History of Saginaw county, Michigan; together with ... portraits ... and biographies ... History of Michigan ...

652

HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY.

Some idea of his labors may be tolnied wlelii it is stated tha t
when presiding elder of the Grand Rapids District in 1848-'9,
his district embraced all that part of the State lying north of the
south line of Genesee county to the Straits of Mackinaw, with his
home in the city of Flint. All this vast territory, from Lake
Huron on the east to Lake Michigan on the west, he visited,
organizing societies, building churches, preaching wherever he
went, in the church, if one was to be found, in the log-cabin of
the settlers, the wigwam of the savage, at the camp-meeting, and
wherever men and women could be found. In stature he was almost
a giant. He had great natural ability. His mind was clear, comprehensive and practical. He dealt with men as he found them, and
sought in his preaching and intercourse to lead them to be better
men. lie never said a foolish thing. His voice was remarkable:
always pleasant and winning, at times it was raised with a suddenness and power that startled and moved like an electrical shock.
For some time he resided in the city of East Saginaw. When
the Indians removed to their reservation in Isabella county in the
winterof 1857, he took up his xesidence among them, and resided
ill tha county until his death. He was the Indian's true and unfaltering friend. In the spring of 1871. upon the recommendation
of the Missionary Society, he was appointed by President Grant
Indian Agent for the State of Michigan. April 8 he went to New
York for a conference with the Missionary Board upon Indian
affairs. He reached that city late in the evening, and took a carriage for the mission rooms, but feeling ill he ordered the driver to
take him to a hotel, which was done. He stepped from his carriage to the sidewalk, fell, and expired without uttering a word.
Bishop Harris forwarded his remains to loving friends at Saginaw,
who conveyed them to Isabella, where they were interred. His
devoted, faithful wife, the partner and helper in his great work,
survived him until the fall of 1875. The remains of these two
earnest Christian workers rest side by side in the beautiful cemetery at Mt. Pleasant.
Phineas ). Braley was born in Berkshire county, Mass.,
April 17, 1811. In January, 1823, he came with his parents in a
sleigh to Royalton, New York, and in 1835 they came to Saginaw county and settled on the Tittabawassee river. There were 17
in the two families, and they traveled the entire distance with an
ox team. They, however, traveled by lake from Buffalo to Detroit.
When they arrived at the Saginaw river they found no ferry; but
the Indians soon constructed one for them, of two canoes with
slabs lain across, and tied, or bolted, to the canoes. Mr. Braley's
wagon was among the first wheeled vehicles brought to the
Valley.
In those days they had to go to Thread river to mill, a distance
of 32 miles, requiring five days to make the trip. On the arrival
of the Braleys here there were but four frame houses in Saginaw,
and no plank houses in East Saginaw. Mr. Braley has been