The Nankin Township Historical Society

Detroit Free Press , September 16, 1876 Apparently there was a split political ticket in the house of Duffield in old Nankin town. WIlliam W., a staunch Democrat and Samuel Tilden supporter, was known as the Colonel and his brother, a Republican, apparently wasn't worthy of a name beyond Duffield despite his rank of lieutenant. As for the Presidential Election in 1876: Tilden had seemingly locked up the election needing only 1 electoral college delegate in the contested final four state outcomes but a special Congressional committee solved the issue with Rutherford B. Hayes winning by a single delegate despite losing the popular vote.

Detroit Free Press , November 6, 1848 This short snippet seems to suggest that they were cheating at the ballot box in Nankin substituting the Whig candidates for the Democrats. The Whig party names consisting of D. C. Holbrook, A. S. Williams and Joshua Howard. See...conspiracy theories and political dirty tricks have existed all along.

Democratic Free Press , November 1, 1837 This Whig Party meeting in Nankin is treated with the same ineffectual snobbism by the Free Press as a Rawsonville write-up 11 years later was. Which shows that not only has politics been a great divider but that newspapers have always been bitter partisans. For shame! Anyway, some of the prominent Whig party members of Nankin are listen under abbreviated names save for congressional candidate Bates. Those included S. H. Aldrich, Mr. Bunnell, Dr. Hume, Mr. Joy, George C. Bates, Mr. Trowbridge. Bates eventually lost to his Democrat rival Alex W. Buel in a sweep for local Democrats save for the Presidency.

Detroit Free Press , December 9, 1852 The translation from reality to the written page for the Free Press was often an adventure of misinformation. While they usually got the story almost correct they seemingly misspelled, misnamed and misapplied every rule of fact-checking to get the paper to press as soon as humanly possible. In essence, publishing the story was more important than the story itself. In the case of the death of Chief Tonquish and his son by the same moniker, Tonquish, there are at least four renditions of the story. This one seems to be semi-faithful to the others in some regards and disparate in others. All seem to include a main participant by the name of Tom Sargent (sometimes Sargeant). In this instance the sect of Pottawatomie led by Chief Tonquish were returning to their home on the Livonia/Nankin border, where Schwarzburg was situated in the better portion of the last 75 years of the 19th century, after a day of trading their wares and gathering supplies. They ...

Detroit Free Press , May 27, 1962 I don't know if the Imagine Theater, located at 33455 Warren Road in Westland, occupies the former Tonquish Elementary School building and property or if the clump of birch trees that were planted there in 1962 still remain but if so the trees have a bittersweet origin. John "Johnnie" Paxton, a WWII Marine and North Carolina transplant, was the custodian, and sometimes bus driver for the sports teams at the school. During a road game at Northville, in which he was the driver and the ever-enthusiastic fan, Paxton died of a heart attack. Beloved by the children they began to bring pennies to school to buy something to remember Johnnie. They considered books as a remembrance but a tree seemed more enduring. So with the help of principal Patrick Hamil they planted the birch near the school. "Be the kind of generous, understanding person Johnnie Paxton was." said Hamill as some children wiped away tears. A boy played the trumpet ...

Detroit Free Press , October 28, 1963 I'm not going to venture a guess at what became of Hubert Jackson of 32762 Missaukee in Nankin but if he took many more risks like the one he took in late October of 1963 he probably didn't live a very fortuitous life. That risk being dropping a lit match into the gas tank of an abandoned truck in the woods at the corner of Venoy and Glenwood. The truck exploded giving him facial burns and causing his younger brother Gary to require first aid. A friend, Terry Coffey, 10, also of 32873 Mecosta, Nankin, was unhurt. Hubert was taken to Wayne County General Hospital for treatment.

Detroit Free Press , June 21, 1832 Since I've only recently even heard of Schwarzburg a few days back I'll type this snippet out verbatim: By Mr. Torrey, A bill to establish a certain Territorial Road, in the town of Nankin, county of Wayne, and to abolish so much of the Territorial Road in said town, as lies between Benajah Holbrook's sign post in Schwarzburg and the dwelling house of J. J. Andrews.

Somebody is selling this reproduction photo of an actual postcard of a Little Caesar's Pizza Treat store in Garden City that looks to be from the 1960s. After being successful with his first few stores, including the first in Garden City in 1959, Mile Illitch began franchising the Little Caesars brand in the early 1960s, expanding to norther Ohio and Indiana in 1963. It was the original store and operated until 2018. Detroit Free Press , October 11, 1963

Detroit Free Press , February 4, 1859 So maybe my idea for this sort of Historical Society isn't so far afield. It seems that our suburban forebears of the county Wayne in 1859 tried to form their own county named Washington. It was to be comprised of the townships of Livonia, Taylor, Dearborn, Nankin, Brownstown, Redford, Plymouth, Canton, Sumpter, Huron and Van Buren. According to the article below the townships included were all part of the Third District in Wayne County elections. They met at the J. L. Robert's Hotel in Wayne in September of 1852. Detroit Free Press , September 7, 1852 Originally, they proposed some parts of east Washtenaw as well but those inhabitants weren't having any of it. The bill easily passed the Senate but stalled somewhere because I could find no further hits.  Within the new by-laws was the provision that all paupers and persons residing in the County House and in jail who were not residence of the new Washington County would be returned t...

Vermont Journal , August 30, 1873 Here's an amusing story of an angry bovine that lived in old Nankin town. A Detroit buyer and seller named Andrew Steadman came to Nankin to buy some heavy horses on the cheap. When he stopped at the home of the farmer he sought the man was on a neighboring farm working. Steadman decided to cut across the fields to reach his destination quicker. Despite being warned of a savage cow he ventured forth. Some way into his journey he heard a thundering sound and looked to the sky in search of storm clouds. Soon enough he realized that a mad cow had him in her sights. After successfully dodging the beast for some time he scampered towards a hollow log and crawled inside. Once safely inside the vessel the cow turned its fury on the dead tree, tearing the log ragged and Steadman's nerves to a screaming mass of fear. Eventually the farmers heard his screams and with the aid of them and their dogs he was freed from his dilemma but not without some ach...

During the Civil War noted poet Walt Whitman visited battlefield hospitals to give comfort to the maimed, including his own brother. He wrote about many of them in his poetry and prose and eventually wrote in his official capacity for the U. S. government on behalf of veterans receiving pensions. One such recipient was a Nankin farmer named Reuben Farwell (or "little Mitch" as he referred to him in his book "Specimen Days".). Several references refer to both Plymouth and Nan kin, of which Plymouth was a part of said township, as his home but Nankin is the preferred location.  They met in 1864 while Farwell was suffering from a crippling foot injury at Armory Square Hospital in Washington D. C. After spending several months there Farwell was released back to the 1st Michigan Calvary where he finished out his enlistment. The men exchanged letters for a short time afterwards and then rekindled their correspondence in 1875 when Whitman began recollecting on his past f...