Connor Creek name origin

[eastland]

I figure this may have been answered before, but is it "Connors Creek" like on the side of the pumping station on Jefferson or "Connor Creek?" And why is Conner Avenue spelled differently? Was it a mistake somewhere down the line?

[mikefmich]

I have ancestors who were along Connors Creek/Leesville/etc from the earliest of days, 1830's-1840's. There were people by that name who settled in the area, and some married into my batch of people.

I would suspect that's where the name came from. Also, when perusing old records the spelling of Connor could be found both ways, over multiple generations.

Historically, there was probably no "right way". As we moved into the 20th c. some people stuck with one, others stuck with the other.

[Brock7]

From various maps:
1876 map Connor Creek, the road is unlabeled.
1893 map Conners Creek, the road is unlabeled.
1904 map has Connor's Creek and Connor's Creek Rd. and Connors Creek Canal between Jefferson and the river.
1915 map Connors Creek, the road is unlabeled.
1928 directory has Connors Av.
1936 map Connors for the street and both Connor and Conner for the Parkway, the creek is unlabeled.

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/micounty...;view=fulltext
Grosse Pointe on Lake Sainte Claire. : Historical and descriptive.
Reprint of the 1886 ed. By T. P. Hall and S. Farmer.
Connor's Creek, so named from Richard Connor, an early Moravian settler, whose descendants occupy adjacent lands. The creek was formerly known as Tremble's Creek, from a Frenchman, whose farm it traversed.

http://www.assumptiongrotto.com/misc...Chapel%205.pdf
The Methodist historian W. P. Sugars in his book, Tales of a Forgotten Village, [[pp.18-19), describes the burial of Louis Michael Trembley in 1825 and gives another much earlier date for the arrival of the chapel. “Beloved by both whites and Indians, he was laid to rest beside a little log chapel seven miles from Detroit. Nobody knows when this chapel was built, but this is supposed to have been one of the first burials on the grounds. It was built after the fashion of many of the homes of the day, a low log structure plastered on the outside with clay. It had no priest, being a part of St. Anne’s parish, and was built for christenings, weddings, and burials, with an occasional celebration of the Mass, for it was a long walk to St. Anne’s.” Louis Trembley’s daughter Theresa would later marry Henry Connor and settle on her father’s estate. Henry Connor was paymaster to the Indians and was known as “White Hair” by the Chippewa’s. In 1818 he became supervisor of Grosse Pointe Township and the name of Tremblay’s Creek was changed to Connor’s Creek.
...
The following account in Sugars’ History of Leesville indicates that the French did build the Creek School House: “On the far side of the Creek Road, built close to the intersection, was the small frame home of David Tremblay, or Trombly as it had been spelled since the occupation of Detroit by British troops. His home was located near the Creek School which was probably built by the early French settlers for the education of their children.” W.P Sugars’ History of Leesville, pg. 36.
David Trombly descended from the Trembley family line that came to Grosse Pt. Area around 1735. They established their homestead where the Detroit City Airport Hanger now stands. Joseph Louis Tremblay was Granted 640 Acres adjoining Connor Creek and Operated a water powered saw mill on Connor Creek. The mill fell into disuse after the death of Joseph Louis who died young. So far our records indicate that his son Eustache converted the property into a brickyard. Eustache was also the cousin of Louis Michael Tremblay who according to Sugars may have been the first burial on our parish grounds.

http://books.google.com/books?id=2TT...0creek&f=false
The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Volume 4
By Clarence Monroe Burton, William Stocking, Gordon K. Miller
pages 88 - 91
...Henry and Theresa [[Trombley) Connor, the former a native of Mount Clemens, Michigan, and the latter of Grosse Pointe. From the Catholic records [[the proper names being spelled in several ways), has been gleaned the history of the Connor family, compiled by C. M. Burton and reading as follows: During the War of the American Revolution the Christian Indians, among whom were the Moravian missionaries, located in the northern part of Ohio, were nearly all massacred by the Americans, or Virginians... The remaining Indians, with their Moravian teachers, Zeisburger, Jungman, Edwards and Jung, were summoned to Detroit by the commandant here, Schuyler De Peyster, and arrangements were made to settle the colony on what was then called the Huron river of Lake St. Clair, now called the Clinton river, near the present site of Mount Clemens. The late Judge James V. Campbell says that there were some white families with the Indians, including that of Richard Connor. This was in 1782, and is the first mention I have found of the Connor family. The Moravians remained at their new settlement several years and built up quite a village, but the land they occupied belonged to the Chippewa Indians and they were forced to surrender the lands to the proper owners and the Moravians removed, part back to Ohio and the remainder to Chatham, in 1786. The Connor family remained behind and included, at that time, Richard Connor and his three sons: Henry, [[father of R. H. Connor), William and James, and perhaps another son, John.

"Henry Connor was a noted interpreter, according to Judge Campbell, and was known as Wabishkindibe, or White Hair. He was a very upright man. After the Americans took possession of the county, the Connors set up claim to the lands they had occupied and obtained grants from the United States, confirming their possessory titles.
...
David Zeisberger, the Moravian, left a diary in which are several references to the Connor family. It appears that the wife of Richard Connor was a woman who had been captive many years among the Shawanese. Richard was from Maryland, and at the close of Dunmore's war they settled at Pittsburgh) but later came to Schonbrunn in search of his son who was among the Indians. He and his wife were permitted to remain with the Christian Indians and became members of the church. Zeisberger refers to him as "Brother Connor." He ransomed his little son from the Shawanese in the winter of 1775-76, returned to the Moravian settlement and lived with the Indians from that time forward. He accompanied them to Detroit and to their new settlement on Clinton river, and remained there until it was broken up in April, 1786. When the time neared for departure the Moravians were in great trouble, for they did not know what fate was before them. For days preceding the departure, religious services were constantly held and the days were spent in preparation for the exit and in praying. The diary records that on Thursday, April 20, "after we have early, for the last time, assembled in our chapel and thanked the Savior upon our knees for all the goodness we had enjoyed from him, and further committed ourselves to his mercy upon the journey, we loaded our canoes, and all went away together in the afternoon. None of us all remained behind save Conner's family, who himself knew not whether to go nor what to do." The Moravians heard no more from Connor for six years, when a member of the Chippewa tribe visited Zeisberger and told him that Connor still lived on the Huron [[Clinton) river by permission of the Chippewas, but that no other white men lived there. So here Richard Connor continued to reside and bring up his family. He died before the year 1807 and left his wife, Margaret, and four sons, James, Henry, William and John. Each of the sons obtained a tract of land from our government.
...
It was following the marriage of Henry Connor and Theresa Trombley that the former took up his abode at Detroit, her father turning over to him all of his land upon the agreement that Mr. Connor was to maintain a home for Mr. and Mrs. Trombley throughout their remaining days. The place was situated along the creek that has since been called Connor's Creek

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http://detroityes.com/mb/showpost.ph...2&postcount=49
posted by sumas
Conner's creek was originally called Riviere du Grand Marais.The property was acquired by the Tromblay family. The creek and property was called Tromblay via biae St Paul, Quebec.

They built a grist mill at the site. One of two important mills built by early French families.
In 1750, Peter Tromblay's wife Magdeline [[nee Simard) died. He moved farther into the wilderness, what is now City Airport. In 1808, the Tromblay family received the largest land grant in the area. 1640 acres adjoining Conner Creek.
A daughter of Louis Trombley married Henry Conner. Henry Conner was a noted Indian interpreter. The Chippewa gave him the name Wabishkindibe, which means white hair.
Henry and his wife inherited creek property from his father in law. The property was located in what was than Grosse Pointe Township. He became the supervisor of Grosse Pointe Township and the creek was renamed in honor of him.