Frank Rogers Deckrow

     Frank Rogers Deckrow, son of Adam Rogers Decrow and Sophronia L. (Holman) Decrow, was born 29 January 1857 in St. Paul, Washington County, Minnesota.¹ Frank Rogers Deckrow was the son of Adam Rogers Decrow and Sophronia L. (Holman) Decrow. Frank Rogers Deckrow was a lumberman and plumber.¹ He married Elanor Metcalf, daughter of William Metcalf and Emerilla R. Marsh, on 31 October 1880 in Ellington Township, Tuscola County, Michigan..¹ Frank DECKROW has purchased a farm in the hardwood which Mr. OAKS, his father-in-law, will move on in a short time. (Grayling Avalanche 17 May 1894)²
The census of 1 June 1900 enumerated on 2 June 1900 in Maple Forest Township, Crawford County, Michigan, listed the following:


F. R. DECKROW has sold his Maple Forest farm home to Mr. MARSHALL, of Ill; who has taken posession. Mr. DECKROW will live on the SHERMAN place next to J. K. BATES' for this season or until de decides for the future. (Grayling Avalanche 30 Apr 1908)² F. R. DECKROW is putting in a steam heating plant in the Editorial Home. If it does not work right, we will advertise so no one else will get caught. (Grayling Avalanche 29 Oct 1908)²
The census of 15 April 1910 enumerated on 27 April 1910 in Grayling, Grayling Township, Crawford County, Michigan, listed the following:



The census of 1 January 1920 enumerated on 28 January 1920 in Grayling, Crawford County, Michigan, listed the following:


⁵ Frank Rogers Deckrow attended the Medcalf family reunion on 8 July 1927 at the farm home of Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Turner in Ellington, Tuscola County, Michigan.⁶ INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF FRANK R. DECKROW
(from the Crawford County Avalance, dated February 11, 1943)
It was when a young man of nineteen in 1874 (Marianne notes: in another place in booklet, it says he arrived in 1876) that Frank R. Deckrow came to Michigan with a party of hunters, from Maine. From Roscommon they treked to the AuSable, near Baker's Bridge near Luzerne, built a hunting camp and settled for the later summer and hunting.
This was a wild county then. The hills were covered with tall pines, and the lowland were grassy plains or covered with Jack Pines. White pine was considered the only valuable timber at that time. Hardwood could be sold only for fire wood, which was the fate of many then presumed useless woods, gorgeous birdseye, ironwood and elm. Hemlock because the lumber splintered, curled and twisted, when improperly cured, was left to rot in the woods after the bark was stripped and shipped for tanning leathers. Cut, drawn to camp and loaded on cars, hemlock brought only about $2.50 per thousand feet. Black Norway was no good. Yellow Norway was used for car sills and joists in building and brot(sic) $7.00 per thousand feet. Settlers bought white pine culls at $3 per thousand feet, cut the best for door and window trims and used the rest for sheathing their homes.
To the north and east of Grayling a vast tract of land was sold on a white pine estimate. All other woods were thrown in as of no value.
Deer were not too plentiful because of the wolves-big lanky timber wolves weighting 40 to 50 pounds. Hunting in packs and howling dismally they killed the deer, not to eat as much as for the killing, especially during the deep snows. Venison could be sold at the time and much was shipped to New York and other cities. The lynx were here-long, low grey furred cats, tufted ears and huge furry tracks. Their scream could be heard a long way and was enough to shiver any lone hunter's spine. Also they had a cry sounding like a small baby cry.
Many low bodied badgers roamed the hillsides and woe unto the dog that thought them fair game. They dug burrows in hillsides and moved on to dig more as small gray foxes moved in and reared their families. A grey hide was worth about fifty cents, the red fox from 2 to 3 dollars and the rare black fox, very valuable, brought up to $2,000.00. Owls were everywhere. Big hooters and tiny barn owls with the big screech.
A few eagles came regularly nesting in the more lofty tree tops. On the island in Higgins Lake was a towering pine with a broken top that for years was the nesting place of eagles. Ravens too were here, larger than crows, with voices like a broken cow bell-clock, click, clock, click. There were partridge and spruce hens. The later were unafraid. Scaring up a flock, they would light in a tree and hunters would shoot the lower ones then those high up and continue until the last was bagged. If the top birds were shot first and dropped down, the rest would leave. "Packing" in their flour, salt pork, brown sugar, beans and always the important tea, in pack straps fastened to their shoulders, leaving the hands free, hunters and settlers trudged long distances to isolated one room cabins to live alone.
Cutting his foot while on the AuSable, Mr. Deckrow hobbled to the nearest neight-Isaac Ball, and traded his gun for two weeks board. Ball had a team and trucked for neighbors. Potatoes were important food when they could be brought in by teams.
The old Wakeley bridge, a couple bends below the present bridge, was built by Dar.. Waldon from logs taken from the forty acres he bought there for 32 dollars. Chas. Nickols bought four acres on the south side the river, about where the Fr. Esper summer home is now, for a watch. He sold it to Mr. Deckrow for a shotgun and there Mr. Deckrow built the first hunting camp on the river in their county. Mr. Nickols then built a cabin home with the lumber from the tight board railroad fence at Cheney.
Tom Wakely, a sheriff in the nineties, bought land on both sides of the river and lived there many years.
Cooking in camps and building logging and tote roads were winter chores. Mr. Deckrow excelled at camp cooking and is a mighty good cook and baker
After a winter on Dead Stream west of Higgins, when snows were very deep, Mr. Deckrow walked more than twenty miles over supply and tote roads to Cheney.
(next 9 paragraphs quite general except that the railroad came abt 1880.)
The Metcalfs settled south of Cheney and Mr. Deckrow married Miss Eleanore Metcalf.
They built their first home in Cheney and in 1880 moved to Grayling, cleared the jack pine from the lot and build a home where the Philip Moran home is now.
Railroad, now Cedar, was the main street. Side walks were of planks laid across 4x4s and when a walk was repaired or moved youngsters scrambled for treasures lost between the cracks.
Many of our readers remember the old names. The Mike Hartwick Hotel; John Hadley, the first postmaster; John Cowell, his deputy, as he was a young fellow who could sleep in the post office and take care of things. Hadley was busy with real estate business. David London was the first sheriff, (our step grgrgrandfather), Joe Jones the first deputy, lived in the sheriff residence the first two years. John Hum and Park Forbes carpenters. Del Taylor too. Their building stands with the best today.
Wm Masters. His wife, to make him keep a promise to go to church if he had the clothes made him a real suit by hand. Mrs. Paisley was the "best-dressed" lady. What gorgeous dresses she had. Boarding houses and saloons, the Sanderson hotel, Babbit shoe shop, he made'em and they wore well. Kelly, the gunsmith. Doc Travers drugs and furniture. The present town hall was the first frame school.
Goodale with a portable mill cut the lumber. Dr. Palmer built the first planing mill where from slaps and culls, planks for the walks were cut.
Wells were needed. Getting together wrenches and dies, Mr. Deckrow started driving the shallow wells in town. Camps needed deeper wells. With a better outfit with which real horse power was used, Dobbin went round and round as the drills went down and down from 20 to 200 feet. Mr. Deckrow purchased the first gas engine used here and his fame as a well driller went farther and farther. Gaylord, Mio, Lewiston, Johannesburg, Kalkaska, Petosky. For years he was kept busy pipe fitting and putting the first steam fittings in all the public buildings and homes. Wells and wind mills fr farmers also were in demand. Money? Not always. Many a good cow paid for a well. Mr. Deckrow's has been a busy good life. Always looking ahead seeing the need of the new things; his was the first grain binder in Maple Forest township and he had an interest in the first threshing machine outfit with a steam engine. He served as supervisor of Maple Forest township from 1890-1900.
Note: to skeptics who find it hard to believe there was a Cheney. Mr. Deckrow can show an excursion ticket from Cheney to Grayling to the dedication of the first court house. (This last "note" was at the end of the article in the Crawford Avalanche.)
The first depot here was built where the present one now stands but was later moved and rebuilt, and is now the present freight house.
The first railroad agent here was Hiram Lamport, and he handled express and telegraph.
Maude Robinson was the first white child born in the county, Maude is older than Nettie.
The first lumberman to locate here was Jar... C. Goodell, who brought a small portable steam sawmill which was located near where the new pump house now stands, and cut the first lumber in town.² He died on 23 July 1945 in Grayling, Crawford County, Michigan.¹ He was posthumously sealed as a spouse of Elanor Metcalf on 20 September 1990 in in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, Temple Code:JRIVE.¹