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MICHIGAN CHAPTER 16 Influx of Settlers
This petition was signed apparently by every resident of the place and the names furnish a pretty full record of the family names of the time—all French. It is certified by P. Dejean, judge. It seems to have had no effect and the title of McDougall held good. But when Haldimand was governor in 1780, he ordered General De Peyster to immediately reclaim the island for his majesty's use for cultivation. It appears that McDougall was then dead, as the governor stipulates that Mrs. Me Dougall shall be suitably compensated for any existing improvements of value. The appraisal shows three dwellings, an old barn without a top, a fowl house and some timber. Barracks were built and some of the Kentucky prisoners were quartered here, it being their own request to live in the open air and to engage in the cultivation of the land, rather than to be confined in the military prison. They were quite willing to take their chances against an attack from the Indians.
The commandants at Michilimackinac, at one time or
another, made grants on the mainland or on Bois-Blanc island, the grantees having arranged with the Indian chiefs, for a nominal consideration. These grants were seldom held good, since the king of England assumed to himself the disposal of such lands. Grosse He and some of the adjacent smaller islands were granted in the same manner to Alexander Macomb.
It is to be noted that the settlers hereabout differed from those of New England. The latter soon established a popular form of government. The town meeting was the primary forum in which public matters affecting the colonists were discussed and settled. These people were enlightened, progressive, with enlarged views of individual rights and liberties, and a disposition to retain in their own hands the management of their public affairs. The French settlers in the lake region had no such notions. They were intensely loyal to their king and church.
MICHIGAN
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