Wayne County MI Archives News.....Abraham LeBlanc  October 1900
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Amy Bruhn Amy.Bruhn@gmail.com October 11, 2006, 8:53 pm

Ecorse News October 1900
AN ECORSE OCTOGENARIAN
Abraham LeBlanc Has Passed the 80th Milestone of Life's Journey

Born, raised, and a continuous resident of 80 years on one farm is a record 
hard to beat, taking into consideration the fact that 80 years ago Michigan 
was almost an unsettled wilderness.  This is the record of Abraham LeBlanc, of 
Ecorse Village, who was born October 17, 1820, in a log cabin which stood on 
the site of his present home.

Abraham was one of 11 children, and was next to the youngest.  His father died 
when he was two years old, and at an early age began to assist in the work of 
carrying on the farm.  His educational opportunities were limited, but he 
improved them in the best way possible.

Abraham early in life developed a marked skill in hunting and trapping;  deer, 
bear and other game being abundant in this vicinity in those days.  He was a 
youth of resource, telling of how he once made a pair of skates of wood and 
fastened them on with strips of basswood bark.  They were not particularly 
handsome to look at, but with them young Abraham got there just the same.

At that time there was no catholic church in Ecorse and services were held at 
the home of Abraham's mother.

At the age of 32 Abraham was united in marriage to Miss Philice Perry, who 
then resided where Sand Hill is now located.  In his younger days Mr. LeBlanc 
purchased a threshing machine and for a number of falls did threshing for 
neighboring farmers.  He also engaged in spile driving, driving the first 
spiles for the Lake Shore railroad bridge over Ecorse creek about 35 years 
ago.  He also drove the spiles for Saulsbury bridge, which crossed the Rouge 
above Fort street.  the spiles used for many of the docks in Wyandotte and 
Grosse Isle were also driven under his supervision.

Speaking of early days, Mr. LeBlanc stated that when he was a boy it was 
nothing to go into the woods and shoot a deer before breakfast.  The last time 
he killed a deer his gun was loaded with duckshot, and the charge only wounded 
the deer, which jumped into a small creed near by.  He rowed out to it in a 
canoe and dispatched it with his paddle.

Politically Mr. LeBlanc has been a Republican all his lifetime, and previous 
to the formation of this party he was a Whig, casting his first presidential 
vote for William Henry Harrison.  Mr. L. was township highway commissioner for 
a number of years, school director three years and customs officer at Ecorse 
for four years before that office was moved to Wyandotte.

In 1887 Mr. LeBlanc lost an arm while working around a cider mill.  He is 
slightly deaf, but otherwise is hale and active for a man of his age.  He 
retired from active business 15 years ago and purposed to spend the remainder 
of his years on the farm where he first saw the light of day.  he is the 
father of seven children - Frederick, Samuel, Richard, Frank, Phillip, Eli and 
Mrs. John Seavitt, and 18 grandchildren.

During the 80 years of Abraham LeBlanc's life he has seen Ecorse township 
develop from a hamlet of half a dozen log cabins to the second township in 
point of wealth resources and industry in the state;  large cities and 
populous villages nearly surround him in every direction and like the prophet 
of old he can truthfully say "Mine eyes hath beheld wonderful things."


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