Bridgeport Township

This township was organized in 1848, under authority given by the Board of Supervisors. It forms a full township, with Buena Vista on the north, Taymouth on the south, Frankenmuth on the east, and Spalding on the west. The Cass river enters the town in section 25, and, flowing northwest through Bridgeport village, enters Spalding township in section 18. The Flint & Pere Marquette R. R. runs through the township. Fish Creek and a few other minor streams course through its sections. The land is capable of a high cultivation, and nothing but enterprise is necessary to raise the district equal to any other section of the county.

The first actual settler in the township was A. Campeau; John Biddle was the first purchaser of land; William Ellis and Matilda Lesia were the first parties married. Henry Campeau was the first child born; the first death was that of Anri Campeau's father and mother, who were carried off by the same disease which decimated the Indian population in 1837.

Eleazer Miller may be considered the first American pioneer of the township. Messrs. Ellis, Kenny, Welding, Garland, Cook, Sidney Campbell and Beach arrived shortly after and occupied their homesteads.

Mr. Campeau built the first log house ever erected in the township; the second was built by Sidney Campbell in 1836.

The first church was built by the Congregationalists on section 16. Prof. Estabrook was the first visiting pastor. Subsequently the Union church was raised, and dedicated about the same time that the Congregationalists began worship in their new building.

OLD INDUSTRIES.

The first industrial concern erected in the township was a steam saw-mill, built in 1849 by Thompson & Green, on section 16. In 1856 C. A. Lull erected an extensive saw-mill on Cass river, near that of Thompson & Green.

A shingle mill, built by Heidley on section 16, was used until converted into a blacksmith's shop by C. A. Lull. Subsequently Heidley erected another mill, which, after a few years, he sold to a Mr. Robinson, who in turn disposed of his interest to Christian Messner.

D. A. Pettibone & Co. erected a shingle mill and bored a salt well in 1862, but four years later the works were destroyed by fire.

C. A. Lull's salt well was bored in 1863 to a depth of 660 feet, at an expense of $2,000. The work was conducted by Leonard Blake. Together with those mills there were three shingle factories, all of which have been destroyed by fire or permitted to decay.

NEW INDUSTRY.

The only manufacturing establishment now in the township is a gristmill, built by John and Martin Messner in 1878. It occupies the site of the old Heidley mill. This building is 30x40 feet, 20 feet high, engine room 20x40 feet, and, with machinery, cost $5,000. There are two run of stone, one for flour and one for feed. 3,000 barrels of flour are manufactured annually, and 50 bushels of feed ground per day. The engine need is a 32-horse power. Two salt wells are open, permitting thousands of barrels of rich brine to go to waste. The ruins of old mills and salt works may be seen along the river, all telling of what Bridgeport could have been, and suggestive of what it may be in the near future when enterprise will develop its resources.

The first murders committed in the township were those by the Indians previous to 1837. The first murder of a white man was that of Deputy Sheriff Dineen, by Wm. B. Clark, in April, 1881. This murderer was also known as "Walter E. Clark" and by other false names, but his true name is probably Chisolm. He was convicted of horse-stealing and sentenced to the State's prison at Jackson for a term of 15 years. When asked what he had to say why the sentence of the court should not be pronounced, he protested that he was innocent of the charge made against him. He received the sentence with few signs of emotion. He is 57 years of age, so that the sentence is probably as good as a life sentence, and will meet with general approval of those acquainted with the baseness of Clark's character. It also saves the county the expense of trying him for murder. If his residence at Jackson agrees with him, so that he may outlive the term of imprisonment for horse-stealing, he will be tried for the murder of Dineen, and doubtless returned to the prison for the remainder of his life.

There have been two or three cases of suicide in the township, the perpetrators seeking a mud-hole and a rope wherewith to end their existence in this world.

CHURCHES.

The following sketch was prepared by Mr. Pattee. It deals fully with the church history of Bridgeport:
The first church in Bridgeport township was organized in 1844, by Rev. Bracket, a Wesleyan Methodist. J. B. Garland was leader, and the members were J. B. Garland and wife, Daniel Ellis and wife, Mrs. Eleazer Miller, Peter Leasia, Alonzo Crosby and wife, and several others. Mr. Payne was a local minister, who worked about three years at this point at clearing land for the settlers and other labor incident to a new country, and would preach on Sundays.

He is said to have been a faithful pastor. He subsequently attended the Wesleyan Theological Seminary, at Albion, where he was ordained. About 1850 he married Mary Abrams, of Mt. Morris, Genesee Co., Mich. He went to Lower Saginaw in 1852, and a few years later died at Mt. Morris, where he was buried. His successor (in 1847) was Rev. Isaac Andrews, a good man and faithful worker. Elder Jason Steele came here in 1850, and stayed until 1852 or '53. He subsequently went to California, where he deserted his chosen profession to fight for infidelity. About this time (1852 or '53) there was a frame school-house erected at Bridgeport village, and the services were then held in that building.

After Mr. Steele left, the work was supplied by different preachers, Elder I. Andrews and others, till 1857, when Rev. Curtis Mosher came to East Saginaw, and extended his labors to Bridgeport village. He was a successful revivalist, and did a good work at all points where he labored. Many were converted in Bridgeport, and a Methodist Episcopal class was organized from the new converts, including the greater portion of the old Wesleyan class. Elder Mosher worked faithfully till 1860, when he was succeeded by the Rev. Brown, and the latter by Rev. H. O. Parker. Elder Gordon, the next preacher, is said to have been a good worker, and there were many additions to the Church under his zealous and well directed labors. In 1865 Rev. Crane located at Saginaw City, and also preached in Bridgeport township. The latter was divided in two classes, one being at the village, presided over by D. F. Foster, and the other in the south part of the township, with J. B. Garland as leader. Elder Crane and Mr. Foster did not agree about sundry matters, and finally carried the quarrel among the members, breaking up the class. The following year the conference did not send any minister to carry on the work.

About this time Rev. B. W. Zinney, a local preacher, and a mason by trade, was working for C. A. Lull, the owner of the Bridgeport Center House. He saw a good chance to start a class and immediately went to work, forming a Methodist Protestant class of 18 members. Rev. Sullivan Clark was President of the Michigan Conference; B. W. Zinney, Superintendent of the Saginaw mission; Rev. A. Bradshaw, local minister, and Charles D. Pattee, class-leader. Many of the M. E. members joined the class, but a portion held aloof. Mr. Zinney was an illiterate man, but an earnest, zealous worker. Mr. Bradshaw had formerly been an able preacher in Canada, but had located in Bridgeport township in his old age.

In the fall of 1867 Rev. John T. Husted was sent as superintendent. He was a young man of very good ability, and had just been married. Before he came, the building of a church had begun to be agitated. Mr. D. F. Foster proposed to organize an M. E. class, and negotiate with the Methodist Protestants about the erection of a church building. After several meetings Mr. Foster presented the plan he intended to adopt, which proposed that the Methodist Protestants should furnish half the means for building, and should have the use of the house for preaching one appointment each Sunday, and to use it such evenings as the M. E. class might designate, the church to be the latter's property. The Methodist Protestants of course rejected this proposition, and the conference ended. Mr. Foster then said he would build a church himself; so he paid a visit to Elder Richards (who had succeeded Rev. Crane, at Saginaw City), to consult him in the matter. He could not get the assistance from the M. E. Church that he desired, but Elder Richards advised him to see the members of the Congregational Church. He did so, and raised four or five hundred dollars, the present Congregational church being the final result of his labors.

Elder A. C. Fuller succeeded Mr. Husted in the fall of 1866, and organized a class at Zilwaukee, and another at Carrollton. This same year, the "People's church" was built, with material aid from another organization. The latter denomination were to use it when they wanted to, but any other denomination could have the use of it, provided their appointments would not conflict with any already made.

In 1869 Elder T. H. Beamish was pastor, and in 1870 he was sent again, with a young man named James Wilson as assistant. The same year the classes at Zilwaukee and Carrollton united with the M. E. Church, under the management of Rev. James Riley. Elder Beamish organized a class at Cass river bridge, called the South Bridgeport class. In the fall of 1871 Rev. W. H. Bakewell was sent to minister to the people. He was an Englishman, a graduate of Oxford University, and rather eccentric in his ways. He had considerable trouble in his family, his wife showing marked signs of insanity, which latter seemed to affect the minister's mind. His work did not prosper,—the Bridgeport class had been reduced, by removals, to half a dozen members, and the South Bridgeport class was so weak it was concluded not to have any minister the following year.

In 1873 Rev. James Riley came to Bridgeport Center, and preached in the People's church, in the hope of organizing a class. He did not succeed, but turned his attention to South Bridgeport, where his labors met with great reward. A class was organized, and a local preacher from Tuscola ministered to their spiritual wants once in two weeks. The Methodists at Bridgeport village attended the Congregational Church until 1878. During this year the latter denomination were without a minister, so they engaged Rev. E. E. Caster, M. E. minister at East Saginaw, to preach for them each alternate Sabbath, at two o'clock p. m. The Congregationalists had decided to have no preacher the following year, and when Elder Caster reported this to the M. E. Conference, that body sent Rev. Edwin Foster on to look after the flock at Bridgeport village. He found a discouraging state of affairs, no class, no members to receive him, no foothold of any kind. Nothing daunted, he went out and bought a house and lot, giving his horse for the first payment. Within a year be had a large class, and his salary of $500 had been promptly paid. He was sent again in 1879-'80, and was followed by Rev. William Chaple, the present pastor, who is a native of Cornwall, England, but an enthusiastic admirer of his adopted country, and a promising young man. He is thoroughly in earnest, and his prospects are bright with promises of future usefulness.

ORGANIC.

The township was organized in 1848, but the record of the first meeting is not now obtainable, nor indeed are the records of township elections down to 1868 forthcoming. Since that period the township books have been well kept, and from them the following list of the principal township officials is made out:

SUPERVISORS.

CLERKS

TREASURERS

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE

The village of Bridgeport, formerly known as the "Bend of the Cass," is beautifully situated. In 1868 the population of this little hamlet was 500; today it is only 239. The population of the township apart from the village is 1,405.

EARLY LAND PURCHASERS.

In the following pages the names of the patentees of the township lands are given, with location and bate of entry:

PERSONAL HISTORY.

In the following pages much of the history proper of this district is given. In the lives of the men who built up this township to its present prosperous condition, are found important elements of its history:

Burton Andruss, a pioneer of Bridgeport tp, and village, was born at Stafford, Genesee Co., N. Y., July 2, 1820; parents were Arthur and Mary (Ingraham) Andruss, natives of Connecticut; father served four years in U. S. Armory, at Springfield, Mass., during war of 1812; grandfather, Eleazer Audruss, was a soldier in Continental army; subject of sketch accompanied parents to Oakland Co., Mich., in October, 1837, and in July, 1845, to this county, where father died, Aug. 19, 1847, and mother Oct. 26, 1848; subject resided on sec. 27 until 1850, when he removed to village, and erected the first frame house; is Republican, and has been a practicing lawyer for 15 years; was Tp. Clerk four years, and Justice of the Peace eight years; was first Clerk of this tp.; owns 60 acres of land; was married July 10, 1845, to Olive, daughter of Joel and Lucy (Sampson) Pratt, who was born in Orange Co., Vt., May 29, 1821; 5 children are living-Emma C., wife of William Hunn, born Sept. 24, 1848; Clara A., wife of George Bogie, born Sept. 8, 1853: Herbert C., born July 12, 1855; Cora M., wife of William Shaw, born April 11, 1858, and Don Clare, born March 19, 1861; the deceased is Ella G., who was born Feb. 24, 1852, and died Sept. 1, 1854.

Hon. W. H. P. Benjamin, M. D., Bridgeport Center, was born at Salina (now Syracuse), Onondaga Co., N. Y., Sept. 2, 1839, and is a son of Harvey and Sarah Benjamin, natives of Massachusetts. Dr. Benjamin was educated at the Syracuse Institute, and in 1859 began to read medicine with Dr. Hiram Hoyt, of Syracuse, with whom he remained two years. He was graduated at the Medical Department of University of Vermont, in March, 1861, and also took a course in the Albany (N. Y.) Medical University. In April, 1861, he enlisted in the 3d Reg. N. Y. Vol. Inf., as hospital steward. In August of the same year he was appointed Acting Assistant Surgeon in the U. S. army, and served as such until the year 1863. He received an honorable discharge in August, 1863. In 1866 he came to Bridgeport, and practiced his profession until 1875, since when he has been engaged in mercantile trade. In 1874, he was elected Representative of the 3d district, and in 1878 served one term as State Senator. He is Democratic in politics. He was married Dec. 28, 1876, to Emma Main. They have 2 children, Arthur Wellington and Florence R.

Albert Bates, farmer, sec. 7; P. O., South Saginaw; was born in Erie Co., N. Y., March 3, 1826; parents are Joseph and Eliza Bates, natives of Vermont; father served in war of 1812, filling vacancy of Capt. Ford. The subject of this sketch came to this county in 1854, and for four years was engaged in spile-driving on the Saginaw river; removed to present farm of 107 acres in 1861; is a member of the I. O. O. F., and the Republican party; was married Dec. 29, 1855, to Catherine McGee, born at St. Paul, Minn., March 18, 1835. One child is deceased, 7 living-Ella, wife of William Steckert, born Aug. 29, 1856; Charles, born March 18, 1859; George, born Jan. 14, 1862; Sarah A., born in August, 1866; Joseph, born Oct. 9, 1872; Catherine, born Sept. 3, 1875, and Albert, born in May, 1879.

Leonard Blakely, Bridgeport, was born in Missisko (correction-Missisquoi) Co., Province of Quebec, Jan. 30, 1823; parents were Tilley and Sarah Blakely, natives of Hartford, Conn., and Bennington Co., Vt.; grandfather was Ensign in Revolutionary war, and was acquainted with General Green, who had headquarters at his father's house; subject was left to do for himself at an early age, and has suffered many storms in the voyage through life; came to Bridgeport tp. in 1862, and has served as Justice of the Peace for 14 years; is Republican in politics; was married May 5, 1847, to Martha M. Stone. Of their 6 children, 3 are living-Kirby, born Sept. 11, 1850; Dora G., born Aug. 15, 1859; has been school-teacher since 15 years of age, and last live years in Bridgeport schools; and Clara, wife of George Hall, a telegraph operator at Otter Lake, born Aug. 15, 1862; deceased are:--Oscar L., a vocalist of remarkable ability, and proprietor of the "Blakely Quartette Company," a man of excellent character, who was born July 21, 1848, and died April 27, 1878; Ellen, wife of Austin N. Hill, born Oct. 13, 1852, and died May 17, 1879; and May, born Feb. 7, 1870, and died April 20, 1873.

Dennis Bow, farmer, secs. 14 and 22, was born in Penobscot Co., Me., April 18, 1829. His parents were Edmund B. and Elizabeth Bow; father a soldier in the war of 1812, and died in 1857; mother still survives, and draws a pension. Mr. Bow accompanied his parents to this county in 1836, where his father operated the first grist-mill in the county. He also kept a hotel seven years, and in 1844 removed to Zilwaukee tp.; thence to Bridgeport tp. in 1851, where he was Supervisor two years, and Justice of the Peace four years, and also Justice of the Peace of Saginaw tp. five years. Dennis received a fair education and owns a good farm of 140 acres. He is Democratic in politics, and has been Justice of the Peace one term. Township Clerk one year, and Supervisor three years. He was married June 1, 1850, to Ellen Dupaw, who was born at Detroit, Mich., in 1831. Four children were given them, 2 of whom are living-Lewis, who married Anna Brace, and Frank, husband of Nellie Cole. Mrs. Bow died Jan. 29, 1857, and Mr. B. was again married Oct. 28, 1858, to Arloa D. Andrews, who bore him 3 children, and departed this life Jan. 30, 1861. Mr. Bow was married the third time, Dec. 18, 1862, to Mattie S., daughter of Norman and Sarah Cone, who was born in Genesee Co., Mich., March 27, 1837. Of their 3 children 1 is living, Oliver J. Mr. Bow's Grandfather Haskell was a soldier in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary war. Mr. Bow's portrait is given in this work on page 311.

BACK TO LIST OF TOWNSHIP HISTORY 1881

Source: History of Saginaw County Michigan, By Michael A. Leeson, Damon Clarke, Published 1881 Chas. C. Chapman & Co., Chicago pages 715-722.

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