|
DETROIT IN 1838 BY HENRY A. FORD
None of us all remained behind, " says Zeisberger, '-'save Conner's family, who himself knew not whether to go nor what to do. " He was the sole Moravian layman who had been allowed to settle there. Richard Conner (originally O'Conner) was a native of Ireland, but had migrated from Maryland to the wilderness west and married a white girl who had been a captive among the Shawanese. After Lord Dunmore's campaign against the Ohio Indians (1764), they settled in Pittsburg, but went to the Moravian town of Schonbrunn to seek their son, who was now himself a captive. Here they so
commended themselves that, against Moravian usage, they were permitted to remain. June 14, 1782, they followed the missionaries to Detroit in a ship from Sandusky "on account of the unrest caused by war, but did not go to the mission till the last of March, 1783. The rest of Conner's life was spent at the Moravian site, where he died April 17, 1808. He left four sons, James, John, William, and Henry, who became somewhat notable. in the pioneer days of eastern Michigan, and are well remembered by a few of the old citizens of Detroit. The last named, called Wah-be-sken-dip by the Indians, was renowned for his great strength, and was a superior interpreter and trader among the savages. He fought with Harrison in the battle of the Thames, and was present at the death of Tecumseh. Richard Conner's only daughter, Susanna, was born at the mission Dec. 16, 1837, the first child of white parents born within the limits of the present Macomb county. She married the late Judge Elisha Harrington, whose farm covered the site of the old mission. A part of the tract was subdivided in 1837, during the internal
improvement mania, to form the village at the beginning of the Clinton & Kalamazoo canal, at first called Casino, but later known as Frederick.
DETROIT MICHIGAN
Page 29
|
|
Please consider making a donation to help keep these sites alive.
Thank you
|
