History of Ingham and Eaton counties, Michigan, Part 78

Author: Durant, Samuel W. cn
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia : D.W. Ensign & Co.
Number of Pages: 772

USA > Michigan > Eaton County > History of Ingham and Eaton counties, Michigan > Part 78
USA > Michigan > Ingham County > History of Ingham and Eaton counties, Michigan > Part 78

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

MRS. HENRY A. HAWLEY.

HENRY A. HAWLEY.

Henry A. Hawley, one of the carliest pioneers of Ing- ham County, was born at Winfield, Herkimer Co., N. Y., Nov. 19, 1815. His father, Stephen Hawley, was a native of Amsterdam, N. Y., but was of Scottish stock. His mother, Olive Warner, was born in Connecticut, but removed when young to Herkimer Co., N. Y., where she married Stephen Hawley. He died in early manhood,

11ENRY A. HAWLEY.

leaving her with two sons, Henry and Calvin. She after- wards married Charles Gray, and had three children,-Eliza, Manly, and Emeline. She was of Welsh descent, and trans- mitted to her son the sturdy virtues and inflexible courage of her ancestral race. This inheritance enabled him suc- cessfully to utilize the strength of his muscle and the energy of his brain in subduing the stubborn enemies that confront the pioneer at every step. On the 3d of Septem-

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HISTORY OF INGHAM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

ber, 1839, she died of hemorrhage of the lungs, and the younger son died some years later of consumption.

In the summer of 1834, Henry A. Hawley, in company with his mother and her family, came to Lenawee County, Michigan Territory, where they remained until June, 1836, when they resolved to try their fortunes in a still newer locality. They finally secured government land, Mr. Hawley selecting the half-section which forms his present home. After enduring fatigue, exposures, and dangers which must have discouraged any but the bravest hearts, they set up their household goods in a rude shanty in the wilderness, which for a time made a home for all ; but Mr. Hawley at once began vigorous work upon his own farm. Forty-five years of thrift and industry have transformed it into broad, handsome fields, ornamented with hedges, and made productive by careful tillage, thorough fertilizing and underdraining, and other appliances of modern seience. The little shanty soon gave place to a log house, and later that was replaced by a pleasant farm-house, with ample out-buildings.

June 2, 1841, Mr. Hawley was married to Miss Lucy Ann Hicks. To this union six children were born,-Olive L., March 11, 1841 ; Calvin A., Nov. 3, 1843; Eleonora, Aug. 21, 1845; Delora B., Oct. 22, 1847; Adelbert S., May 23, 1851; Anna E., March 25, 1853. Of these children three are now living. Eleonora died in infancy ; Calvio died of diphtheria and measles, May 27, 1862, being at the time of his death a member of the Sophomore class at the Michigan Agricultural College ; Delora died Jan. 24, 1868, of consumption. Olive was married Dec. 24, 1863, to John L. Diamond, who died Ang. 10, 1870, leaving three children,-Lottie, Henry, and Willie. Anna was married Oct. 16, 1876, to Marcus K. Preston, and lives on a farm in Grass Lake. Adelbert remains at the old homestead, having charge of the farm.

Mr. Hawley has always been active in urging improve- ments, and bas contributed generously, both in money and labor, to any enterprise that he deemed beneficial to the community. Where the public welfare seemed to demand it, he has consulted neither comfort nor convenience, but has worked with a strong and willing hand. Since attain- ing his majority, he has never failed to present himself at the polls on election day, always casting his vote with the same party,-old-line Whig and Republican. His re- ligious faith has always been of the truly liberal type.

Lucy A. Ilicks was born at Homer, Cortland Co., N. Y., Aug. 23, 1818. Iler father, Deacon Zephaniah Hicks, came to Ingham County in the early days of its settlement, and died here at a good old age, having always been a much-esteemed and useful citizen. Mrs. lawley was a woman of quiet, domestic tastes, but eminently endowed with those qualities that make a prosperous, happy home. While cheerfully working with her husband to gain for their family such comforts as a new country denies to any but the most diligent, she sympathized with his public spirit, and freely joined in his charities and hospitalities, She was a woman of strong religious convictions, being an active member of the Baptist Church, and living in strict conformity to her belief. She died on the 18th of No- vember, 1853, of typhoid fever.

In the autumn of 1854-October 1Sth-Mr. Hawley was married to Mrs. Rolfe, formerly Charlotte I. Chapin. She was born at Camillus, Onondaga Co., N. Y., May 17, 1820. Her girlhood was mostly passed in Livingston Co., N. Y., whither her father removed while she was a child. In the winter of 1842-43 she came with her brother, A. M. Chapin, to Vevay, Ingham Co., Mich., and immediately began teaching in the Rolfe district. Oet. 30, 1844, she was married to Carlos Rolfe, of Vevay, who died Sept. 25, 1847, leaving one son, who died in childhood. Soon after the death of her husband she took up her broken work, proving a competent and efficient teacher. With the in- terruption of a single season, when she taught in Stock- bridge, she presided over the Mason school for twelve con- secutive terms, gaining life-long friends among pupils and patrons. When she entered the family of Mr. Hawley she carried with her the fruit of wide experience and culture, and became to his children a mother indeed, as well as an invaluable helper and teacher. Those who knew her during the later years of her life know that she discharged her duty to her adopted family with singular faithfulness and devotion. The following incident will illustrate her spirit : An acquaintance inquired which of the two little girls she was leading by the hand was her own. "They are both mine " was the answer that silenced further ques- tion. There was no place where she was not a welcome visitor, and many among the sick, the afflicted, and the poor had occasion for life-long gratitude. Her strong char- acter, great will-force, and sympathetic nature gave her a wide influence in the society which she had helped to mould, while her liberal religious ideas, reared as she was in the Universalist faith, leavened her whole life with charity, and tempered every duty to her cheerful acceptance. Mrs. Hawley died March 8, 1869, leaving one daughter, Claribel, who was born March 26, 1857, and was married July 28, 1878, to Orr Schurtz, a graduate of Michigan University, class of 1878.

The early settlers of the country will recall with satisfac- tion the generous welcome they always received at the Haw- . ley home, whether they came to its doors as weary way- farers or as trusted friends. The shadows of death and domestic calamity have often fallen upon it, but it will long be remembered as one of the pleasantest landmarks of pioneer life.

ALMON MORRIS CHAPIN .*

Chicopee, Mass., is known as the headquarters of the Chapin family in America, Deacon Samuel Chapin, with his eight sons, having settled there about the middle of the seventeenth century, or more than two hundred years ago. All of the Chapin name trace their ancestry to this place.

Levi Chapin, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Chicopce, April 3, 1787. He was a man of considerable enterprise, and lived an active life. Hle built the first cotton-factory in Chicopee, in 1813. He also built the upper ten locks on the Blackstone Canal, between Worcester, Mass., and Providence, R. I. Removing to

* Mostly by Rev. Augusta J. Chapin.

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VEVAY.

Onondaga Co., N. Y., in the autumn of 1818, he became an extensive contractor on the public works of the State, and also of the adjacent province of Canada.

New York was then "The West." In the fall of 1844 he became a second time a pioneer, and settled on the farm in Vevay now owned by W. II. Horton. When the State capital was located at Lansing, he transformed his house (located about halfway between Jackson and Lansing) into a hotel. Here he and his good wife, Achsah Smith, also a native of Chicopee, furnished a restful welcome and good cheer to the multitudes who traveled the almost im- passable roads to Lansing. Ile died Jan. 10, 1867, the tenth anniversary of the death of his wife.

Almon Morris Chapin, the oldest son of Levi, was born in Chicopee, Nov. 25, 1810. Removing with his parents to Onondaga Co., N. Y., in the autumn of 1818, he was educated at the Onondaga Academy and at the Skaneateles Seminary. Leaving school, he took a course of medical study, but, on account of failing health, abandoned the purpose of entering the profession. A few years were spent clerking in Rochester, and then he went into mer- cantile business in Lakeville, Livingston Co., N. Y. July 6, 1835, he married Miss Jane Pease, of Livonia, N. Y., who survives him. In December, 1842, he removed to Michigan, and settled on the farm in Vevay where he re- sided at the time of his death, Sept. 5, 1878. The journey from Livonia, Livingston Co., N. Y., to Vevay, Ingham Co., Mich., was made by Mr. Chapin and his family over- land, and consumed eighteen days. The household goods, tools, etc., were sent by water from Buffalo to Detroit.

The family consisted of Mr. Chapin and his wife, with four small children,-the eldest of whom was but six years of age,-Levi Chapin, Jr., a younger brother, Charlotte I. Chapin, a sister, and also an orphaned nephew of Mrs. Chapin, who was reared in the family. This rather large party, mounted in a covered wagon and drawn by a four- horse team, formed no uncommon spectacle in those days. By an ingenious contrivance known to pioneers, the spa- cious vehicle was drawn first upon runners and then upon wheels, according as the roads were found with or without snow. The route lay through Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland, Toledo, and, on entering Michigan, through Blissfield, Adrian, Jackson, and thence north ward to the then famous " Rolfe settlement." The weary travelers found a shelter that first night under the hospitable roof of Ira Rolfe, and the next day moved into an abandoned log house on the lot adjoining the Chapin homestead. A roaring fire was made in the great fireplace and a stove set up, when soon, the supporting ice melting away, the roof yielded to the great weight of snow upon it, the top logs rolled off and the roof fell in. Fortunately no one was hurt, though Char- lotte, who had just come down from the chamber, and some neighbors standing outside, had a very narrow escape. The neighbors, who had come from miles around to welcome and help the new-comers, now set to work with a will to repair the damage. Mrs. Chapin and the children found a refuge in the nearest cabin, and in a day or two a new roof was in place. The family occupied this old log house until October following, when they moved into the new frame house which Mr. Chapin had built during the summer.

Mr. Chapin was never strong physically, and he came into the wilderness wholly unaccustomed to manual labor. Still he adapted himself to circumstances, and, though he could never chop, he found plenty to do. The toils aud privations of pioneer life were endured by him with never- failing cheerfulness, and through many vicissitudes of life he maintained unfaltering courage and hope, finding always a bright side to every cloud and something to enjoy and be thankful for under all circumstances.

A marked feature of his character was his love of trees, flowers, and all beautiful things. Moved by this spirit, he made his home one of the most pleasant and comfortable in the county. He was distinguished also for his mental en- dowments and culture. He habitually pursued a wide range of reading, and kept himself in hearty sympathy with whatever was for the good of society and the advance- ment of the world, never mourning for the " good old times," but looking hopefully to the future.

He was always actively interested in education, and at times, both in early life and later, he entered the school- room as a teacher. IIis own children are largely indebted for their education to his personal instruction, especially in mathematics and language.

One of the early settlers of Ingham County, Mr. Chapin was identified with all its growth and public work. From time to time he held the varions offices in the gift of the town- ship, and discharged their duties faithfully. He was con- nected-generally in some official capacity-with the Ing- ham County Agricultural Society, and with the Farmers' Club, from their very beginning; also with other similar organizations which have done so much to develop the agricultural interests of this part of the State. He was secretary of the Farmers' "Mutual Insurance Company for several years, and managed its complicated affairs with sig- nal ability.

Mr. Chapin was from early life a believer in the Univer- salist view of the Christian faith, and of this Church he was for many years a member.

The entire family of Mr. Chapin consisted of eleven chil- dren, of whom seven are now living,-Henry L. and Julius W. in Ingham County ; Clarence W. and Merrick W. in Montealm County ; A. M. Chapin, Jr., the oldest son, in Denver, Col. ; and two daughters, Miss Augusta J. Chapin, who came with her parents to the township in which she now resides, and Mrs. Belle Corey, of Stanton, Montcalm Co., who was born in Ingham County. The members of the family residing at Stanton are prominent bankers of that place.

Miss Augusta J. Chapin was for five years a student at Olivet College, and subsequently for a year at the Michi- gan Female College at Lansing. She was for some time a prominent educator in this portion of the State, one year of her time being spent as principal of the North Lansing Union School. For twenty-one years she has labored in the ministry, in the Universalist field, and in 1863 she was ordained at Lansing. She has preached at Lansing, San Francisco, and numerous other places, and been settled as pastor of churches at Iowa City, Iowa, Milwaukee, Wis., Pittsburgh, Pa., and Aurora, Ill., the latter having been her latest charge.

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HISTORY OF INGHAM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

JOSEPH L. HUNTINGTON,

one of the pioneers of Ingham County, and for many years one of its substantial men, was born at Hinesburg, Vt., Nov. 16, 1800, and died at Mason, Mich., March 19, 1874. He was descended from Puritan ancestors, and was able to trace his genealogy through eight generations to Simon and Margaret Huntington, English Puritans or Non-Conformists, who emigrated to this country in 1633, and, according to family tradition, confirmed by what is known of the first and second generations following and their religious notions, to escape from the religious intoler- ance under Charles I. and the high-handed persecutions under the administration of Archbishop Laud in Church affairs during a part of that reign.

The earliest recorded mention of the name in this coun- try is of this family, contained in the old church records of Roxbury, Mass., and in the hand-writing of the Rev. John Elliot himself, the pastor of that early church. It is, however, certain that Norwich, Conn., where many of the name still reside, soon became, and has ever since been regarded as, the family homestead .* And through the laborious research of Rev. E. B. Huntington, of Stam- ford, Conn., the family historian, it is possible to say that all who bear the name in this country, with very few as- certained exceptions, are descended from this early Puritan family.

Not unnaturally, in a family whose genealogy is so well ascertained and preserved, Mr. Huntington was able to point to many persons among his ancestors, as well as among living relations, conspicuous in the various professions and industries of life, notably in the ministry, as well as those distinguished for learning and patriotism. A few names may be here mentioned, among others Daniel Huntington, the distinguished American artist, for many years president

of the National Academy of Design, and author of many paintings of more than national fame, among many others " Mrs. Washington's Reception," otherwise known as the " Republican Court ;" Judge Elisha M. Huntington, United States judge in Indiana ; Samuel Huntington, chief justice and afterwards Governor of Ohio, and who, from the organ- ization of the Territory of Michigan in 1805, was appointed by President Jefferson the first judge of its Supreme Court, but which he declined; Samuel Huntington, of Norwich, Conn., chief justice and several times Governor of his State, prominent during the Revolution as a defender of its principles, a member and for some time president of the Continental Congress, and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Nor did Maj .- Gen. Jabez Huntington, of the same place, bear a less important part during the Revolution, or Judge Benjamin Huntington, though a young man at the commencement of the Revolu- tion.

Mr. Huntington, the subject of this sketch, was the eldest son of Deacon Jouathan Huntington. At the age of sixteen he was apprentieed to the trade of a tanner, which he acquired about the time he attained his twenty- first year. For two or three years thereafter he followed his trade, working at Hinesburg, Vt., and at Hatfield, Mass. Jan. 16, 1823, he was married to Miss Minerva, daughter of Gilbert and Susannah (Ruggles) Barto, of the latter place, and the two removed to Washington, Berkshire Co., Mass., where Mr. Huntington followed his trade. In the spring of 1825 they removed to Hinesburg, Vt., at which place, and at Starksboro', he followed the same vocation until the fall of 1831, when they removed to Ludlowville, Tompkins Co., N. Y., at which place he made the ac- quaintance of John M. French, Sr., now living at Lansing, Mich., and between the two a warm friendship sprang up, which continued unbroken for forty years, and until the death of Mr. Huntington.

They were for a time partners at this place in carrying on the business of tanning leather. In the spring of 1838 they decided to remove to the new State of Michigan.

Mr. French was possessed of lands in the town of Aure- lius, Ingham Co., although neither town nor county was then organized. But Mr. IIuntington was less fortunate : the demands of a large and increasing family had prevented the accumulation of much means, and the little that had been treasured up was invested in business, and being con- verted into money was found to be of questionable suffi- ciency to prepare for and make the journey with his family (wife and six children) ; but the removal being decided upon it was not in his nature to look back, and the journey was undertaken, Mr. French agreeing to supply any de- ficiency necessary to make the journey as far as Grand River. At Detroit, his money being exhausted, the sum of fifty dollars was borrowed of Mr. French, and the jour- ney continned by rail to Ypsilanti, then the western termi- nus of the Michigan Central Railroad, and from thence by teams employed for the purpose, and much of the way by roads cut through the forests. May 7, 1838, the party arrived upon the " Montgomery Plains," where the lands of Mr. French were located. Here we find Mr. and Mrs. Iluntington, with six dependent children, none of sufficient

* Two of the sons of Simon and Margaret and their families were of the colony who founded the town-now the beautiful and wealthy city-of Norwich, in 1660.

John Rayun

MRS. JOHN RAYNER.

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age to be of assistance, without money, or home, or lands, and, aside from Mr. French, whose family were to come later, strangers in a strange land, but in the prime of life. Mr. Huntington was possessed of good health, a strong constitution, hands inured to habits of industry, and deter- mined purposes, which were their sole reliance in the new country. No time was lost ; a temporary shanty was at once erected, and twenty days later a log house was made to appear, and sufficiently large to meet the imperative de- mands of two families. Soon after, under a partnership arrangement with Mr. French, a tannery and shoe-shop were erected. The tannery was soon abandoned as un- profitable, but the business of making and selling boots and shoes was continued some four or five years, during which time Mr. Huntington purchased and paid for one hundred acres of timbered land, and in 1841 moved upon it and commenced the business of clearing up a new farm.

In the fall of 1846 he was elected sheriff, and re-elected in 1848, at which latter time he removed to Mason and became the keeper of the first jail erected in the county.

In 1847, upon the location of the State capital at Lan- sing, Mr. Huntington, with John M. French, Sr., and Judge Richard M. Ferris, were appointed commissioners to appraise the newly-platted city lots on the State lands pre- paratory to offering the same for sale, not below the ap- praised valuation. As speculation in lots ran high the duty became a difficult one, but was so discharged that but few lots were at the time taken for purposes of speculation.

In 1850 he commenced the boot and shoe business in Mason, and from this time to his death he was identified with the interests of the place, his business, nearly all of this time, being conducted in partnership with his son, Collins D., under the firm-name of J. L. & C. D. Hunt- ington. For about one and a half years, in 1861 and 1862, his business was removed to Eaton Rapids, where he resided during the time. For some ten years prior to his death the business of the partnership was milling.

Mrs. Huntington died Dec. 16, 1862, and Mr. Hunting- ton was married to Mrs. Caroline E. Royce, of Dansville, Mich., who died June 16, 1870.

Mr. Huntington was ever active in all public affairs. In politics, a lifelong Democrat. In religious sentiment, a Universalist. He took a special interest in the affairs of the Ingham County Pioneer Society, as well as the one in Eaton County, in the organization of both of which it is understood he participated. He was buried with Masonic honors, Hon. O. M. Barnes, acting Master of the lodge, reading an interesting paper on the life and character of the deceased.

JOHN RAYNER.

Mr. Rayner was the youngest son in a family of eight children of William and Susannah Wisner Rayner. The father, whose birth occurred at Fishkill, on the Hudson, Dec. 14, 1759, followed agricultural pursuits, and was a

soldier in the war of the Revolution. He was a man of strongly marked character, and of indomitable and imperious will, no doubt acquired and fostered by his early associa- tions as a slaveholder. He removed to Orange Co., N. Y., where his son John, the subject of this biography, was born, Jan. 5, 1804. John spent his early years upon the paternal estate, having received such an education as was afforded by the primitive schools of the day. During this period he developed much perception and shrewdness, but failed to evince those habits of industry which are usually the forerunners of future success. Having been somewhat impatient of restraint, he bade adicu to the scenes of his youth at the age of twenty-six and located upon an un- cleared farm in Cayuga Co., N. Y., owned by his father. He converted the wood, with which the land was well stocked, into charcoal, which was disposed of to the State prison at Auburn, and made the business exceedingly lucra- tive. During the year 1835 he was married to Miss Emily Meach, of Brutus, Cayuga Co., whose birth occurred Oct. 17, 1817. Her father was a pioncer of the county,- a farmer of industrious habits and much influence. Mrs. Rayner was a lady of polished manners, of much amiability of disposition, and possessing all those traits which rendered her, as mother, friend, and Christian woman, the ideal head of the household. Eight children constituted their family circle, and were named, in the order of their ages, William II., Susan A., John, Jr., Aaron J., Emma O., Charles B., Barney C., and Charles J. In 1839, in com- pany with his father-in-law, Mr. Rayner came West on a tour of observation and purchased several tracts of land in Ingham County. The following year he left Auburn with his family, consisting of Mrs. Rayner, William H., Susan, and John W., in a one-horse wagon for the pioncer home in the wilds of Ingham County, where he established him- self on the farm now owned by his son, William H. Here he resided until his removal to Mason, where he built and occupied the fine brick residence now the home of his son, William H. In 1843 he became an extensive dealer in tax-lands, and a very successful operator. The money thus acquired was loaned by him and accumulated until Mr. Ray- ner, at his death, was regarded as among the most opulent men of the county of Ingham. An extract from a recently- published biography affords a clear insight into his charac- ter : " But whatever eccentricities or foibles he may have possessed, he had certainly bluff and hearty ways, and was not without generosity and hospitality, which rendered him an acceptable neighbor and friend. In all the early trials incident to the settlement of a new country none took a more active part than he, and no name will stand out more conspicuously in the history of Mason than his." The death of Mr. Rayner occurred at Mason, May 18, 1879, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. His career illustrates in a marked degree the success which it is possible to at- tain even under unfavorable circumstances, with the in- herent qualities of foresight, perseverance, and a laudable ambition as the powerful levers with which to begin the work,

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History of Ingham and Eaton counties, Michigan, Part 78

Author: Durant, Samuel W. cn Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia : D.W. Ensign & Co. Number of Pages: 772

Author: Durant, Samuel W. cn
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia : D.W. Ensign & Co.
Number of Pages: 772