Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1883-03-08
THOMAS w. PALMER
SKETCH OF OUR NEW SENATOR.

5o years old. Ills remote ancestor
were sort of chronic pilgrilns-reli
giously inclined persons who spent
their whole time in wandering about
the Holy Land and visiting the sacred
| places, having no fixed homes. Thes,
people were in the habit of carrying
branches of palm trees in their hands
and hence came to be known as palm
ers. When their religious enthusiasm
subsided their rambling propensities
brought them to this country, and even
when comfortably settled in Connect.
cut they became famous explorers and
Indian traders in the western wilds. -
The great-grandfather of the new Sen
ator, as long ago as 1863, made a year
ly trip to Detroit, presumably with a
consignment of clocks and wooden
nutmcgs. The goods were hauled by
OK teams to Schenectady, then poled
in flat boats up the Mohawk and via
Oneida lake TO Oswego, and thence
brought by small vessels TO this point.
At each trip n valuable load of furs
was taken back by the same route. In
1872 two grandsons of this pioneer,
Thomas and Friend Palmer, evttIed la
Amherstburg and opened general
store there, but We're driven out by
the outbreak of the war of that year.
They then came TO Detroit. where they
witnessed IIulls surrender. They then
settled in business i'm Canandaigua, n.
Y. In 1916 they opened branch in
this city, Thomas, the father OF our
Thomas W., taking charge of it, the
other brother remaining at Canandai-
qua. They soon built up a very large
business, havinga "A branch also at Ash
tabula, o., carrying on extensive flour
ING mills at Sc,O. \ y. and taking
large government contracts Tor open
ing roads through the wilderness. -
When the present city was laid out af-
ter the fire of 1905. the L. :. govern
ment granted 0,000 acres of land for
the erection Of q territorial capitol
When thc authorities got read, to
build, the firm of +. u 4. Palmer pro
fosed 10 take the land (the present 10-
900 acre tract adjoining the city and
put up the building, and their propos-
al was accepted. The structure still
remains, forming the mia he portion Of
the high school building. Until few
years ago it stood just as first erected,
with II collonnade in fr.nt and cupola
above. Ii WAS first distigured some II
or IA years ago by queer shaped an
mex on the north, built for the use of
the public library and later by the
monster and monstrous front, which
has left little TO be seen of the old cap
| itol.
In tho panic of 1924 the firm failed
but ultimately paid up their creditors
in full. Then Thomas embarked III
the lumber business ON the st. Clair
|
the village of st. Clair, which tor many
years was known by the name of Pal
mer. Later he embarked in mining
enterprises on Lake Superior, where
he was unsuccessful, and again lost all
his fortune His wife was Mary \.
Witherell, sister of the late Judge
Witherell of the Wayne circuit court.
Mr.. and Mrs Palmer were passengers
on the Walk k-in-the-water, the first
steamer to navigate the northwestern
lakes. on her first trip in 1921, and al
so OH her subsequent trip in which she
was wrecked. Their family consisted
of nine children, only Thomas w. and
one sister still surviving.
Young Tom was educated at the
Michigan University. Upon leaving
college he made a trip to Spain and
spent some months in a foot journey
throughout that country. lie thence
sailed for South America, where he
spent several months. In 1853 he set
tied down in the real estate business in
Detroit, and two years later married
the only daughter of the late Charles
Merrill, one of the heaviest lumbay
men in Michigan, with whom he alsC
became associated in business On
Mr. Merrill's death he conjointly will
his wife, succeeded to the estate and
still carries on the numbering busines
extensively in various parts of tin
State through the agency of local part
ners.
Senator Palmer's political histor,
embraces term in the board of esti
mates and one in the State Senate. =
He was an unsuccessful candidate fo
the Congressional nomination i'm thi
district in 1876, and in 1850 was prom
inently talked of for governor.
Mr.. Palmer is man of extensiv
) reading large information. fine con
yersationalist, Il ready and polishe'
speaker and possesses IN a high de
gree an open. genial manner which
with his liberal hospitality, have mad
him exceedingly popular. While b
makes no pretense of being other thai
a sfrni.ht.tut pr,ttcsiuuiSt. the Neir