Michigan History: Zachariah Chandler Defends the Constitution

Not everything posted on this blog will be directly Nankin-related but will sometimes venture into the fringes of Wayne County, Detroit and even the entire state of Michigan and beyond. Since I regularly research the Eloise Asylum, Gundella the Witch, the William Ganong Cemetery and Eber Brock Ward and the children of the House of Ward they will make guest appearances here while also having their own blog space. This is one such instance.

While sorting out my book room—which sounds rather haughty even though I've only two bedrooms and this is one of them—that basically consists of Michigan-related books, paranormal and literature I came across this article about Michigan Sentaor Zachariah Chandler by Maria Quinlan Leiby in the January / February issue of Michigan History.

Chandler was a founder of the Republican Party and a good friend and political ally of Eber Brock Ward. Chandler along with Senator Benjamin Wade of Ohio comprised the leadership of the so-called radical right of the Civil War era which called for crushing the rebels without reserve and mercy and preserving the Union at all costs. A sentiment which I disagree with and point to as a main divisive tenant of our present political strife. But personal politics aside, Ward and Chandler owned the Detroit Post and Tribune and drew the ire of the Detroit Free Press which was decidedly pro-rebellion and anti-black, going so far as to be almost white supremacist. Ward and Chandler were not only for equal rights for all citizens but Ward actively hired black seamen for his ships with a few manned entirely by blacks.

Ward was also intertwined with Wade having married his niece Catherine Lyon, of which the ill-fated futures of Ward's first family hung upon and sunk in the aftermath of his death. While the article doesn't mention Captain E. B. Ward his spirit surely imbued and influenced his fellow Detroit businessman.

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A Dudley Randall Poem in Milestone 2

I bought this Milestone 2 poetry Magazine at a Livonia estate sale this week. Milestone was the literary publication of Wayne (State) University and this second issue dates to 1949. While I don't recognize most of the names, Dudley Randall was both a nationally known poet and the librarian for the Wayne County General Hospital at Eloise via the Wayne County Library System. The poem featured is The Southern Road which was a revised version of the completed poem from 1948 that h as a handful or two of word differences between the two. I don't know if Randall edited the poem for later collected works editions or earlier but this link features it in its likely final form in 2009. Neither version particularly enchants me but the block print in the magazine is an added bonus.

A Cabinet Card of a Dead Man Lying in Repose From Wayne Photographer Susan Doolittle

The City of Wayne, Michigan was not a large village at the turn of the 20th century so it stands to reason that there wasn't a glut of photographers practicing their trade there. As such, the 3 cabinet cards and carte de visites that I own represents roughly a quarter of the early ones. Considering that the wives of Frank Hickok and William Corlett, first Village President of Wayne, took over after Frank's death in 1892 the list grows smaller beyond those two families. Had I snagged the Doolittle dead man cabinet card I'd be even that much more Wayne-rich in photographs. Speaking of Susan Doolittle, of whom I have learned very little about, it is interesting to note that Wayne had three women photographers in an era oft dominated by men in that very field. This photograph of a corpse is a startling example of her work.

Frederick Soop: Not An Equal Opportunity Restraunteer

Detroit Free Press , March 28, 1890 If you don't want to hear a racist tale of a suburban namesake then close your eyes now. As early as 1876 Frederick Soop had left his Belleville farm once again, having done a stint at the Hawkins House in Ypsilanti during the Civil War and the City Hotel in Detroit thereafter, and ventured off to Chatham, Ontario to run the Rutley Hotel , which was conducted as a Temperance House. Detroit Free Press , August 17, 1879 In 1879 he was searching for a good restaurant or small hotel to operate. Eventually he ended up on Washington Avenue near State Street running a dining hall which he ran until around 1890. Detroit Free Press , April 16, 1890 It was in 1888 when the aforementioned racial incident occurred at his dining establishment. It was then that William H. Haynes, a black doctor, sat down with his former classmate S. W. Barkwell for dinner. The men ordered but when the food was served none was placed before Mr. Haynes who, ironically, ha...

The Nankin Township Historical Society

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