Bay County, Michigan - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 11 of those read), 1905

One of the first institutions required in a community of pioneers has invariably been some court of justice, where law could be expounded, justice administered and other duties of a public nature performed. Hence the justice of the peace in this settlement was an important personage, who applied the principles of law and justice to the whole range of offenses, from neighborhood quarrels to murders, who tied and untied nuptial knots, and most of whose time was taken up in settling land claims and controversies.

Michigan's judiciary system has undergone many changes since the French first settled Detroit about 1701. Edicts of kings, orders of military commanders, decrees of imperial parliaments and of provincial governors, ordinances of the Congress, enactments of territorial governors and councils, provisions of State constitutions, and laws enacted by the Legislature, these and more have constituted the supreme authority in this part of the globe from the "Contume de Paris" through the devious pathways of 200 years down to 1905.

The lurid experiences of Bay County's first justice court, in a dingy blockhouse on the river front, would, if fully compiled, compare with some of the court scenes portrayed in the Arizona Kicker. Land lookers, roving sailors, Lidians, frontier rowdies, these and worse at one time or another looked over the settlement, and invariably bumped against some one or something in their explorations, that would end in the justice court.

More dignified but none the less strenuous were the duties and sessions of the loth Judicial Circuit, to which Bay County belonged in 1859, the circuit comprising Bay, Isabella, Losco, Gratiot, Midland, Alpena and Saginaw counties. The first sessions were held by Judge

On January 31, 1859, Peter Van Gestle killed his countryman, Peter Van Wert, and at the April term of court the murderer was convicted and sentenced to solitary confinement for life. This was the first murder trial in Bay County, and the settlers attended the court sessions en iiiassc, many of them sitting patiently -outside, as the court room was too small to admit all. picking up the trial crumbs that fell through the doorwa}'.

The first lawyers in Bay County were Hon. James Birney, Chester H. Freeman, W. L. Sherman, Stephen \\Tight and James Fox, the last two remaining but a short time. Judge Andrew C. Maxwell came from Pontiac in 1857, and for nearly half a century was one of the best known practitioners and the most unique figure before the local bar. Certainly his sharp wit and droll manners furnished more anecdotes than all the other members of the bar combined. He took an active part in the development of the city and county. Hon. Luther Beckwith came here in i860, directly after graduating from the University of Michigan. He was prosecutor from 1863 to 1867, was alderman for years, an able jurist and a good citizen. Judge Isaac Marston came here in 1862, having studied under Judge Cooley at the University of Michigan, and for 20 years he was an honored member of the local 1)ar, removing to Detroit in 1882. In ]\Iarch, 1863, Hon. Herschel H. Hatch came here to enter a partnership with Judge Marston, and in 1864 Judge James Birney joined the firm, which under the title, Birney, Marston & Hatch, was considered one of the strongest combinations of legal lights in jNIichigan. Judge Marston's election to the Supreme Court in 1875 (lissolved the partnership, Mr. Hatch later taking in Edgar A. Cooley, at present president of the Bay County Bar Association. The late Cushman K. Davis, Ex-Governor of Minnesota, studied here under the late Judge Andrew C. Maxwell in 1863-64. C. H. Denison was here from 1863 to 1879, and then became a leading attorney of New York City. Hon. Emil Anneke was a graduate of the University of Berlin, took part in the revolutionary struggle in Germany in 1848, and with hundreds of other liljeralminded young men sought his fortune in this country. In 1862-65 he was Auditor General of Michigan, and became a notable addition to the local l)ar in 1874.

Looking back over this span of 30 years we find that in 1875 there were 42 members of the Bay County Bar Association, including Judge Sanford ]M. Green, then presiding over this i8th Judicial Circuit. Thus early do we find, in addition to the earliest arrivals already named, the men who in future years were destined to preside over the local Circuit Court : Judge George P. Cobb, who came here in September. 1868, after graduating from the University of ^lichigan, did not finish his schooling until peace released him from the 5th ^Michigan Cawalry in

1866. In 1870 he became associated with Judge T. C. Grier and the late dean of the local bar, Hon. Archibald McDonell. Judge Theodore F. Shepard, at present presiding over this circuit, came from New York to Bay County in

1867, being the first attorney on the West Side, and although his offices for the greater part of the time since have been mostly on the East Side, he has done much toward the de\-elopment of his home community, taken an active part in the educational work, and has ever been one of the county's sterling citizens. Hon. Thomas A. E. \\'eadock, who for three terms represented this district in Congress, earned enough money teaching school to allow him to graduate from the University of }ilichigan in 1873 and the next year he came here to enter a partnership with Graeme Wilson, later taking his brother, John C. Weadock, now one of Michigan's ablest corporation lawyers, into partnership with him. In 1905 this firm is still among the leaders of the profession in this State. Chester L. Collins, just elected circuit judge for the term 1906-1 1, is another of the patriotic class of men, who served their country in the Civil War, before taking up life's work in other fields. Graduated from the University of Iowa, he began the practice of law in Knoxville, Iowa, in 1869, coming to Bay City in 1875, so that his local practice just falls within the scope oi the three decades. Griffith H. Francis, present judge of probate, and graduate of the University of Michigan^, also came here just 30 years ago, and in that long period has acquired a host of friends by his sterling worth. Thomas E. Webster, judge of probate 1880-86, graduated from the University of Michigan in 1873, and forthwith began practice in Bay City, and in 1905 is still one of our leading attorneys and citizens. W. French Morgan, the courteous and able deputy under three atlministrations of the probate ofifice, is a scion of Kentucky, glad to escape the prejudices of his native heath in years ago he was studying law, being admitted to the bar in 1S78, and in 1905 he is still the indispensable walking encyclopedia of the Probate Court. Fatio Colt, now of Midland ; Edgar A. Cooley, John L. Stoddard, Daniel Siangan, Henry Selleck, John Golden, Samuel L. Brigham, and John Brigham are among the veterans who can look back on more than 30 years of practice before the bar of Bay County. In 1905 we find the activities of these veterans and their professional associates of younger years extending far beyond the confines of Bay County. The fame of Bay City lawyers has gone abroad, and they will be found in important litigation before practically every Circuit Court in Michigan, and their ability has long been recognized and acknowledged before the highest tribunal of our State, - the Supreme Court.

The following review of the attorneys who have practiced and accjuired prominence and success in their profession, together with the Bay County Bar Association's officials and theii work for 1905, is from the pen of one of Bay City's rising young attorneys, whose father achieved a splendid professional record on this very same field little more than a decade ago.

The history of the bench and bar of Bay County commences with the settlement of Lower Saginaw, as the trading post near the mouth of the Saginaw was called in the early days. Bay County was organized in 1857 and at that time extended far up the lake shore and formed a part of the Seventh Judicial Circuit. Two years later Bay County was added to the loth Judicial Circuit, over which Hon. Wilber F. Woodworth presided until he resigned in 1861, his unexpired term being filled by Hon. James Birney by appointment of the Governor. Judge Birney was succeeded in 1865 by Hon. Jabez G. Sutherland, a jurist widely known as an authority on general practice and a textbook writer of high standing, who held the office until 1870, when he resigned to accept an election to Congress.

The most noteworthy of the pioneers of the Bay County bar was Hon. James G. Birney, a gentleman of birth, culture and education, who had already attained national prominence as candidate of the Free Soil party for the Presidency, and who had spent the best part of his life and freely expended his ample fortune in the struggle for the abolition of slavery. In his declining years, seeking rest and relief from the burden which he felt he was no longer able to bear, desiring only rest and oblivion from the hatred which pursued those who attacked the "peculiar institution," he found peace and quiet on the banks of the placid Saginaw and observed from a distance the progress of that struggle the result of which was to him never in doubt. While never again engaging in active practice, his advice and counsel were eagerly sought, and fortunate indeed was the hardy woodsman or pioneer farmer whose claim or title rested upon the opinion of the hardy patriot Birney. He lived to see the beginning of the end of the contest and to know the greatness of the success for \\hich he had so long contended, apparently in ^-ain.

His son, Hon. James Birney, for a few years filled the vacanc}' in the judgeship of the circuit, which comprised the counties of Bay, Midland and Arenac. He presided on the bench with distinction and remained in active practice as counsel for many years thereafter, retiring in 1892.

Hon. Chester H. Freeman, another of the early lights of the bar, settled on the banks of the Saginaw when the world hereabouts was voung, and until verv recent vears continned to reside in the community which he had seen spring from the wilderness.

Hon. Andrew C. Maxwell, afterward circuit judge from 1894 to 1900, was a contemporary of the earliest comers to the lower end of the Saginaw Valley. A man of strong personality, aggressive, able and not much given to the observance of nice distinctions, it was inevitable that he should have had strong friends and bitter enemies. He died in Bay City in the year 1902.

Thomas C. Grier came to Bay City about i860. Upon the creation of the i8th Judicial Circuit in 1871, he was elected on the Democratic ticket as circuit judge. For many years he had held a high position at the bar. and the choice of the Democrats was the choice of the community at large, no opponent being presented. His death soon after assuming the ermine deprived the community of a useful citizen, a good neighbor and a judge who gave promise of a career on the bench successful abo\'e the average.

He was succeeded upon the bench by Hon. San ford M. Green, than whom few men ha\'e had greater influence in shaping Michigan's laws and system of practice. Compiler of the "Revised Statutes of 1846," judge of the Circuit and Stipreme courts under the old system in vogue before the adoption of the constitution of 1850, a writer of standard text-books and an attorney of high standing at the bar, he brought to the service of the circuit a wealth of knowledge and experience far beyond that of the average jurist. He was reelected without opposition, and was allowed to retire only when advancing years brought an end to his labors. He died in 1903. He was followed to the gra\-e by the affection and esteem of the bar of the entire State and the memory of his work will last as long as the bench and bar of Michigan endiu-e.

Hon. George P. Cobb took up the practice of the law in Bay City in 1868. Industrious and careful, he quickly attained standing at the bar, was associated for many years with the late lamented Hon. Archibald ^IcDonell, and finally in 1888 was elected, on an independent ticket, to the circuit bench. His careful, kindly nature made practice before him a pleasure and he retired from the bench with the esteem of all in 1894. He is still engaged in active practice in Bay City.

Few men have been called to the bench under such trying circumstances as was Hon. Theodore F. Shepard in 1900. The declining years of his predecessor's incumbency had re- suited in a serious disarrangement of the routine work of the court and the situation called for a man of character and ability above the average. Judge Shepard may well be content to be judged by the record of his incumbency. Possessing the confidence and respect of the bar, he quickly restored order, system and dignity to the court proceedings and his fairness, patience and manifest intention that each litioant should have a "square deal" has made his record on the bench one which his successors may well emulate. His elevation to the bench followed a long and successful career as practitioner, including service as prosecuting attorney of Bay County and as United States district attorney. He will retire from the bench in 1905, to be followed by Hon. Chester L. Collins. The last named gentleman is at the present time one of the oldest in point of practice now at the Bay County bar, and it is perhaps enough to say of his character and standing in the community that he had the support of the entire bar in his contest for the judgeship.

In glancing down the long list of names of attorneys, which have appeared at different times upon the roll of the bar of Bay County, one is struck by the number that have become household words throughout the State and some of which have achieved even national prominence. JNIen of such standing as the late Hon. Isaac Marston, justice of the Supreme Court and Attorney General ; Hon. Thomas A. E. ^^'ea(lock and Hon. Herschel H. Hatch, both now members of the Detroit bar and both ex-members of Congress from the Tenth Congressional District ; Hon. Robert J. Kelley, recently judge of the Alpena circuit and now member of the Battle Creek bar, besides many others to whose records the limits of this article will not permit doing full justice, deserve special mention.

With them may be classed the leaders of the bar in a day now long past, such men as Hon. Sidney T. Holmes, once judge of the New York Supreme Count, and for many years in active practice in Bay County, senior and founder of the firm of Holmes, Collins & Stoddard; Hon. x\rchibald McDonelk whose recent death was felt as a berea\-ement by the entire community; Hon. Luther Beckwith. ^\'indsor Schofield, Graeme Wilson and many another, whose name is now but a memory to the old and an inspiration to the young practitioners of to-day. The older generations were products of the times in which they lived, strong men of forceful manner and address, men of affairs as well as scholars in the law, and their character is indelibly impressed upon the profession which they adorned. Something of the nice theoretical training of the schools mav have been wanting, manners and habits may have savored somewhat of the rough and ready times and community in which they lived, but their sterling characters, forceful personalities and devotion to the high ideals of their profession set a standard which will tax the energies of succeeding generations of practitioners to maintain.

It would be invidious to atempt to single out those members of the present bar whose careers and characters owe their success and standing to the fact that they builded upon the foundation so well laid by their forebears. The bar is at present able, active and well-organized. Since the earh' "seventies" a bar association has existed, which has been lately reorganized with the following officers : President, Edgar A. Cooley; vice-president. John C. Weadock; secretary and treasurer, Frank S. Pratt. An annual banquet and standing active committees on grievances, etc., are notable features of the new organization.

which by gradual additions has accumulated several thousand volumes and is one of the best equipped in the State. While annual dues are exacted from members of the bar for its support, it is at all times open free of charge to judges and public officials, and has proven of great value to the public as well as the profession. The library is situated in the Sheerer Block and has a librarian in constant attendance.

Among those now engaged in the active work of the bar whose wide and active practice has conferred a leadership might be mentioned : Edgar A. Cooley, for many years associated with the late Justice Marston and Hon. Herschel H. Hatch, and now with John C. Hewitt, in corporation and general practice; John C. \\'eadock, now, as for 20 years past, associated with his brother, Hon. Thomas A. E. Weadock, under the firm name of T. A. E. & J. C. ^^'eadock, and whose leadership extends to the community at large; Hezekiah '\L Gillett and John E. Simonson who for over a quarter of a century have been associated in practice ; DeVere Hall, John L. Stoddard, M. L. Courtright, Lee E. Joslyn, Frank S. Pratt, U. R. Loranger, C. E. Pierce and John E. Kinnane. men of large practice and experience and well-known to the profession at large throughout the State; and Chester L. Collins^ whose recent election to the office of circuit judge crowns a long career of useful and successful work in general practice.

Among the younger members, upon whose shoulders the burden of the work of the bar is falling, might be mentioned Edward E. Anneke and Lewis P. Coumans, for six years prosecuting attorney and assistant prosecuting attorney, respectively; Edward S. Clark, of Simonson, Gillett & Clark; James E. Duffy, until the death of Archibald ^NIcDonell, associated with the latter under the firm name of McDonell & Duffy; Samuel G. Houghton, the first city attorney of Greater Bay City; Pearl M. Haller, Richard A. JMcKay, Frank P. Mc- Cormick, Albert INIcClatchey, Horace Tupper, Jr., Brakie J. Orr, recently city attorney of Bay City for three tenns and now prosecuting attorney; Archibald H. ]\Ic]\Iillan, Delano H. Thompson, Luther G. Beckwith^ Fred W. De- Foe. R. T. Waddle and James E. Brockway (member of the Legislature). Hon. Griffith H. Francis presides over the Probate Court, two ex-judges of which, Hon. Hamilton M. Wright and Hon. Thomas E. ^^'ebster, are still engaged in active practice in Bay City. James Donnelly has for many years added to his professional labors the burden of the duties of alderman of Bay City. James Van Kleeck, late State commander of the G. A. R., and Isaac A. Gilbert were for many years associated and both are now engaged in practice. Edward W. Porter and Joseph P. Haffey still keep up the firm of which the late Henry Lindner was the founder and head. George R. Fox and W. A. Collins are circuit court commissioners, and Robert L. King, now justice of the peace, has given a new and better tone to the practice in the lowest court. Lawrence McHugh, a stalwart of the old school, completes a list, partial onh'^, of the members of the present bar. To attempt to name all, and with justice to their lives and careers, is impossible within the limits of this article. Let it suffice to say that the work of the Bay County bar is known and appreciated throughout the State and ranks with the best.

The presence of the United States Court for the Northern Division of the Eastern District of Michigan calls the members frequently to meet in contest the best minds of the bars of this and the adjoining States in the battles of the forum, and in this our bar has never been found wanting. If the saying is true that the character and welfare of a community is largely determined by the character of its bench and of the men of the bar. who maintain, interpret and administer its laws, then may Bay County well be congratulated that its welfare and character are in such safe hands and so well-established.

Courts.- - The United States Court for the Northern Division of the Eastern District of Michigan is held in commodious court rooms in the Federal Building on the first Tuesdays in May and October. The following are officers of this court : Judge, H. H. Swan, of Detroit, salary $5,000; attorney, W. D. Gordon, of Midland, salary $4,000: clerk, W. S. Harsha, fees; division clerk. Miss Davison, fees; marshal, \\'. R. Bates, salary $4,000; deputy marshal, Lucious W. Tobias, of Bay City; commissioner, ?ilrs. Jennie Wright Jones, of Bay City.

The terms of the i8th Judicial Circuit Court begin in "March. May, September and December. The oflilcers of the court are: Judge, Theodore F. Shepard; commissioners, George R. Fox and W. A. Collins ; stenographer, A. M. Haynes ; officer, Henry Cornell.

Bay City has for many years had a Police Court, on a metropolitan plan, over which William M. Kelley, once county clerk and ever a public-spirited citizen, has now presided for several terms. Since Greater Bay City became an established fact, this court also handles all minor cases from the West Side. Under Justice Kelley's experienced eye, this court has long been a credit to the city. The annual report of our Police department indicates the mass of minor matters coming before this court and incidentallv reflects all the weal and woe

According to the annual report for 1904, there came before this court the following cases, in which comparisons with the previous year are shown : Of abusive language, 21 cases were recorded: eight less than in 1903. Assault and battery aggregated 109 cases, a falling ofif of 22 cases, as compared with the previous year. Attempted rape was charged in 13 cases, a number larger than the total for similar charges during the 10 years preceding 1902. Cohabitating with a child under 16 years of age was the basis of arrest in' five cases, the largest number for any one year in the history of the department. Only two cases of enticing girls into houses of ill fame were recorded. Disorderly persons, including vagrants, were arrested in "]-/ cases. Fifteen cases of burglary were recorded, an increase of 11 over the previous year. Drunkenness showed an increase of 76 cases over the previous year, 481 arrests being made. Ill treatment of children was the cause of nine arrests, an increase of three. Petit larceny, while common, 78 cases being recorded, was exceeded the previous year b}^ 16 cases. Malicious injury to property was recorded in 25 cases; the majority of ofifenders came from the ranks of the small boys, bent on mischief more than on crime. Nineteen children were brought in charged with truancy, and of juvenile disorderly, 10; of this number, four were sent to the Industrial School for Boys, and six to the Industrial Home for Girls. Nonsupport caused 17 arrests, exceeding but one over the previous year. Of violations of the bicycle ordinance, 91 cases were recorded; many being first oft'enses, very few fines were imposed. Sixteen arrests were made for violations of various other city ordinances. The difference in the number of lodges cared for is

The 1,260 arrests are thus classified : Males, 1,166 - females, 94; white, 1,243 - colored, 17; married, 436 - single, 824; able to read and write. 1,188 - not able to read and write, 72. The arrests were classified by their nativity as follows: United States, 821; Canada, 178; Poland, 85; Ireland, 56; Germany, 36; England, 22; Russia, 19; Scotland, 11; Siberia, 8: Norway, 5; Sweden, 4; Australia, 3; Finland, Italy, Switzerland and Syria, 2 each; Bohemia, China, the Netherlands and New Foundland, i each.

Time was, when the practice of medicine hardly rose to the dignity of a profession. The then practitioner, who was the best guesser, let out the most blood and had the largest assortment of recipes was a sort of magician and was never without patients. The discovery of important scientific truths during the last century swept away many of the superstitions and pretentions of the practice and schools of medicine and elevated the profession to one of dignity and Tecognized honor in the realm of enlightened civilization. The success that has attended the medical profession during the last half century is due to the self-sacrifice and unselfish devotion of those who have chosen the saving of life and the alleviation of physical suffering as a life duty, and yet the measure of success has been far less in perhaps the generality of instances than the efforts of those engaged in the practice of medicine deserve.

War marks with a blare of trumpets the gallant act and decorates with emblems of a nation's esteem the hero who risks life for his country. The ph}-sician who saves life receives no such reward, but he is usually content with the gratitude of the patient and the conscious- ness of a duty \vell performed. Yet in war, as in peace, the doctor is an ever essential factor and risks his hfe and health in the camp, on the battle-field and in the hospitals of pain. He is a comforter of the sick and afflicted, as well as the hope of the hearts of the families of the sufferer, and if his fame is less pretentious it is none the less appreciated.

We find in the opening j-ears of this 20th century no more honored profession that that of medicine. In its practice comparatively few, however, have been rewarded with rich returns, and there are many in this profession, who have not met with the same measure of success financially that comes to those engaged in other business or professional pursuits.

This was particularly true of the first practitioners, regulars and volunteers, who sought to heal and to help ailing mankind in the wilds of Central Michigan. Jacob Graverot, the picturesque frontiersman of early times in this neck of the primeval forest, attained much of his fame and eminence among the Indians by his primitive but apparently effective treatment ment of the natives when ill or wounded. His limited knowledge of medicine, particularly the curative qualities of herbs and shrubs, made him a medicine man among the roaming Chippewas. The first settlers in these parts for years after his death., which occurred about 1839, heard the red men recount his miraculous cures of members of their tribes, long before another pale face medicine man visited the banks of the Saginaw.

Here, as elsewhere, the hardy pioneers, who first left the borders of civilization and wan dered into the little clearing where Bay City stands to-day, were like the conquerors of old, who burned their ships behind them, and risked everything, even health and life, in the unknown and isolated settlement. The bayous and swampy lowlands were veritable malaria breeders, yet Judge Albert Miller in his memoirs recalls the fact that the men and women who first came to these parts were a hardy race, and sickness was a rare occurrence. Home remedies, such as were found in every home in the land 70 years ago, were never missing from the crude shelves of the log cabins of the settlers. In extreme and rare cases, some practicing physician would be brought from Saginaw, Flint and even Detroit.

Mrs. Elizabeth (Wilcox) Rogers, wife of Thomas Rogers and daughter of Dr. Wilcox, of \Vatertown, Xew York, who came here about 1837, was for years the "Good Samaritan" of the pioneer settlement. Born November 12, 1809, she spent much of her youth in the office of her father, and early learned to> compound medicines and fill prescriptions. She was an ardent student of medicine, and when 18 years of age was often consulted by her father on various and difficult cases that occurred in his daily practice. After marrying" Mr. Rogers, they came West by way of Toronto, Canada. Judge Miller hired Isir. Rogersas blacksmith and millwright to assist in establishing the first sawmill in what is now Bay- City, and he filled a multiplicity of minor public positions during those early days. He was constable, then mail carrier between here and Saginaw, and justice of the peace for a number of years. Thus the husband tied the nuptial knot of the first couple married here, - Fred Derr and Miss Clark^ the school teacher of the little settlement. And it was his good wife who was present when Elizabeth Barney, and later wife of A. G. Sinclair, was born ini\Iay, 1838, in the little log cabin, where the Maxwell Block stands to-day, - the first whitedaughter of iSIr. and Mrs. Cromwell Barney, child born in Bay County. From that timeforth until 1850, Mrs. Rogers was the ministerine ans:el of the backwoods settlement. The early settlers never forgot her many acts of benevolence and her womanly devotion to the sick and dying, in days that tried men's souls. At all hours of the day or night, through storm or snow, rain or shine, on foot or on horseback, she would hasten through the woods, infested with wild beasts, to the bedside of the sick or dying. There w-as scarcely a child born in the settlement for 20 years that she was not present, even after practicing physicians came to the growing lumber town. And all this she did because she felt it was a duty she owed her fellow-men, without remuneration, happy if her humble efforts relieved the suffering and cheered the dying. And during all these years she was raising a family of her own, four boys and three girls remaining with her, when Mr. Rogers was stricken with the cholera, (luring the epidemic in the summer of 1852, while cutting prairie hay a few miles south of his home. He was found by Orrin Kinney, and tenderly carried hoine in a blanket, but died in a very few hours despite all his devoted wife could do. Her daughters all married men of local prominence: Esther became Airs. Riley M. Burrington; Bettie became Mrs. Charles B. Cottrell, and Ellen became the wife of the late Prof. Fred W". Lankenau, for years superintendent of the West Side schools. Mrs. Rogers of blessed memory died July 16, 1881. She lived to see the four families that were here when she first came, multiply and grow to a prosperous city of 20,000 souls.

Dr. J. T. Aliller of Saginaw occasionally came down to the forlorn little settlement, while Dr. George E. Smith was the first practicing physician and registered pharmacist to locate in Bay City. He graduated from the Cleveland Medical College, began practice here in 1850, owned the first drug store and was postmaster from 1853 to 1861.

In 1 86 1 he turned his attention to the lumber industry, where he realized quicker returns, until 1878, ivhen his health failed him, and he again took up the practice of medicine. He was a highly respected citizen. Dr. August Nabert, born January 10, 1828, in Brunswick, Germany, graduated from the medical college of his native city, sailed for three years on a whaling vessel in the South Seas, came here to practice in 1851, and himself fell a victim to the cholera epidemic of 1852. A widow and five children survived him, including August Nabert, now in the upholstering business on Fourth avenue. He, too, fell at the post of duty, in the service of humanity, yet no medal was struck in his honor, nor did a grateful community enscribe his name on the tablets of fame !

The pioneer physicians had to undergo all the privations and hardships of the settlement. Dr. Smith, and the other practitioners who came prior to 1865, had to be as expert in a canoe as on horseback, and they had to know the Indian trails as well and better than the settlers, because, forsooth, the settler need know only his own vicinity, while the physician must know them all ! It was nothing unusual for Dr. Smith to follow the "blazed" trail to Wiliams township, where the '"C. C. C." of Mr. Chilson, and an irregular path through the dense forest, alone showed the way. In spring and fall it was not practical to travel this trail with a horse, which would flounder around helplessly in the quagmire, and a stout .stick and huge rubber boots were the physician's only aids in reaching a rural patient during those seasons. Often these calls would come in the middle of the night, and a pine torch, and later a lantern, would be carried by the guide to the home of the sufferer. Whenever practicable, the omnipresent bark canoe of the Indians would be called into requisition as the readiest mode of transportation to the patients along the Saginaw and Kawkawlin and their tributaries. Any one who has ever navigated one of these craft will appreciate the skill required to handle them, and the danger inseparable from trips along the bay shore to the Kawkawlin or Ouannicassee in so frail a craft. Calls from Frankenlust, Hampton and Portsmouth townships always meant a long trip over corduroy roads or no roads at all.

Since drug stores were scarce, it behooved the pioneer physician to carry a small sized pharmacy with him, and thus burdened he would have to ride a horse of sure foot but trying gait to the scattered cabins, where often dire want and privation were the effective auxiliaries of disease and death.

That fees were meagre and often paid in farm supplies rather than cash, is not surprising under the circumstances. But ungratefulness and debt dodging were seldom heard of in this settlement. Dr. Elizabeth (Wilcox) Rogers declared all our first settlers to be "noblehearted men and women, whom it would seem God had selected to make the beginning here, which otherwise would never have been done!" And the same pioneers adored her "because she was as brave as a lioness in the face of danger, and when her sympathies were called into action, she was as tender as a child !"' This mutual high estimate of character speaks volumes for the integrity and kindness of heart of our pioneers.

From 1S55 to 1865 the Indians added startling experiences to the daily life and practice of the few physicians, who risked health and fortune in this settlement. Seldom did these red men visit Bay City, but what a general carouse ensued, ending usually in a brawl and bloodshed. Then the doctor would be sent for and, at the risk of meeting the altogether too promiscuous blade of the hunting knife,

Almost as dangerous and exciting was the doctor's work in Bay City during the palmy days of the lumber industry. Many were the free for all fights among the lumber jacks and sailors, and the calls for the surgeon's services in the tenderloin district were of almost daily occurrence. Frequently the surgeon on his mission of mercy would arrive before peace and quiet had been restored, and while revolver shots and beer kegs were still flying promiscuously about at the hands of burly fellows crazed by fire-water and licentiousness. That these lurid experiences w^re the exception, and confined to the harbor district, did not detract from the risk taken at some time or other by all the physicians who practiced here during those stirring times, and many a life, recklessly thrown away in these shambles of a frontier settlement, was saved by the devoted effort and scientific treatment of the doctor who chanced to be called first, only too frequently without as much as a single word of appreciation, let alone remuneration. This was particularly true of the roving population who came and went like a surging tide among this and similar lumber towns of Michigan in the decade from 1 870 to 1 880.

From that time on the population assumed a more staid and reliable character. Workingmen came to make homes and take up land, and the rough and read rambler followed the frontier as it was pushed steadily westward and northward. And just as the population became more stationary, even so the professions became more numerous and progressive. Eminent surgeons who had served through the bloody campaigns of the Civil Vv'ar continued the practice of their profession amid more peaceful and more promising surroundings in Bay City, then just entering on its period of unprecedented growth and development. Young students who had left the high school and university, risking their life no less than their profession, in defense of their country, flocked from the battle-fields back to school and later went from college and university halls to the wider fields of life and practice.

Great discoveries were being made about this time in every field of endeavor. Railroads were connecting all parts of the country, steamboats connecting the most distant portions of the globe, and the electric spark was providing a sure and ready means for an interchange of knowledge and experience, unknown in preceding ages. The medical profession was one of the chief beneficiaries of these modern inventions, just as in the profession itself rapid strides were made in scientific knowledge and practical application.

Thus early the concentration and combination of kindred interests were being appreciated and carried out in an humble way, humljle we say, when compared to the giant combinations of capital, of labor and even of the professions in these opening years of the 20th century. The origin of medical associations sprang from the same desire for mutual benefit and protection that has characterized other pursuits, with this marked distinction however, that the people at large truly share in the benefits derived from this concerted study and effort of the medical profession.

\\ onders have l^een acomplished in medicine and surgery in the last 40 years, and who can say how much of this advancement, so precious to mankind, has been brought about by the concerted effort and concentrated study and investigation of the medical profession the world over? Yet the benefits to be derived from collective effort required years of practical demonstration, before even here the dawn of a new era pierced the antiquated customs of other and darker days ! As these benefits became more apparent, the question of education upon lines of the greatest advantage to all became recognized, and the organization of societies, which have for their basic principle the interchange of ideas that benefit the members mutually, soon followed. The development of medical science and the requirements of civilization have created conditions that call for all that is brightest and best in our professional life, and the medical society ocupies a position of recognized utility in human endeavor and an honored position among the educational associations of the world. The benefits it confers on its members are invaluable. It has enabled the profession to purge itself in a large measure of quacks and ignorant pretenders, "fakers'' more properly designated, and to protect the public as well as itself from the wolves that have preyed upon the credulity of the masses. Since Bay County from its earliest days possessed able and devoted practitioners, it followed as a matter of course that the bright young men then largely comprising the profession here should early take a most advanced stand on so vital a proposition. Hence the Bay County Medical Society as early as 1865 began, in an informal way, its period of usefulness. But not until about 1873 ^^-'^^ a permanent organization perfected^ and even this suffered an interval when this promising field lay dormant. The late Dr. Horace Tupper was the first president of the Bay County Medical Society, and Dr. Robert W. Erwin, one of the deans of the profession locally, who in 1905 is still enjoying a lucrative practice, and who l)ut two short years ago was the vigorous president of the Board of Health, was its first secretary. Dr. Tupper was one of Bay County's pioneer physicians, and one of the most widely known practitioners in Michigan, his services being required all over this part of the State.

Tlie Bay County Aledical Society in 1905 holds regular meetings, and from a small beginning now includes the larger number of the members of the profession in Bay Count}'. It has been an agency of value to the city and county, as well as to the individual members. The subjects that form topics for consideration are such as appeal to the advanced medical practitioner, including surgery in its various branches, and the best methods of combatting maladies that affect human life. It has been of inestimable advantage to the profession in the valley and is strong', vigorous and alive to every onward movement in medical science. It represents the finest equipped physicians and surgeons in this county, and there are no abler practitioners to be found anywhere.

As a relaxation from the arduous labors of the profession, the members of the society are accustomed to gather occasionally at a physicians' banquet, where the best of good-fellowship reigns. Even here it is their chief delight to discuss learned matters and from the lips of a leader in their chosen profession acquire more knowledge and the benefit of ripe experience and minute research. Their predecessors in the line of duty 30 years ago did not have these advantages. Preeminent leaders there were, then as now, but the same means of travel and intercourse were so restricted that able treatises in the medical journals alone could convey to the profession in the rural districts the benefits of new ideas, new formulas and new methods.

The present officers of the society are : Dr. Russel W. Brown, president ; Dr. Archibald W. Herrick, secretary; Dr. Charles H. Baker, treasurer. It would be impossible to give in this connection a list of the membership of the society in all these years since its organization, -but among those who have been prominent are the well-known and still active practitioners, the deans of the profession locally, - Dr. Henry B. Land(-)n, Dr. Robert W. Erwin, Dr. Isaac E. Randall, Dr. Charles T. Newkirk and Dr. John W. Hauxhurst, while the necrology of the society contains such honored names as Dr. Horace Tupper, Dr. Columbus V. Tyler, Dr. Jeffrey R. Thomas, Dr. R. W. Elliott, and Dr. A. E. Hagadorn, able and beloved practitioners, whose names will live long in the hearts of those they served so well in life, many of whom owe their very lives to timely and experienced medical aid in times of need !

\\'hile we are decidedly in the age of the $ mark, when almost everything and everybody is measured by the monetary standard, and when there are occasionally people who feel that anything they pay for in hard cash recjuires no further comment or concern, to the great majority the devoted care of the family physician cannot and will not be measured by that Iciw standard. Life and health are priceless gifts, and those who serve humanity in the consideration of those gifts merit a reward that goes beyond the grave and that cannot be computed in mere dollars and cents_, be the computation ever so liberal. Verily the able and devoted physician is indeed a benefactor of mankind !

Bay County has reason to appreciate the ability, character and services of its medical practitioners ! If every community in our good State and great country is as al.ily served, then can we well understand and believe that the nation's mortality statistics are becoming yearly more encouraging, and the average span of life, despite our strenuosity. is gradually and steadily being prolonged. The advance in surgery and medicine is one of the great marvels of this enlightened age, and progress and results are constant and well-defined on this vital field of human endeavor. We need but look about us and take but a fleeting glance at com- parative statistics of health and mortahty right here at home during the past 30 years, to appreciate the benefits conferred by the earnest study and advanced methods used by our own esteemed guardians of hfe and heaUh.

There is no organization of citizens which has for its objects the welfare of the community and advancement of its members that has been productive of a greater measure of general good than the Bay County Medical Society. It deserves the highest meed of praise and its members are among our most esteemed citizens. From its ranks have come some of the ablest instructors in our country's leading schools of medicine. Dr. Fleming Carrow, the noted oculist, who was for some time in practice in Bay County, was for many years professor at the University of Michigan, the specialist on diseases of the eye and ear. He was enjoying a lucrative practice extending all over the State, when the call came to accept a chair in Michigan's far-famed university at Ann Arbor. Dr. R. S. Copeland, of the Homeopathic Medical School at the University of Michigan, came to Bay City about the time Dr. Carrow was called to Ann Arlxir, and for some years also enjoyed a lucrative practice, until called to the higher post of duty and honor.

Bay City has skilled men filling the places of those who have been called to larger fields, and right well are they maintaining the reputation of their predecessors. Dr. \\'. \\'. Williams and others have this very year, after studies abroad, taken up at home the practice of electro-therapeutics, and it may be safely asserted that in this branch of the profession there are none better equipped than those in this city. In the field of general practice the society is strong and the names and reputations of a score or more of these are secure.

In 1875 we find practicing here the following physicians : Charles A. Bogert, John H. Burland, William H. Burr, James Clark, Sira Carmen, William W. Elmer, John ]\I. Emery, Stephen - H. Hagadorn, John Hargrave, W^. E. Vaughn, who located here in 1868; Norman Johnson, Owen Kelley, C. C. Kingsbury, Richard Kratzsch, George La^Montagne, Jeremy T. Miller, John Oldfield, Patrick \\". O'Toole and W. R. Tupper, practitioners long since vanished fr(im the scene of their activities, whether by death or removal. Among the active list of 30 years ago, but whom the Grim Reaper has since gathered to the majority, we find the late Dr. William Cunningham, Sr., Dr. Edwin H. Gates, who came here in 1866: Dr. A. F. Hagadorn, who came here in 1875; Dr. George Heumann, whose thrilling experience in a blizzard while crossing Saginaw Bay cost him a leg and nearly his life, a vivid reminder of the dangers constantly attending the devoted ministrations of the first physicians in this frontier settlement; Dr. Henry A. Marks, Dr. Aaron A. Pratt, Dr. Jefifrey R. Thomas, Dr. Horace Tupper, Dr. Columbus V. Tyler who came here in 1869; and Mrs. ]\Iarion F. Ma.xon, the lone woman physician 30 years ago, with offices in the Griswold Block, were all beloved and esteemed practitioners, whose memories are treasured by the thousands they served so well, and whose fame as leaders in the various branches of the profession locally will endure for generations yet to come.

To few men in any walk of life is it given to be able to look on 30 years of consecutive service in one community, and in this distinguished list we find on active duty in 1875, and some much earlier; Dr. Rol)ert W. Erwin, then located on Fifth avenue and Adams streets; Dr. Harvey Gilbert, then in the Cranage Block and in 1903-04 the energetic health officer, combatting a mild, local epidemic of smallpox, and incidentally carrying forward the campaign for more effective work in the secretary's department of the State Board of Health; Dr. Henry B. Landon, our esteemed veteran soldier and physician, the first of the still living and practicing physicians to come here, who can now look back upon 40 years of almost continuous service among the good people of Bay County, and who in 1875 ^^^'^^ offices on Fifth avenue and Jefferson street; Dr. Charles T. Newkirk, the globetrotter and veteran army surgeon, whose medical experience extends over three continents, who in 1862, hardly of age and just graduated from Victoria College at Toronto, joined his brother in the Argentine Republic, in South America, later lost his brother, Dr. Daniel Newkirk, in a smallpox epidemic, served three years as surgeon in the army of Brazil in Paraguay, with the rank of captain, then four months in a yellow fever epidemic in Buenos Ayres, and, after visiting the leading hospitals of London and Continental Europe, located permanently in Bay City in 1868. In 1875 we find him located at No. 305 Nordi Water street, where to-day stand the mammoth storage tanks of the gas company. In 1898 the writer had reason to see and appreciate the work of Dr. Newkirk, then major and surgeon in the United States Army, serving before Santiago, amid the hospitals of the wounded and dying at Siboney, and the fever wards near Aquadores. In 1905 Dr. Newkirk is still serving his State as surgeon, with the rank of captain of the 3rd Infantry, Michigan National Guard. Dr. Charles A. Walsh was located in the Cranage Block in 1875, and for more than thirty years Bay City has admired and appreciated his professional services, his good citizenship, which ever finds time and energv from his other duties for public-spirited endeavors. Dr. George A. Williams had headquarters in Whitney's drug-store in 1875, and thirtv years after still enjoys good health, his share of the county's practice, and the reputation of being a capital entertainer and a proficient linguist. Dr. \A'illiam F. Hovey, Civil War was in 1875, practicing on South Water street, but of late years he has retired for a well-earned repose from the exacting duties of his profession. He lives with his daughter, Mrs. H. C. Clements, on Center avenue, but still takes an active interest in public affairs of his ward, city, county and State. Bay City, West Side, has in 1905 no more popular and representative a citizen than Dr. Isaac E. Randall, who began his professional career there in 1867, and practically grew up with that community. In 1875 we already find him in the location on John and River streets, where he is in 1905, the beloved family medical adviser in hundreds of Bay County homes, pension examiner and public-spirited citizen, who contributed much tOAvard the union of our municipalities. Dr. William E. Magill came to Denona in 1870. was practicing in 1875 on Henry street between John and Jane streets, and soon thereafter began active public life and service, which kept him much from his professional duties. For five years he was superintendent of the West Bay City schools ; mayor, 1881-82, county treasurer six years ; insurance commissioner for Michigan 1891-93, since which time he has held sundry other local offices, being the last city treasurer of West Bay City, going out of office upon the consolidation of the sister cities in April, 1905. There is in all Bay County no better illustration of loyal friendship and unswerving devotion, the local illustration of the far-famed story of Damon and Pythias, than the thirty-five years of companionship of Hon. H. H. Aplin and Dr. William E. Magill, a friendship that has exerted a marked influence on the course of local and public events in that long period, unhampered by opposing political beliefs, Dr. Magill being for years as ardent a Democrat as his friend was a stanch Repub- Hcan. Both are still in active service, united now politically, since the money issue changed party demarcation and their fellow-citizens wish them many more years of usefulness and happy comradeship. Dr. John W. Hauxhurst in 1875 was located on Midland street between River and Linn streets, then as now, the heart of the West Side, and in 1905 we find this eminent physician still enjoying the confidence and esteem of a wide circle of acquamtances, with his professional services in much demand. Dr. Henry Wiede, practicing in Salzburg in 1875, has vanished from this vicinity. Dr. Fred D. Hiesordt has the unique distinction of being the oldest native-born practitioner. Born in Bay City in 1858, lie graduated from the Bay City High School in 1876, the University of Michigan in 1879, ^"tl the Detroit Medical College in 1 88 1. He came here immediately to practice, and in an unostentatious way has followed his chosen profession here since, living with his father, P. S. Hiesordt, who taught the first graded school in Bay City. Dr. Columbus V. Tyler was one of the most conspicuous figures in Bay County's medical profession. Born in 1825, he came here in 1869, was elected State Senator for the term from 1876 to 1879, and served on the State Board of Health. He was a prominent member of the Bay County Medical Society and of the American Medical Association.

In 1905 we find Bay City well supplied with hospitals and sanitariums, yet only five years ago there was not in all Bay County a single emergency institution. In 1880 Dr. J. A. Waterhouse, graduated of the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati, Ohio, came here to establish the Bay City Hospital, occupying four rooms in the Smith & Hart Block on Water street; the year following he engaged thirty rooms at Third and Saginaw streets, called in his brother. Dr. H. M. Waterhouse, a skilled surgeon, and for several years treated thousands of patients. This and similar institutions started later thrived for a while and then vanished. In 1900 Mercy Hospital was founded through the self-denying and persistent efforts of the good Sisters of jMercy, ably assisted by the medical profession and many of the laity. This institution has been successful from its very inception, as well as a boon to suffering humanity. Since then the Lewis Hospital on Broadway, Bishop Hospital on Center avenue, and several private sanitariums have been established, so that in this particular Bay County is now well equipped and has in fact ample hospital facilities for all the surrounding region, whose people gladly avail themselves of the splendid corps of local practitioners and modern hospital accommodations. In surgery Bay City stands pre-eminent in the State, a large corps of capable and experienced surgeons enjoying; extended and constantly increasing practice.

The following mortality statistics gleaned from the Federal census of 1900, will be of interest to the medical profession, no less than to the laity. During the census year there were 547 deaths in Greater Bay City, 351 on the East Side, and 196 on the West Side. Of these, 348 were native born and 191 foreign born. Let it be recalled here that this same census shows Bay City, East Side, to have had in that year 13,546 males, and 14,082 females; 27,485 whites, and 143 colored, of whom 19.143 were native born, and 8,485 foreign born. The foreign born amounted to 30.7 per cent, of the whole. Now we have always been told that the hardy foreigners are far stronger physically than the pie-eating Yankees, but for Bay City the statistics tell a different tale. The total death rate per 1,000 of population in Bay City, East Side, was 12.7 per cent.; the deadi rate

The principle causes of death on the East and West sides, respectively, were as follows : Measles. 3 and 4: scarlet fever, 10 and 2; diphtheria and croup, 21 and 8; diarrheal diseases, 13 and 15; typhoid fever, 8 and 6; malarial fever, 2 and 3 ; influenza, 3 and i ; pneumonia, 13 and 14; consumption, 19 and 20 (the first number being the deaths on the East Side, the last figures the deaths on the West Side). Increased mortality during the last decade is shown in pneumonia, 5 per cent ; heart disease, 12.2 per cent.; kidney diseases, 24 per cent, (now used as an argument favoring temperance!): apoplexy, 17.6 per cent.; cancer, 12. i per cent. ; old age, 9.1 per cent (mark that !) influenza 17.7 per cent. ; stomach diseases, 1.9 per cent.; suicide, 1.5 per cent.; septicemia, 2.3 per ; diabetes, 3.9 per cent. ; burns ami scalds, 3.3 per cent. ; cerebro-spinal fever, .8 per cent, (this disease is causing much illness and death in New York and elsewhere in 1905) ; gunshot wounds, 1.4 per cent. Encouraging decreases in mortality for the same period are shown in consumption, 54.9 per cent ; diarrheal diseases, 19 per cent. ; bronchitis. 26.1 per cent. ; cholera infantum, 3 1 .9 per cent. ; debility and atrophy.

43.1 per cent.; diphtheria, 34.7 per cent; con- \ulsions, 23.2 per cent.; brain diseases, 12.3 per cent.; croup 17.8 per cent. ; malarial fever, 10.4 per cent.; rheumatism. 1.3 per cent.; inflammation of the brain, "j.^) per cent. ; paralysis, 2.7 per cent.; liver diseases, 1.5 per cent.; dropsy, 3.4 per cent. Much of this discrease in our most dreaded national ailments is of course due to the advances made by the medical profession in the last decade, no less than to the more rational living of the nation itself. A'erily we do progress !

In this place it may not be inappropriate to note a few of the coordinate branches of the schools of medicine. There is the druggist, the skilled mixer and compounder, upon whose experience and ability often depends so much of the physician's success and the weal and woe of many patients. William W. \'edder is the dean of druggists on the West Side, being the first pharmacist to locate there in 1873, '^'^^ ""^ 1905 he is still dispensing drugs to his appreciative neighbors. On the East Side, John K. Mason is the dean, beginning under the firm name of Mason & McNeil in 1874, taking in Lyman F. Beach in 1879, the firm of Alason & Beach continuing to this daj- among the leaders in the drug line in Northern Michigan. Lucien S. Coman was located at No. 107 Center avenue in 1875, later going to the corner of Center and W'ashington aveues, where he continued in business almost up to the hour of his death. Florentine H. J. \'anEmster was located on Broadway and i8th street in 1875; later he erected the fine block at the head of Washington avenue, which bears this name. Mr. Van Emster met a tragic death a few years ago through the burning of his drug store, three lives being lost in the conflagration. Frederick Von Walthousen was in 1875 located on Third and Water streets ; later he removed to Center avenue and Adams street, and in 1905 is still among the living, but bent under the weight of 75 winters and many misfortunes. C. C. Whitney in 1875 ^ drug store in the Bank Block, but in 1905 we find him in the National Chicory Company and the National Biscuit Company, while others are carrying on his former business. There were twelve other drug stores in 1875 o" '^'16 East Side, and two others on the West Side, so the growing city, then as now, was well supplied in that line.

Less numerous but equally welcome were the dentists. Dr. Hezekiah B. Hulbert came here in 1868, and in 1875 "^^'^^ located in the Cranage Block, while in 1905 the sage practitioner is located in the Ridotto. Dr. Carl W. Maxon, in 1905 practicing on the West Side, came here in 1866, was located in the Westover Block in 1875 ^'""^^ ^''^s long enjoyed his share of the dental business. The late Dr. N. H. Webster came here in 1866, was located in the Shearer Block in 1875, and continued actively at work for nearly 30 years. His widow still lives in their commodious home on State street, in its day one of the finest homes on the W^est Side. As late as 1S75 the West Side had no dentists, but in 1905 this field is also well taken care of. Most of the practitioners in dentistry in Bay City, East and West Side, in 1905, are recent graduates from the University of Michigan and similar institutions, which are today furnishing the world with the most advanced practitioners in that field of endeavor. They are a boon to our sweet-tooth generation, with its manifold needs for dentistry in a degree unknown by our forefathers. They are progressive citizens withal and with the medical profession take a foremost place in our social, public and civil life. Their long years of study

As a nation we have still much to learn on that score, and our practitioners would find it less difficult to save human life, were life not held too cheaply by many people. Good health is the greatest boon of God, and mankind should not fritter it away recklessly, heedlessly, unmindful of the first laws of health and the timely warnings of Nature. Medicine and science cannot always heal wounds thus recklessly inflicted ! The most progressive physician is still but himself human, and far from being omnipotent. His efforts to prolong and to save life require the constant and earnest co-operation of our people. Temperate living will do much to alleviate the sum of human suffering and increase the sum of human happiness. That is the life work and the life ambition of each successful physician, never so happy as when this ideal has been reached in even a remote degree and even in an isolated instance. And a grateful and appreciative people extend to the profession that high plane in life, to which their devoted work for weak and suffering humanity justly entitles them.

Each lonely place shall him restore, For him the tear be duly shed; Beloved, tilllife can charm no more. And mourned till gratitude be dead!