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submitted by Earl R. Giddings |
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In 1848 he married Hannah's sister Mary, who was born in 1829 at Marshfield. The marriage took place at Montpelier, Vermont, and some time later they moved to Dupage County, Illinois, where five children were born:
Elpha Rosaltha 1851
George Flint 1852
Jane Viola 1854
Diana Love 1856
Anna Viluca 1858
Elpha Rosaltha later became our Grandmother Mansfield. The family then moved to Newaygo County, Michigan, where two more were born: Lucy Aletta 1860 An unnamed infant 1866, This baby died at birth.
Nothing is known of how Grandfather Martin made a living, but I assume it would have been farming.
Grandfather Martin established a carding mill on White River at Old Denver, a small community a few miles east of Hesperia, in late 1850's or early 1860's.
The following was copied from two clippings taken from the Muskegon Chronicle, dated December 26 and 27, 1944. Permission to republish received from the Muskegon Chronicle Nov. 5, 1998.
LeRoy Mills of the Rollin'Mills, who gets his mail from Fremont but resides on his farm estate not far from Hesperia, has spent much time and rationed gasoline in obtaining the facts regarding a most interesting chapter of Newaygo county history. "While very few of those now living here ever knew the principals of this story and fewer have ever heard of this ancient amphibian, all will recognize the landmarks, while the names of the principals are perpetuated in our community today by their descendants," Mr. Mills writes.
He writes:
Early last summer, while on a visit to our home, the wife's brother, E.L. (Bud) Lewis, 507 Wood Street, Muskegon, mentioned that 'Pat'' Martin built an automobile in our neighborhood more than sixty years ago. Sensing a story and some interesting history, we began a search for the details that has lasted throughout the summer and still, while not entirely complete, has brought out the fact that we have a real "ghost town" in our community and the story of a man who was years ahead of his time.
After numerous inquiries, we ascertained that "Pat" or more properly "Pap" Martin was christened Lewis Martin. Borrowing a copy of "Portrait and Biographical Album of Newaygo County", copyrighted in 1884, from George D. Robertson, we read that Lewis Martin and his wife, Mary (Warren) Martin, of New York state, settled in Denver township in 1857, built a dam across a creek that has since borne his name, constructed a grist mill to use the power generated and went into the milling business. He later sold this mill to John Rooke.
From that on, the story has been brought back a few sentences here, a short sketch there, a name from one person, a location from another, many of the stories directly conflicting and needing referring back to others. By getting two or more of our relaters together and letting them iron out the discrepancies, all was brought back from memories of nearly a quarter of a century ago, of events which had become a faintly remembered legend. And so the following story finally brought out of the past of this ingenious man and the thriving business center which he founded and which, like its founder, has as completely disappeared from the earth. This settlement became known as "Old Denver" in the Eighties when the business center moved a mile south, which was also south of White River.
Those who went back so many years into their memories to help in bringing out this bit of pioneer history, and whom we wish to thank for their cooperation, are Clifford and Delbert Mansfield (Clifford and Delbert were cousins, Clifford was a grandson of Lewis Martin) of Hesperia; Thomas Kennedy, of Kennedy Lakes; Lynn Utley of McLaren Lake; George D. Robertson, of East Denver, and others.
After Mr. Martin disposed of his grist mill he constructed a carding mill nearby which he operated by steam power. Here, wool was carded and made into rolls, about three quarters of an inch in diameter and three feet long, from which yarn was made on the old family spinning wheel.
Around these enterprises there grew a thriving pioneer town, comprising, besides the John Rooke grist mill and the Lewis Martin carding mill, a blacksmith shop owned by James Tinney; a drug store operated by Florian J. Martin, son of "Pap"; a general merchandise store and a postoffice, by Milo Mansfield and a boarding house, operated by Mrs. Charles Stratton, while her husband was the village carpenter.
About fifty families lived about these business places. Being near and at the time when Michigan's forests were being floated down the waterways, we supposed that the town would have at least one saloon. But our informants are agreed that there was none. However, one of our contacts volunteered that the drug store furnished all the firewater necessary to get the sawlogs down the river.
It is said that Mr. Martin, wishing to travel in comfort in the winter, invented a sleigh with a little building on it, with a door and windows. Inside were seats and a stove to keep it warm so he could drive along, toasting his shins and gazing out through the windows at the passing wintery scenery.
He had long had a desire to visit California and planned, in his fertile brain, a vehicle in which he could go over land and water to his destination. Putting his plans into action, he enlisted the services of the village blacksmith, and so began the building the grandaddy of all amphibians. A hull was constructed, variously estimated to have been from four to five feet wide and between twenty and thirty feet long. Two wheels, the driving wheels, much like wagon wheels, were placed, one on each side, toward the front or bow, of the craft. These wheels had "fins" attached to the spokes and operated the craft as a "side-wheeler" while in the water. At the stern, a smaller "castor" wheel acted as rudder both on land and water. An upright steam boiler furnished the power. At first, Mr. Martin used one engine to transform this power into motion. But this lacked ability to move the craft and another engine was installed, coupling the two engines to the drivers by the use of a crankshaft. Although my informants may disagree on many things, they all agree that the craft had a smoke stack, around ten feet high. For they, as boys of this pioneer village, closely watched this stack for the smoke that would denote the steaming up for the maiden trip.
But for months they were disappointed, for Mr. Martin would merely be steaming up to test out some newly-conceived idea, sometimes retained or taken off and modified, but more often rejected. It was said that the inventor had considerable trouble in getting his two engines to rotate in the same direction and synchronized to exert continuous power.
But, after months of planning, building, altering and rejecting, the craft was steamed up for her "take-off." Surrounded by all the village boys, and as many of the men who were idle, the craft began its demonstration.
Here again, memory after three score years is not too certain. Some say that the craft did negotiate the sandy pioneer roads under its own power, while a grandson of the inventor says that, because of the smooth, steel-tired drivers, the tiller wheel at the rear of the craft, which ran in the soft dirt between the wheel ruts of the road, together with the depth of the White River sand, the combination was too much for the tractive power of the vehicle, and the frequent use of a yoke of oxen was required to keep the craft under continuous motion. However, they finally arrived at their destination.
Mr. Martin planned to make the "shake-down" cruise on Perry Mansfield's sawmill pond, a half mile down the river, which was considerably larger and deeper then his own. And again the memories of the observers vary widely on the results of this launching. Some say that the craft circled the pond a few times and then sank, while others are just as certain that she made her cruise all right and was brought back to the bank by her skipper, although the weight of the boiler and engines made the craft cumbersome and unwieldy. But this trip was the only one the craft made. It was taken back to the village and dismantled and the boiler and engines were taken to Hess Lake and installed in a much larger hull and used on that lake for some time.
Later Mr. Martin did make the trip to California, but not in the manner he had planned. After spending some time in the west, he went to St. Paul, South Carolina, where a daughter lived, and died and is buried there. Year of death 1902.
December 27, 1944
LeRoy Mills of the Rollin' Mills of Newaygo County today writes the concluding chapter of his research involving the "ghost Town'' of Old Denver and the fact that more than 60 years old, Lewis Martin, Newaygo pioneer, dreamed and built an amphibian that he hoped would carry him to California. The trial flight proved the amphibian lacked something.
Today, Mr. Mills pays a visit to the "ghost town". He writes:
A few days ago, with the Missus, we drove over to the home of George D. Robertson and, taking Mr. and Mrs. Robertson with us, we went to the location where, surrounded by a thriving pioneer village, this ancient amphibian was conceived and constructed by this ingenious pioneer and found that Old Denver was indeed a ghost town. A few boulders in the bed of the stream, an earthen ridge on each bank, told where the dam had once been; a few rotting pieces of timber shows the location of the old grist mill; no trace could be found of the other village enterprises and, of the homes that once clustered about these enterprises, no trace at all remains unless it be a small part of the Martin homestead. In a recently built house, Mr. Albino Yob now lives on the land taken up by Mr. Martin, a couple of other houses are in sight, but the village has as completely disappeared from the earth as has its founder, "Pap" Martin.
As we followed the course taken by Mr. Martin on the "shake-down" trip with his crude amphibian, much of it was through sand, loose even now with the packing of rubber tired vehicles that occasionally travel that road. Some of the road now has a gravel roadbed which even Mr. Martin's vehicle could probably have navigated satisfactorily. As we passed the site of the pond where he tested its aquatic ability, we could see where flood waters had, years ago, cut through the side of the pond forming a new bed for the stream and draining the pond to its original swiftly flowing brook. Fair sized elms seemed to be growing where the craft had slowly puffed its way around the pond so many years before. As we drove home over hard surfaced roads, in a vehicle that could easily equal the speed of an express train, we pondered over the invention and demonstration of that ancient amphibian that had crawled along the nearby roads nearly three-quarters of a century before, of the thriving pioneer village, now, in truth, a ghost town and of its founder, "Pap" Martin, a man with an idea that was far ahead of his time.
Footnote:
It is stated in the first article that Milo Mansfield operated the post office and general merchandise store. I believe this may be a mistake, the reason is that Milo had been completely deaf and barely able to speak since childhood, the result of a childhood disease. I remember him that way when I was small. I believe it was Miles Mansfield who operated those two businesses. He later went to Hesperia and opened a general merchandise store there.
Milo was John's son, so was a nephew of Miles.
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