Remembering Our Ancestors Through Genealogy

A History of Iron County Michigan by Jack Hill Published in 1955, "A History of Iron County Michgan" gives the history and other interesting facts about this Upper Peninsula county. The book was originally printed in two columns. In order to improve the readability of the pages on a web browser it was converted to single column by combining every two original lines. With this exception the transcription was done without changes or corrections. Chapter 2 - Under British Rule

10    HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN     Chapter 2   UNDER BRITISH RULE      At the conclusion of the French and Indian War in 1763, the Pro- vince of Canada came into the possession of Great Britain. The Great Lakes area however, was questionable territory so under the Quebec Act passed by the English Parliament in 1774, the boundaries of the Province were extended to include all the lands lying north- west of the Ohio River and east to the Mississippi. These lands subsequently became the Northwest Territory and for administra- tive purposes at the moment were placed under the Province of Quebec. The primary purpose of this move by the British was to retain their hold on the area and to prevent the influence and grow- ing disaffection of the New England Colonies from spreading to the north. The immediate effects of the Act was to hasten the revolution of the Colonies.    The English traders followed the British flag into the new terri- tory and Michilimackinac was made the headquarters of civil administration. Among the first of the traders to commence business activities at Michilimackinac was Alexander Henry who had arrived at the outpost in 1761, only several months following the British oc- cupation. All trading was done under license of the military au-   HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN     11   thorities until 1763 when the privillage was declared by Royal proclamation to be free and open to all English subjects who could qualify. The French coureur-desbois and clerical staffs were re- tained by the traders to facilitate the trade with the natives. Troops were dispatched to garrison the posts at Detroit, St. Joseph, St. Mary's, Green Bay as well as Michilimackinac which later be- came known by the less cumbersome name of Mackinac.    In the meantime, the grievances of the New England colonies against the mother country increased and culminated in armed revolt in 1775. Although the treaty of peace following the war was signed in 1783 and the Colonies gained possession of all the area east of the Mississippi River with the exception of Florida and a trip of land along the Gulf of Mexico, the British continued to rule the Northwest Territory by armed force until 1796. This, how- ever, did not appear to alarm the Colonists who, though busy with the information of the Union, quietly proceeded to consolidate the newly acquired territory. During the Revolutionary War, the Colonies still considered themselves as independent units and with the coming of peace, several presented claims to the new lands under various questionable grants. Virginia on the strength of her Colonial Patent and her greater activity in wresting the area from the British, laid claim to all the lands situated north of a line drawn through the south-central part of Wisconsin. In a spirit of unity for the common welfare however, the claimnants succes- sively ceded their rights and titles to the general government, the last being relinquished in 1786. In the following year the Con- gress of the Confederacy passed an Act for the government of the territory. This was known as the "Ordinance of 1787." Among the significant provisions of the Ordinance were those of religious li- berty, human rights, obligations of the proposed states to the Nation- al government, that all navigable waters would remain forever free and that not less than three nor more than five states be formed from the Territory, each to be admitted to the Union upon the at- tainment of sixty thousand population. The last named article further provided that in the event that five states were formed, the southerly boundary of the two northern states should be an east and west side drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan. This article was to eventually have a great bearing on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as we shall see later.    The lands of the present State of Ohio found the greatest favor among the immigrants from the east who now came in increasing numbers. Most of these early settlers were former soldiers of the Revolution. One land settlement and development enterprise alone purchased five million acres.    The Ordinance was placed into effect immediately. General Ar- thur St. Clair was appointed Governor and Winthrop Sargent a native of Massachusetts became Secretary. Headquarters were es- tablished at Marietta, but were later moved to Chilicothe. The County of Washington was soon organized, its northern boundary being drawn a short distance below the southern end of Lake Michigan. Upon the evacuation of the British garrisons from Detroit and Mackinac in 1796, Secretary Sargent acting in the absence of Governor St. Clair, created by proclamation the County of Wayne. The new county included the lower peninsula of Michigan, the northern portions of the present states of Ohio and Indiana and all the territory west of Lake Michigan that was drained by it, the line then extending north to the national boundary in Lake Superior.    In the year of 1800, Congress provided for the establishment of Indiana Territory which was to embrace all of the Northwest Territory situated west of the meridian of Fort Recovery. This line which ran a few miles west of Mackinac, divided the lower   12      HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN   peninsula of Michigan, the eastern section staying with Ohio while the western portion and the greater part of the upper penin- sula became a part of Indiana Territory.    Ohio was the first State to be detached from the original North- west Territory. With only one half of the necessary population of sixty thousand, she was admitted to the Union on February 19, 1803. In the absence of complete surveys, her northern boun- dary was established to conform with the Ordinance of 1787.    Michigan was granted Territorial status on June 30, 1805. Her southern boundary was defined as "a line drawn east from the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan until it shall in- tersect Lake Erie." The western boundary was described, "through the middle of said Lake to its northern extremity and thence due north to the northern boundary of the United States.    Under these boundaries, only the eastern tip of the upper penin- sula was intended for the new state of Michigan. Unforseen dif- ficulties lay ahead for the new Territory however, for in the en- suing War of 1812, the United States lost the forts at Detroit, Mackinac and Dearborn and Michigan and the lake country were to be temporarily held by the British. Two years of costly fight- ing were required in their reoccupation.    Indiana was admitted to the Union in 1816. In direct violation of the Ordinance of 1787, her northern boundary was fixed ten miles north of the Ordinance line. With a lack of inhabitants on the Michigan Territorial side of the disputed area and no representa- tion in Congress, the incident went unnoticed by the people of Michi- gan.    This was the beginning of the land steal which caused numeruos wrangles over what became known as the Toledo strip and it is believed that the strategy of this maneuver was in part shared by the Ohioans.    It may be added that a provision had been inserted into the Ohio constitution to the effect that should the Ordinance Line be found to intersect Lake Erie east of the mouth of the Maumee River at Toledo, then with the consent of Congress, the boundary should be a straight line from the southerly extreme of Lake Michigan to the most Northerly cape of Maumee Bay in other words, the Ohioans were not taking any chances of losing Toledo. To this proposed change in the boundary Congress had not given its ap- proval.    Illinois was admitted to statehood in 1818 and the remaining lands of the Northwest Territory annexed to the Territory of Mich- igan.    In anticipation of her future need of harbor facilities, the northern boundary of Illinois was established to give her approxi- mately fifty miles of shoreline on Lake Michigan. In October of the same year the counties of Michilimackinac, Brown and Crawford were created by proclamation of Governor Cass. Michilimackinac County included within its borders all of the Upper Peninsula and part of northern Wisconsin with the seat of government at Michili- mackinac. Brown County embraced the eastern half of the present state of Wisconsin while Crawford comprised the remaining lands to the west.    In 1831 we see the entry of Stevens T. Mason, the boy gover- nor into Michigan politics. Mason was originally appointed by Presi- dent Jackson as the Secretary of the Territory at the age of nine- teen years. His appointment was bitterly assailed by the people at first but he soon won the confidence of the people being duly appointed Governor of the Territory upon the death of Governor G. B. Porter and elected to the office by popular vote in antici- pation of the state's admission the Union.    In the year 1834, all that territory of the Louisiana Purchase ly- ing west of the Mississippi River and north of the Missouri River was attached to the Territory of   HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN     13   Michigan. From this area the territorial council carved the Counties of Dubuque and Des Moines which were placed in a circuit with the previously formed County of Iowa.    Michigan was now nearing statehood dispute with Ohio. As the surveys had progressed to the north it became increasingly clear to the Ohioans that if Michigan was permitted to adhere to the Ordi- nance Line, they would lose Maumee Bay and Toledo.    They therefore had the line resurveyed to conform to their de- mands. The strip of land in question was not a large one being only five miles wide at the Indiana border and eight miles wide at Lake Erie. Ohio was determined however, to gain control of this land before Michigan was admitted to the Union. Governor Mason placed the matter before the President and the opinion of the Attorney-General upheld the position of Michigan.    An attempt made by Ohio to mark their new line was frustrat- ed by the action of the Lenawee County sheriff, some of the mark- ers being placed under arrest, others escaping across the border. The issue became a very troublesome one to all concerned and then Ohio, to prove her jurisdiction, proposed to hold a session of court at Toledo in 1835. Governor Mason proceeded to that city at the head of one thousand militiamen under the command of Joseph W. Brown.    The session of court was not held and the Ohioans, apparently trusting to their greater political influence as a means of gaining their end, failed to give battle and the troops returned and were shortly disbanded. The outcome of this incident was the removal of Governor Mason from office by President Jackson.    National interest became centered on the controversy indirectly through the slave question. The Ordinance of 1787 had provided that "there will be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory." Arkansas was about to enter the Union as a slave state. At this time the lines were closely drawn between the North and South for neither would approve admission of a state and the advantages gained through added representation without receiving a like representation for themselves.    The Acts for the admission of Arkansas and Michigan were therefor passed and signed together on June 15, 1836. Arkansas was admitted as a slave state without condition. Into the Act for the admission of Michigan however, the Ohio, Indiana and Illinois representatives succeeded in having a provision inserted whereby Michigan would be received only upon the surrender of the boun- dary line to Ohio and Indiana.    To pacify the people of Michigan and that they might more readily accept the terms, it was proposed that additions be made to the territory at first included within the state boundaries by ex- tending the western limits of the Upper Peninsula as far west as the Montreal River and adding the American part of Lake Superior adjacent thereto.    Congress further provided that until the new boundary lines were adopted by a convention of delegates elected by the people, it would not be admitted. At a convention held for the purpose in September 1836, the delegates refused to accept the conditions. Up- on further evaluation of the benefits to be derived from imme- diate statehood, an irregularly called convention assented to the terms.    Following some controversy regarding the validity of the con- vention, Congress admitted Michigan to the Union on January 26, 1837. In the Act of admission, Congress recognized the State as hav- ing existed since 1835 when the State officers were elected by the people. Thus came into being the Upper Peninsula as we know it today. Had the people of the Lower Peninsula which was the only in- habited part of the State at the moment, been aware of its valu- able timber and mineral resources,   14    HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN   they no doubt would have been more willing to accept the terms.