Pioneers Of Chandler Township
The Sage Family; Edwin and Sarah "Leona" [In both photos; above and right] with children Wesley, Ellen and Mary, pictured above, showed up on the 1900 Chandler Township Charlevoix County MI Census with only one child, Wesley. They were living near neighbors, the Jacob Snyder Family [Later the Townsend Farm], and the Frank Atkins Family [Later the Alva Glazier Farm]. By 1910 The Sage Family included Edwin born about 1873, Sarah born about 1882, Wesley born about 1900, Ellen born about 1902, Mary born about 1905, and Etta born about 1910. Because Mary appears to be about 2 years old in the above photo, the photo was probably taken about 1907. The Sage Family had moved near new neighbors listed as the Charles Potts Family, the Byron Darnick Family, and the Wilbert Rice Family... closer in area to the Mackie School [near present day, to the Gas Company] where the children attended, as Wesley and Ellen are shown in the photo of the school children of the Mackie School. By the 1920 Chandler Township census Edwin and Sarah had another son Newton born in 1912, and the entire family was still living in the area of the Mackie School. In 1930 Edwin and Sarah Sage were still living in the same location, but no children were living in the home. By 1940, no Sage Family was listed in Chandler Township Charlevoix County MI.
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As stated in A History of Northern Michigan and Its People Volume 1 on page 175 author Perry Powers explained how settlement eventually began in the Northwoods. Powers described the opening of lands in Charlevoix County's neighbor, Emmet County:
"By the spring of 1874 Boyne Falls (a creature of the road) and Petoskey had been reached, and then for some years the enterprise lagged, for the good reason that land titles were somewhat insecure in Emmet county, and the inland region from Petoskey to Mackinaw City was wilderness.
The general settlement of the county and the development of its agricultural resources had been delayed by the fact that the lands of Emmet county were still subject to the Indian treaty. In August, 1874, the eastern tier of townships came into market, and April 15, 1875, the remainder of the county was thrown open to actual settlers. At that time the white population of the county was about one hundred and fifty. As stated, the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad had just opened a highway of travel and transportation through the county, and the village of Petoskey had just entered upon its career. Upon the date named the books were opened at the United States Land Office at Traverse City, and so great was the rush for land that over eight hundred claims were entered during the first three days. Under an act of congress soldiers in the late war could homestead one hundred and seventy acres of land while a citizen could homestead only eighty acres; consequently the greater portion of the land was taken by soldiers who settled upon homesteads of one hundred and sixty acres.
During the summer and fall of 1875 a steady stream of immigration poured into the wilderness of Emmet county and wilderness it indeed was. There was not a road in any direction in the woods except one state road to Cheboygan. The settlers who came in scattered over the county so that settlement was general, and the woods resounded with the sturdy strokes of the woodman's ax, and log cabins were set in the numerous openings in the wilderness."
Another written record also verifies the opening of the lands in the area for homesteading: R.H. Little of Watertown Mass., writes a story for Petoskey Evening News titled "Early Days in Petoskey Recalled by Pioneer" ~ Recalls Many Interesting Happenings Here In the Years of 1873 and 1874. Was One of Few White Persons in Region. Mr. Little recalled: "Up until 1874 all of Emmet county was held as an Indian reservation and all those who had not already obtained their allotment of land, it was then given them, and the balance was thrown open for homestead entry."
"By the spring of 1874 Boyne Falls (a creature of the road) and Petoskey had been reached, and then for some years the enterprise lagged, for the good reason that land titles were somewhat insecure in Emmet county, and the inland region from Petoskey to Mackinaw City was wilderness.
The general settlement of the county and the development of its agricultural resources had been delayed by the fact that the lands of Emmet county were still subject to the Indian treaty. In August, 1874, the eastern tier of townships came into market, and April 15, 1875, the remainder of the county was thrown open to actual settlers. At that time the white population of the county was about one hundred and fifty. As stated, the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad had just opened a highway of travel and transportation through the county, and the village of Petoskey had just entered upon its career. Upon the date named the books were opened at the United States Land Office at Traverse City, and so great was the rush for land that over eight hundred claims were entered during the first three days. Under an act of congress soldiers in the late war could homestead one hundred and seventy acres of land while a citizen could homestead only eighty acres; consequently the greater portion of the land was taken by soldiers who settled upon homesteads of one hundred and sixty acres.
During the summer and fall of 1875 a steady stream of immigration poured into the wilderness of Emmet county and wilderness it indeed was. There was not a road in any direction in the woods except one state road to Cheboygan. The settlers who came in scattered over the county so that settlement was general, and the woods resounded with the sturdy strokes of the woodman's ax, and log cabins were set in the numerous openings in the wilderness."
Another written record also verifies the opening of the lands in the area for homesteading: R.H. Little of Watertown Mass., writes a story for Petoskey Evening News titled "Early Days in Petoskey Recalled by Pioneer" ~ Recalls Many Interesting Happenings Here In the Years of 1873 and 1874. Was One of Few White Persons in Region. Mr. Little recalled: "Up until 1874 all of Emmet county was held as an Indian reservation and all those who had not already obtained their allotment of land, it was then given them, and the balance was thrown open for homestead entry."
1876
What is a Moss Back?
What is a Moss Back?
Little Mossback Amelia's dad's coat still exists!
It was with these same conditions described above for Emmet County that some of the first settlers of the Chandler Township Charlevoix County Michigan area arrived; only after the railroad tracked through the northern Michigan woods with the first train to reach Petoskey (Emmet County) 31 December 1873. In 1882 the railroad was completed to Mackinaw City MI. In 1939 Frances Margaret Fox preserved the story of a teacher Mrs. Amelia Kaden, who had taught in Cheboygan High School... Little Mossback Amelia. When Amelia was about six years old, she trekked 18 miles with her parents and little brother through the forest, with her father blazing the trail, into what later would become Chandler Township in July 1880. Amelia and her family, migrating from Ohio, had disembarked from the train in Petoskey, almost to the end of the railway to the north at that time. The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad had first arrived in Petoskey in the Spring of 1874. Little Mossback Amelia's family's adventures began the moment they stepped off the train, and headed out for where they finally settled on Fraley Road Chandler Township Charlevoix County. There, Amelia learned to make mossback dishes from the inside of the bark from a basswood tree. Amelia learned from her father that those who lived away back in the Michigan woods were called mossbacks which was really just another name for pioneers. Amelia experienced many new simple pleasures of pioneer life in the backwoods, all captured for readers, young and old, in the book of her name, Little Mossback Amelia. One adventure described in the book was a picnic to Walloon Lake with her siblings and father where they were given a ride on the steamship "Swallow" which plied the lake. That steamship adventure for Amelia, and more information about the boats on Walloon Lake are explained on the website Walloon Lake Michigan Wanderings.
My Great Grandmother Marion Mackie Wood who lived in Chandler Township kept early 1930~1950 diaries which also recorded Life in Chandler Township. Marion wrote in her 15 June 1949 diary about the above Amelia, whose maiden name must have been Martin: "It rained nearly all night. Howard [Marion's husband who was township supervisor] came from the Board meeting with Bud's [neighbor Bud Gallop's] Mackinaw wrapped around his township book & he was quite wet. He got a check for $45.00 which is very good. Irma [neighbor Irma Townsend] brought my Amelia Martin story - they have had it 4 or 5 years - Little Mossback Amelia. The farm Amelia's father owned is where Orne Fraley lives now. Her father was a very tall man & the neighbors called him 'Long Martin'. His name was Andrew, I think." [This Little Mossback Amelia book, like in the photo above, can still be purchased in 2013.] The Martin Family was enumerated on the 1880 Chandler Township census, but was transcribed as Martain, rather than Martin. Amelia was about 10 years old on that 1880 census. One day a man stepped out of the woods with an axe in hand and asked Amelia to sharpen his axe on their new grindstone, which she did. He needed the sharpened axe to blaze trails because he was a "landlooker". Just as Amelia's own father had been a landlooker, the man would find, and survey, land that was for sale. Amelia's father had been paid well for his work of tramping through the forests to be sure of the boundary lines, and he had loved his work in the woods. In payment for sharpening the man's axe, the man gave Amelia a big red apple. After sharing the apple with her family, except for her baby brother, she saved the 23 seeds from that apple, and started their family orchard the following Spring... an orchard which remained on the land for years. For Amelia's Family to reach, and to settle on, their land in the Chandler Township area, they had detrained in Petoskey, and then walked. Finally, a few years later (about 1899), the Cobbs & Mitchell Railroad extended from either Boyne Falls or Clarion, into Chandler Township to the company town of Springvale... a lumbering town, so then walking was not quite so necessary. The logging industry, and the railroad brought a town with businesses, and more pioneers to Chandler Township. The following book told how the Chandler Township population of pioneers had increased through the years... only to dwindle again once the logging industry died out, the railroad withdrew, and the town of Springvale mostly disappeared by about 1925. My Great Grandmother Marion Mackie Wood wrote in her 1942 diary about the Martin Family: "Andrew Martin and a nice boy son were in the yard this morning. The father is a son of "Long Martin"-and a brother of Amelia, a girl who was teaching school here when I was a very small child. She used to break and drive ox teams in the old pioneer times. They owned part of the land now called the "Gutch Estate", 160 acres of it." ~Karla Howard Buckmaster From the 1889 item below it appears that Amelia Martin was teaching in Boyne Valley, and had married her director, Fred Kaden.
The timeframe of 1915, the location of Mackinaw City, and the name of Miss Margaret Fox,
may mean that the article below could very well be about the author Margaret Fox of the book Little Mossback Amelia. |
The photo above left is definitely identified as Amelia Kaden, but the quality of the photo is not very good. The photo above right is probably the same photo as in the left article, but it is a bit more visible. Although Amelia Kaden ran for the same Charlevoix County School Commissioner in both 1915 and 1916, she did not win the postion either year.
See Two Photos Below: A FREE-EBOOK on Google Books has been Digitized by Google titled The Aurora, a 1908 uncopyrighted yearbook for Michigan State Normal College in Ypsilanti MI. The book lists Mrs. Amelia Kaden, Boyne. General. It also shows her name under Junior Degree Class (teacher) with photos above it labeled as Junior Degree Class. (DISCLAIMER) Although the photos are not precisely labeled with names, I assume that the following photo is Mrs. Amelia Kaden when compared to the photo above on this webpage which is definitely identified. If anyone knows that I am incorrect in my assumption please let me know by clicking here. The following two letters of endorsement of "Little Mossback" Amelia Martin Kaden told of Amelia's love of education, and being a teacher.
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From the article below of The Wolverine of Ann Arbor, probably U of M,
Amelia Kaden had accepted a position in Midland Michigan.
Amelia Kaden had accepted a position in Midland Michigan.
A History of Northern Michigan and Its People Volume 1
by Perry F. Powers, Harry Gardner Cutler,
published by The Lewis Publishing Company in 1912 stated:
Chandler Township population "shows continuous advance".
1890 ~ 144
1900 ~ 273
1910 ~ 397
by Perry F. Powers, Harry Gardner Cutler,
published by The Lewis Publishing Company in 1912 stated:
Chandler Township population "shows continuous advance".
1890 ~ 144
1900 ~ 273
1910 ~ 397
Fred and Amelia Martin Kaden
Little Mossback Amelia
In Northern Michigan
Little Mossback Amelia
In Northern Michigan
Amelia Martin (Little Mossback Amelia) grew up and married Fred Kaden, a well-respected farmer of Advance MI, near Boyne City MI. They were married 11 August 1889 in Charlevoix County, MI. The transcriptions of the census records for Fred Kaden and for Amelia Martin Kaden are as follows below, with the spellings being those of the transcriptionists. Amelia was on the Chandler Township census record in 1880 with her parents Andrew and Sarah Kulen Martin, along with her siblings Charles, Morris, and Daisy. When her family had walked into the wilderness to reach Chandler Township, however, only Amelia's brother Charles had been born, and was still a baby, meaning they came into Chandler Township about 1874 or 1875... and definitely prior to 1877 when Morris was born. Amelia Martin grew up and married Fred Kaden about 1890, the year when the US census records mostly did not survive due to a fire. Fred was born about 1860 in Pennsylvania, and was still living in Pennsylvania by the 1870 census time. According to the 1880 census, Fred Kaden, working as a laborer, had moved to Charlevoix County South Arm MI into a household with the name of Holdman. By 1900 Amelia and Fred were living in Eveline Township Charlevoix County with their son Peter, 9 years old. The 1900 census told that Amelia and Fred had been married for about 10 years. Mrs. Amelia Kaden of Boyne City MI was listed as a 1908 senior in the yearbook for Michigan State Normal College in Ypsilanti MI. In 1910 Amelia was working and living as a teacher in Eveline Township Charlevoix County MI. In 1920, Amelia Kaden was "double-listed" on the census records in Alpena Ward 4, Alpena, Michigan with only her daughter Vera, AND also in Eveline, Charlevoix, Michigan with both her husband and her daughter... so, perhaps she had gone to Alpena to take a teaching position while Fred stayed in Eveline on their farm. In 1930, at 60 years old, Amelia was back in Eveline and still listed as a teacher. The author Frances Margaret Fox of Amelia's story in Little Mossback Amelia wrote that: "When I knew Mrs. Kaden, she was a teacher of Natural Science in the High School at Cheboygan, Michigan... As a graduate of the University of Michigan she not only had learned what was written in the books, but as a child she had been personally acquainted with bears, and birds, and blossoms of the Michigan wilderness." Amelia Martin Kaden seemed to have embodied the spirit of being a true Mossback, or Pioneer, in Chandler Township Charlevoix County MI. Both Fred (1860-1940) and Amelia (5 March 1870 - 14 September 1939) were buried in the Boyne Valley Cemetery Boyne Falls Charlevoix County MI after Amelia died in Eveline Township Charlevoix County MI.
Already by 5 November 1939 when The Pittsburg Press reported the article above... the life of "Little Mossback Amelia" was seemingly incredulous to a "modern child"... so imagine what a child of 2013 might think about the lifestyle that Amelia Martin lived in Chandler Township Charlevoix County MI.
Article Below Left: Little Mossback Amelia's tales in the book of her own name did not address the specific awful Winter of '77 [1877] as the 1977 Petoskey News Review historian Harriet Kilborn described in the article below with a 100-year perspective. Amelia's book covered her earlier years, but relative to the article below, the people of that 1877 era were being addressed still as Mossbacks when the winter storm of 1877 was endured.
Article Below Right: This article scanned from the actual 28 December 1877 Emmet County Democrat illustrates that rural people were already being referred to as "Mossbacks" and had been invited to a "Mossback" Party shortly after Christmas near Bear Lake (NOW in 2017 named Walloon Lake).
Article Below Right: This article scanned from the actual 28 December 1877 Emmet County Democrat illustrates that rural people were already being referred to as "Mossbacks" and had been invited to a "Mossback" Party shortly after Christmas near Bear Lake (NOW in 2017 named Walloon Lake).
1885 Article Below: An old Mossback's conversation in front of the Clifton
(talked about in the article above) with Rowan... owner of the Clifton hotel.
(talked about in the article above) with Rowan... owner of the Clifton hotel.
1951 Letter Below: Ethel ROWAN Fasquelle was the daughter of the owner of The Clifton where the Mossback Balls were held.
Even years later, she fondly remembers the dances, and many other Petoskey Happenings as Petoskey prepared for its Centennial.
Even years later, she fondly remembers the dances, and many other Petoskey Happenings as Petoskey prepared for its Centennial.
The lifestyle of Little Mossback Amelia was still seemingly incredulous in more recent years as reported, and pictured, in the Petoskey News Review article below. School children are still learning about Amelia, and her pioneer life in early Chandler Township Charlevoix County, with children from Boyne City re-enacting pioneer travel, and pioneer activities like cutting wood.
1870 United States Federal Census about Fredk Kaden
Name: Fred Kaden Age in 1870: 10 Birth Year: abt 1860 Birthplace: Pennsylvania Home in 1870: Philadelphia Ward 20 District 63, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Gender: Male Post Office: 1250 N 11th St Household Members: Name Age Fredk Kaden 36 Philipena Kaden 32 Fred Kaden 10 Frank Kaden 7 Charles Kaden 2 1880 United States Federal Census about Fred Kaden Name: Fred Kaden Age: 20 Birth Year: abt 1860 Birthplace: Pennsylvania Home in 1880: South Arm, Charlevoix, Michigan Race: White Gender: Male Father's Birthplace: Prussia Mother's Birthplace: Prussia Occupation: Laborer Household Members: Name Age Charles Holdman 29 Mary Holdman 25 William Holdman 1m Fred Kaden 20 [Laborer] 1880 United States Federal Census about Amelia Martain Name: Amelia Martain [Martin] Age: 10 Birth Year: abt 1870 Birthplace: Ohio Home in 1880: Springvale, Charlevoix, Michigan Race: White Gender: Female Relation to Head of House: Daughter Marital Status: Single Father's Name: Andrew Martain Father's Birthplace: Wortenburg Mother's Name: Sarah J. Martain Mother's Birthplace: Ohio Occupation: At School Household Members: Name Age Andrew Martain 35 Sarah J. Martain 28 [nee Kulen] Amelia Martain 10 Charles Martain 7 Morris Martain 3 Daisy Martain 1 1900 United States Federal Census about Emilie Kadon Name: Emilie Kadon [Kaden] Age: 30 Birth Date: Mar 1870 Birthplace: Ohio Home in 1900: Eveline, Charlevoix, Michigan Race: White Gender: Female Relation to Head of House: Wife Marital Status: Married Spouse's Name: Peter F Kadon Marriage Year: 1890 Years Married: 10 Father's Birthplace: Germany Mother's Birthplace: Ohio Mother: number of living children: 1 Mother: How many children: 2 Household Members: Name Age Peter F Kadon 40 Emilie Kadon 30 Peter F C Kadon 9 1910 United States Federal Census about Amelia R Kaden Name: Amelia R Kaden [Teacher Public School] Age in 1910: 40 Birth Year: abt 1870 Birthplace: Ohio Home in 1910: Eveline, Charlevoix, Michigan Race: White Gender: Female Relation to Head of House: Wife Marital Status: Married Spouse's Name: Peter F J Kaden Father's Birthplace: Germany Mother's Birthplace: Ohio Household Members: Name Age Peter F J Kaden 49 Amelia R Kaden 40 P F Charles Kaden 18 [Student Mich A Collage] Vera C Kaden 6 1920 United States Federal Census about Amelia Kaden Name: Amelia Kaden Age: 49 Birth Year: abt 1871 Birthplace: Ohio Home in 1920: Alpena Ward 4, Alpena, Michigan Race: White Gender: Female Relation to Head of House: Head Marital Status: Married Father's Birthplace: Germany Mother's Birthplace: Ohio Home Owned: Rent Able to Read: Yes Able to Write: Yes Household Members: Name Age Amelia Kaden 49 [Teacher HighSchool] Vera Kaden 16 [Student] 1920 United States Federal Census about Fred Kaden Name: Fred Kaden Age: 59 Birth Year: abt 1861 Birthplace: Pennsylvania Home in 1920: Eveline, Charlevoix, Michigan Race: White Gender: Male Relation to Head of House: Head Marital Status: Married Spouse's Name: Amelia Kaden Father's Birthplace: Germany Mother's Birthplace: Germany Home Owned: Own Able to Read: Yes Able to Write: Yes Household Members: Name Age Fred Kaden 59 Amelia Kaden 49 [Teacher City School] Vera Kaden 16 1930 United States Federal Census about Amelia Kaden Name: Amelia Kaden Gender: Female Birth Year: abt 1870 Birthplace: Ohio Race: White Home in 1930: Eveline, Charlevoix, Michigan Marital Status: Married Relation to Head of House: Wife Spouse's Name: Fred Kaden Father's Birthplace: Germany Mother's Birthplace: Ohio Age at first marriage: 20 Household Members: Name Age Fred Kaden 69 [Farmer] Amelia Kaden 60 [Teacher County School] |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The obituary below was that of the father of Amelia Martin Kaden's husband Fred, and tells Fred's relationship to his Kaden brother Henry who was associated with the well-know Kaden clothing store in Boyne City Mi. Peter F. and Philipine Kaden were buried in the same plot in Boyne Valley Cemetery in Boyne Falls MI as their son Fred and his wife Amelia (Little Mossback Amelia) Martin Kaden. (Click on "image"to view a photo of their tombstones.) Peter's tombstone was engraved with "b. Dec 17, 1833 and d. Feb 11, 1917". Philipine's tombstone was engraved "b. Nov 30, 1837 and d. Aug 20, 1911.
Another link shows a photo of "Little Mossback Amelia" (Amelia Martin Kaden's tombstone in the Boyne Valley Cemetery. PIONEER OF COUNTY PASSED AWAY SATURDAY NIGHT. P.F. KADEN Peter Frederick Kaden, aged eighty-four years, passed away at the farm home, west of Boyne Falls, Saturday night. He had been confined to his bed for the past week only, but had been growing feeble for the past two years during which time he was seldom out of the house excepting in the summer time. Mr. Kaden came to Boyne Valley Township in 1878. He was born in Germany, coming to this land when a young man. During his forty years residence in this country, Mr. Kaden has been a builder and producer, a highly estimable citizen. He is survived by six children, all well known throughout the rural communities of the county, the village of Boyne Falls, and Boyne City. Frank Kaden, president of First National Bank and prosperous merchant of this city; Henry Kaden, for years associated with the Kaden store; Fred Kaden, well known farmer of Advance; Chas. Kaden, prominent farmer who still resides at the old Kaden home; two daughters, Mrs. Anna Houserman and Mrs. Caroline Kaden. Funeral services will be held in the Catholic Church of Boyne Falls tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. |
Pioneer Photos
Pioneer Profiles
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Pioneer Profiles
The design and compilation of the text and photos on this site are copyrighted 2013.
Most posted items will enlarge by "clicking" on them.
"Clicking" on some highlighted words may access additional information.
Please do not copy the photos on this site, many of which have been submitted by private individuals...
just come back and visit the site often to view the photos.
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