SETTLER OCCUPATION

Initially, the site was of interest because it represented an early (pre-Civil War) Midland settler. Historical research indicated that the first Euro-American owner of the land was Charles Cater. He purchased the 118 acres on which the site is located from the U.S. Government on December 9, 1833 and the Land Patent for this purchase was issued on April 28, 1835. This purchase was the subject of a story in Judge Albert Miller's reminesences of life in the early Saginaw Valley. Judge Miller recounts that Charles Cater was an English sailor who purchased land near the Forks of the Tittabawassee. Shortly after the purchase he was reported lost at sea. This was Judge Miller's first case as probate judge. Charles Cater's heir was his brother Abram who lived in the area and had recently been married. Before the case was settled Abram Cater died and his wife inherited Charles Cater's land. At this point, Charles Cater showed up -- he hadn't been lost at sea -- and demanded his property. Judge Miller records that he could do nothing as Abram Cater's widow had remarried and left the area.

As part of the historical research Oxbow members examined Oakland County court records and found the probate court case concerning the Cater Estate. This case names James Frazier as the administrator of the estate. This case contains a notice of a petition to sell the real estate, a notice of the sale of the estate, and an inventory of the estate and debts owed by the estate.

From records at the Midland County courthouse we learned that on May 15, 1837, James Frazer of Saginaw (for the Cater Estate) sold the land at a public auction in Pontiac, Michigan to Sherman Stevens of Pontiac. About a month later (June 27, 1837), Stevens sold the land to Daniel Fitzhugh and Edward Leroy, both of Livingston County, New York, and a few years later (January 19, 1841) Leroy sold his share to Fitzhugh. Daniel Fitzhugh owned the land until 1879.

The Cater site settler occupation dates to about 1840 on the basis of the archaeological material that has been recovered and at the present time we do not believe that any of the early owners lived at the site. The occupant was probably a tenant of Leroy and/or Fitzhugh or a squatter.

The initial finds from the site in the 1970's indicated the presence of a cabin. These included window glass fragments, brick fragments, and square nails. Dish (softpaste earthenware) fragments indicated an 1830-1860 date. These included Blue, Brown, and Purple Transfer Prints, Polychrome Handpainted (New Palette), Blue Edge, Annular, and Spatter/Sponge. For more on the Cater site earthenware follow this link: EARTHENWARE.

Other artifacts associated with the settler occupation included pontle marked bottle fragments, two-tine forks, knife fragments, buttons (bone, brass, iron, shell, and white pressed glass), and tools including an iron axe head, a drill fragment, files , a hoe, and a scythe blade fragment.

Several white clay pipe fragments were recovered from the site. Most of these were ribbed or fluted varieties but other varieties included one "thirteen-star patriotic," an embossed TD, and an anthropomorphic bowl. One stem fragment has a maker's mark: "MURR[AY]" on one side and "[GLA]SCOW" on the other. This manufacturer produced pipes in Glascow, Scotland between 1826 and 1862.

Among the most interesting artifacts from the site and certainly the most interesting artifact associated with the settler occupation is a Martin Van Buren presidential campaign badge from the 1840 presidential election. this artifact is made from glass, which has been etched, on the back. It was originally held in a brass casing, which could be pinned to clothing. the design consists of a safe in the center with a flag to the left and flowers to the right. the inscription "O.K." is located above the safe and "SPECIE" below. For more on the Cater site campaign badge follow this link: CAMPAIGN BADGE.

The Cater site Euro-American occupation represents one of the earliest Midland settler sites identified to date. This 1840 Van Buren presidential campaign badge indicates a date in the early 1840's. The earthenware from the site is generally consistent with an 1840's date, including light blue, brown and purple transfers, "blunt arrow" blue edge with straight rims, "new palette" handpainted wares, and a limited amount of spatter or sponge ware including handpainted spatter/sponge. The white pressed porcelain or "Agate" buttons which were invented in 1840 also indicate a date in the early 1840's.

These types of artifacts were recovered during the 1970's excavations at the Cater site. In 1994, the Oxbow Archaeologists returned to the site to try to identify the actual location of the cabin and obtain more information on the occupants. At the end of the 1994 season a large feature was identified. This feature turned out to be the cellar of the cabin. In the 1995 season, the feature was fully exposed and excavated. It measured about 2 m by 3 m and was about 30 cm deep below the base of the plow zone. Three layers of fill were identified: 1) a layer of dark grayish brown silt at the top representing the most recent deposit; 2) a layer of lighter yellowish-brown silt; and 3) a layer of very dark grayish brown silt at the bottom. A thin layer of charcoal was located between Zones 2 and 3, suggesting a fire had occurred that was possibly associated with the destruction of the cabin. Artifacts were scattered throughout the cellar's fill and included structural items (brick fragments, flat glass fragments, square nails), bottle fragments, earthenware, a sear spring from a gun, percussion caps, lead shot and scrap, buttons, needle fragments, scissors, brass, slate pencil fragments, white clay pipe fragments, an axe head, and bone fragments including a pig mandible.

Because Charles Cater and Daniel Fitzhugh are known to have resided outside of Michigan and could not have lived at the site, it is likely that the occupants of the site were squatters or tenants. These people often left little or no record of their presence in official documents. Typically, squatters would settle on a piece of land hoping eventually to purchase it. If this was the case at the Cater site, the depression of 1838 which lasted into the mid-1840's may have affected the ability of the occupants to purchase the site.

The artifact assemblage from the Cater site settler occupation is typical for a frontier log cabin. The architectural artifacts (window glass and nails) are consistent with a cabin site. Evidence of women's tasks typical of frontier cabins are seen in artifacts associated with food preparation and consumption (dishes and tableware) and clothing manufacture and repair (buttons, pins, needles, etc.). The presence of children is perhaps indicated by slate pencil fragments. Men's tasks are documented by the axe head (clearing land and cutting firewood), percussion caps (hunting), and hoe and scythe blade (farming) - typical activities on a frontier site. During the excavations a field associated with the settler was identified on the floodplain adjacent to the river. When we were excavating the flood plain below the terrace, plow scars were identified at a level two feet below the present surface which can be directly correlated with the 1840's land surface. This ground surface was buried as the result of increased flooding and sediment in the rivers associated with lumbering and farming over the last 150 years. The connection between these plow scars on the floodplain and the settler's cabin was shown by dish fragments (Blue Edge) and other artifacts from the plow scars.