhibit created by the Michiliackimackinac Historical Society in St. Ignace, Michigan and was exhibited during the summer of 2014 at The Stuart House on the Island.
Grand Rapids History Podcast, March 3, 2010.
Madeleine LaFramboise Wikipedia Entry
Magdelaine LaFramboise : the first lady of Mackinac Island / Keith R. Widder. Available in the MSU Library Special Collections.
Woman doing it for herself: The story of Madeline La Framboise , My Michigan Blog by Tonya Blust, October 8, 2013.
Old Sam was born April 4th, 1849 at the Abraham C. Fisk Breeding Stables in Coldwater Michigan. Before the Civil War, Old Sam was used to pull a street car back and forth from the train depot to the Southern Michigan Hotel in Coldwater. This street car carried passengers who needed transportation to and from the hotel. Sam was stabled behind the hotel and well aquainted with Cyrus Orlando Loomis whose father managed the hotel.
Also, long before the Civil War, an artillery company, recognised as part of the state militia, existed in Coldwater. At the beginning of the war, its services were tendered to Governor Austin Blair. This became the first volunteer artillery of Michigan and would later become known as the famous “Loomis Battery”. Cyrus Orlando Loomis was soon selected as its commander. He was first commissioned as Captain and later, a General.
Since Old Sam was well-disciplined and used to the loud noises of the whistling, bell-ringing and chugging locomotive, Loomis had requested that he become part of his artillery. O.B. Clark honored the request and Old Sam was donated to be used as one of the 200 horses. It was, in fact, at this time that Old Sam acquired that nickname, given to him by Loomis who had become quite attached to him. Old Sam was twelve years old, whereas most war horses were aged three to five years old.
What a drastic change in Old Sam’s mode of living. The Loomis Battery was mustered in at Coldwater, Michigan on May 28th, 1861. Old Sam was assigned to the position of near wheel horse on Gun #1. The wheel horse’s job was to rein in the rest of the team when commanded by the driver of the caisson and the cannon. Sam served in this position almost without the loss of one day, until the end of the war. For the next four years Old Sam would be a valuable asset to the nationally famous Loomis First Light Artillery Battery.
After rigorous training at Fort Wayne in Detroit Michigan, the horses were sent to the battle fields of the Civil War. After much drill, many days of toilsome marching, and a few skirmishes, Old Sam recieved his first real baptism of fire at the Battle of Rich Mountain. However, this would be nothing compared to what he was to experience during the four long years that would follow.
~
The Loomis Battery was involved in at least twelve battles,including those at Perryville, Kentucky and Stone River and Hoover’s Gap in Tennessee. At Perryville some thirty three of Old Sam’s mates had been left on the field, killed in action. Another forty of his comrades in harness had made their last stand at Stone River. These were followed by Chickamauga, the hottest and bloodiest battle their battery encountered. The battle of Chickamauga was almost total annihilation. More than fifty horses, five guns and many men were lost. Old Sam was the only horse to get his gun back to a position of safety.
From the first, Old Sam seemed to lead a charmed life. The hardships and fatigue of the marches, the diseases and the lack of foliage in the camps took an even greater toll on his comrades than the shock and shell of battle. In the grinding march to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where the battery covered the last four miles in an unbelieveable twenty minutes, Old Sam reached the crest of Baker’s Hill first and swung his gun into position.
As the war progressed, Sam became a favorite of the battery men. The hard tack and sow belly shared with him from their rations probably saved him from the fate of his team mates. When the Loomis Battery was mustered out of service on July 28th, 1865 at Jackson, Michigan, Sam was the only survivor of the 200 horses assigned the the Loomis Battery four years earlier. In fact Old Sam had been wounded several times and half starved most of the time, yet he endured to the end. Only Sam and what remained of the battery guns and caissons were presented to General Loomis at the end of the war.
Old Sam’s return to Coldwater while yet being quite sad was quite a happy and enthusiastic event. Thirty seven of Sam’s comrades and 199 horses did not make it. Old Sam arrived by rail and was met at the station by his old battery mates, reinforced by hundreds of citizens. After the train came to an abrupt halt and the box car door schreeched open, Sam trotted down the ramp amidst whistling and cheering.
An informal parade headed toward the business district. Bands blared, guns fired and people enthusiastically applauded as Old Sam walked proudly down the road to his beginnings.
According to newspaper accounts, Sam’s ears perked up as he seemed to recognize his surroundings. The crowd waited with bated breath wondering what Sam would do. As he approached Division and Chicago Streets, the old war veteran was turned loose to test his memory. He looked down Chicago Street as if to get his bearings and then turning the opposite direction, walked leisurely up the street until he cam opposite the hotel. Then with a nicker of pure delight, he whirled on his heels, whisked down the street and down the alley to the old barn and into his own stall. Old Sam was home again and he knew it. Tears of joy must have flowed down O. B. Clark’s face as he rocked on his front porch watching the parade led by his own Old Sam.
History states that from then on Sam’s time was his own. O. B. Clark did not have the heart to have Sam returned to pulling heavy carriages or wagons. Old Sam deserved to be set free back in his lush green pasture at the Fisk Stables.
Old Sam remained in spirit a war horse. For several years he attended the annual reunions of the surviving members of the Loomis Battery. He would be led to the Courthouse Square where he would be greeted by the booming salute of his old pal, Gun #1. Gun #1 and the caisson are located in the Loomis Park in Coldwater, and a bronze plaque telling Old Sam’s story has been mounted on the seven foot granite monument.
In addition to these, three bronze plaques next to the cannon exhibit the names of the Loomis Battery men who served in the Civil War.
~
The battery survivors never tired of watching Old Sam prepare for the annual Memorial Day parades. At their commands, he would prance through the manual of drills with all the old-time spirit of the battle front with his nostrils blazing. Throughout the post-war years ,Old Sam was accorded all the honors of war veterans. With each recurring Memorial Day he was given his place in line in the parade while the boys in blue marched in honor of their comrades who did not make it home from the war.
Sadly,on November 8th,1876, Old Sam died. This miracle horse was twenty seven years old. When news of his death reached the ears of his Battery mates they quickly gathered at the home of Henry and Lucia Clark on Division Street. The men were dismayed to learn that they couldn’t bury Old Sam with his fallen mates in Oak Grove Cemetery. The sexton of the cemetery had told them this; however, he also conveniently let it drop that he would be out of town for a while. Lucia Clark later told how she had overheard the companions of Old Sam plotting how they might maneuver Sam’s burial in an unmarked grave in the place he deserved.
Much later that same night, the exhausted, yet triumphant men again assembled at the Clark home and Lucia discovered how they carried out their secret plan under the cover of darkness. While several of the Battery men hurridly dug an illegal grave, a diversion was created by a volunteer who let farmer Floyd Brown’s cows loose. The night watchman had then been notified, and with Sheriff Culp out of town on business, the night watchman had to rouse fellow farmers to assist in the roundup.
~
With the many menfolk of the area busily rounding up cows, the Loomis Battery men loaded Old Sam onto a stone boat drawn by two handsome draft horses… They then slowly threaded their way along the gas-lit Chicago Road and finally achieved the two-mile trek from the Fisk farm to the hillside Oak Grove Cemetery where Old Sam’s fallen comrades lay. With the moon in its first quarter providing adequate light, and the ground not yet completely frozen, the diggers had their part in the plot ready by the time the others arrived with Old Sam at his final destination.
Carefully, they gently rolled Old Sam into his place of rest, covered him with warm blankets, and filled the empty space with dirt, tamping it down lightly. Then they leveled out the remaining soil and covered it with the fallen oak leaves. The men then stood with bowed heads beside the leaf-blanketed grave and presented the Old Sam full military honors. Tears welled up in the men’s eyes as they recalled the firing of the final salutes and the playing of the taps. Sam’s comrades in arms felt that Sam was entitled to lie there among the men he had so faithfully served during the four long years of the “War Between the Sates”.
After 143 years,a tribute to Old Sam and the three and one half million horses and mules that died in the Civil War has been completed. Old Sam is but a symbol of all those that had contributed to the beginning of the end of the cancer of slavery. Today, there is no longer an unmarked grave in the old section of the Oak Grove Cemetary where, according to legend, this hero of the Civil War is laid to rest. A flag flutters over the grave. A monument stands on this spot. The memory of Old Sam will not die. Truly, Old Sam was one of the Great war horses of the Civil War…
Let us bow our heads and our hearts and give thanks for their sacrifice..
Sources :
Flickr Photograph of Old Sam Monument, Coldwater, Michigan
Martha M. Boltz, “Man Chronicles Old Civil War Horse’s Life”, Washington Times, February 6, 2009.
Terry and Charles L. Tucker, Old Sam Hero of the Civil War Facebook entry
Old Sam – Hero of the Civil War
Loomis’ Battery : First Michigan Light Artillery, 1859-1865 / by Matthew C. Switlik. Wayen State University Master’s Thesis (1975)
Nannette Gardner became the first Michigan woman to vote in a general election when she cast her ballot on April 4, 1871, in Detroit.
The wealthy widow convinced city election officials that she should be allowed to participate, because she didn’t have a husband to represent her.
In a letter to the Detroit Post afterward, Gardner wrote, “It is difficult for me to appreciate that so simple an event as a woman expressing a choice among a few candidates for office should have caused such a commotion and made me ‘suddenly famous.’ Tens of thousands of vicious, ignorant and worthless men do the same thing yearly without a word of comment. To an outsider, the inference would be quite plausible that women are something beside human beings – perhaps one of Darwin’s apes suddenly emerging into and claiming the rights of humanity.”
Source : Zlati Meyer, This Week in Michigan History, March 29, 2009, B.4.
Or was it on April 3, 1871?
Long before women gained the right to vote in 1920, Nannette B. Gardner, a Detroit resident, managed to vote. She went to her ward to register and argued that she was a “person” in the context of the 14th Amendment and thereby had the legal right to vote. She was widow and taxpayer, but claimed that she had no representation. The inspector on duty, Peter Hill, agreed that Gardner had a reasonable argument and registered her name on the voting list. Records show that Garder continued to vote in elections as long as she remained in Detroit.
Source : Michigan Every Day.
Source : Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan Brownell Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage. History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 3, 1876-1885. p. 823. Says vote was cast on April 3. Perhaps the results were announced on April 4.
On April 4, 1910, Michigan held a major election. Ingham was one of thirty-six Michigan counties to include a local prohibition option on the ballot. It passed. Ingham then became a “dry county,” where alcoholic beverages were illegal. Such local option elections were quite common in the decade before 1920, when national prohibition began.
On April 5, 1910 a local newspaper, the State Republican reported that fifty-two Ingham County saloons would be out of business for at least two years. At that point, the local option prohibition would be subject to a new vote.
That new vote did occur in 1912, and this time, the “dry” forces lost. It proved to be a short-lived defeat. Ingham again went dry in 1914, and voters renewed prohibition in 1916. That same year, Michigan voters approved statewide prohibition, which went into effect in 1918. The Michigan Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional in 1919, but, this “wet” victory was short lived. An amendment to the U.S. constitution brought national prohibition into effect in 1920. It remained in effect until 1933, when the amendment was repealed. With a few exceptional years aside, alcohol was illegal in Ingham County for over two decades.
Source: Bob Garrett, “Lansing is Dry!”, Seeking Michigan, May 25, 2010.
For more books about Prohibition, visit Prohibition–United States
We also have some films:
Prohibition / a production of Florentine Films and WETA Television ; written by Geoffrey C. Ward ; produced by Sarah Botstein, Lynn Novick and Ken Burns ; directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.
Prohibition : thirteen years that changed America / History Channel ; director, Clive Maltby ; producer, Charlotte Moore ; writer, Marius Brill ; produced by Atlantic Productions for BBC Wales and A&E Network.
On April 4, 1943, the Detroit Free Press ran a feature titled “Michigan Fliers Write Saga of Heroism in Sky” that detailed the actions of Lt. Charles J. Stevens, of Detroit, who two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor flew out over Lingayan Bay in the Philippines, found, bombed and destroyed a Japanese combat ship.
Source : MIRS Capitol Capsule, April 4, 2019.
On April 4, 1971, one of professional hockey’s most prolific scorers, Gordie Howe, played his last game for the Detroit Red Wings.
Howe was born in Floral, Saskatchewan, in 1928. He joined the Red Wings in 1946, playing with the team until 1971. During those years, he won six National Hockey League scoring titles and was named most valuable player six times. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.
Howe will also have the new Detroit International Crossing named after him when the project is completed.
Source: Michigan History magazine
On April 4, 1979, a TWA Boeing 727 flying from New York City to the Twin Cities, carrying 80 passengers at 39,000 feet over Flint, suddenly swerved to the right, completed a 360-degree barrel roll, and nose-dived five miles at a speed the plane’s instruments could not record.
Harvey “Hoot” Gibson, the pilot, finally regained control at about 5000 feet by putting the landing gear down and made an emergency landing at Detroit Metro Airport. No fatalities occurred among the 82 passengers and seven crew members. Eight passengers reported minor injuries related to high G forces.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated the accident. In its final report, published in June 1981, the NTSB concluded the probable cause of the accident was pilot error. However, the pilot and crew always maintained they were turned into scapegoats.
This incident was the subject of a 44-minute CBS News Special titled: The Plane That Fell From The Sky
Sources:
Mich-Again’s Day.
TWA Flight 841 (1979) wikipedia entry
H.G. Bissinger, “11 Years After Plane Took a Dive, Pilot Tries to Clear His Reputation“, Chicago Tribune, October 14, 1990.
Jason Hanson played more games for the Detroit Lions than any player has ever played for any single NFL team, and the Lions announced today, after Hanson announced his retirement, that Hanson will remain an ever-present part of the team as the newest member of its Ring of Honor.
Hanson noted that when he first joined the Lions, teammate Barry Sanders called him “Baby J” because he looked like a little kid. Hanson’s nickname in the locker room during his last season was “Pops.” From Baby to Pops, that’s a long journey with one team.
Hanson holds NFL records for most 50-yard field goals (52) and games played with one team (327), and ranks third in league history in total field goals (495) and points (2,150).
For another article, see Tom Murray, “Jason Hanson: 20 Years with the Detroit Lions”, Hour Detroit, December 2011.
Those who best knew Bo Schembechler know he would probably have grumbled about the life-size statue of him unveiled Friday night just outside the doors of newly renovated Schembechler Hall.
The statue of Michigan’s legendary coach is the crowning piece of the renovated building that not only houses the football offices but also includes Towsley Museum with interactive displays, retired jerseys, a “Win Wall” featuring a football for each of the program’s 910 victories and a variety of artifacts gathered through the years.
In the 197-year history of the university, this is the first outdoor statue on campus of an individual, according to athletic director Dave Brandon.
Schembechler, as depicted in the statue, is wearing sideline attire, sunglasses, an “M” hat and carrying his headset.
The statue was kept hidden by drapery until his wife, Cathy, unveiled the statue before a large gathering.
Bo Schembechler holding forth in his office earlier in his career at the University of Michigan. Photo courtesy of the University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library.
For the full article, see Angelique Chengelis, “Bo Schembechler statue focal point of Michigan’s renovated football facility”, Detroit News, April 5, 2014.