see also: http://fennville.memorieshop.com/Pilgrims/Harrison.html
Early Memories of Saugatuck, Michigan : 1830-1930
Author: Heath, May Francis
Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Grand Rapids, Mich: 1930
HARRISON HUTCHINS
Harrison Hutchins, 7th child of David and Sally Burnell Hutchins, was born at Brandon, Rutland County, Vt., September 3, 1815, died June 18, 1893, at his home in Ganges, Mich.
Laura Caroline Hudson was born at Hudson. Ohio, June 22, 1828, died at the Hutchins home in Ganges Sept. 13, 1907.
They were married near Allegan, Mich., June 8, 1847.
She was in the 7th generation down from Henry Hudson, the Navigator, who discovered the Hudson river in 1609. and Hudson Bay in 1610, the last of which proved both his monument and his grave. During the winter of 1847 she taught the first school in what is now the Fennville district.
In 1836 Harrison Hutchins, with his father, came from Rochester, N. Y., by canal boat on the Erie Canal to Buffalo, by schooner to Detroit and followed Indian trails through the woods to Allegan, Mich., carrying on their backs their provisions and blankets and sleeping under the friendly forest trees during the night, and arrived here in middle July.
The following year Harrison went back to Rochester and brought his eldest sister, Mrs. Sophis Stillson and her son Samuel back to make her home with them. He walked the distance from Allegan to Detroit and back, making the third time he had thus covered it, but was able to get passage for her with emigrants coming this way. Leander Prouty came to Allegan in 1834 and was the first settler there so the place was but two years old when the Hutchins' arrived.
Harrison selected his location in 1837, but as Michigan had not yet been admitted as a state, (It was admitted in that year) he waited until the following year before building and moving in. He being' the first settler in Ganges township.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hutchins were Samuel, deceased; Edward, deceased; Henry H.; David M.; Emily S. Hafford; Ira and Sarah, (deceased).
The house in Ohio which was Mrs. Hutchin's birthplace afterward became the property of the noted John Brown, and the house has since been carried away in pieces by visiting tourists.
Mr. and Mrs. Hutchins lived hard working, worthy lives and earned the fine home and farm which they were spared to enjoy seventy years before she was called to her heavenly home. Some record.
------------------------------
1840 Census article- SDHS Newsletter-Harrison Hutchins The first settler in what would be Ganges Township. In 1840 his household consisted of himself, his father, a sister and her three children, and his widowed brother-in-law. The old Hutchins homestead is now owned by Crane's Pie Pantry.
------------
from the History of Allegan and Barry Cos, 1880
Harrison Hutchins, a New Yorker, led the way in the
fall of 1838 to the settlement of Ganges, and where he
then settled he lives to-day. He had come West in 1836,
and while residing in Allegan had purchased 160 acres of
land iu Manlius in 1837, and the same amount on section
1 in Ganges. Meanwhile, in Allegan, in the fall of 1838,
he put up a log cabin, 16 by 18 feet, on his Ganges tract.
In November of that year he brought his sister and her
three children to his house (he being himself unmarried),
and began life as a pioneer.
==========================
Portrait and Biographical
By Kalamazoo Allegan and Van Buren Counties, 1892
HARRISON HUTCHINS. This worthy old (fjl pioneer, whose portrait is shown on the /1W^ opposite page, is at present residing on ((j||) section 1, Ganges Township, Allegan County. He was born in Rutland Count}^, Vt., in 1815, and is a son of David and Sally Hutchins. The father was born on a farm in the Green Mountain State and received a very limited education, as when quite young he was engaged in lumbering on the St. Lawrence River.
Our subject's mother was Sally, daughter of Samuel Burnel, a native of Connecticut, who spent most of his life in Vermont. Mr. Burnel was a farmer, and during the Revolutionary War served
his country from the beginning to the close of hostilities. He was very prominent in political affairs in his community and served several terms in the Vermont Legislature, finally declining further office on account of his advanced vears.
Harrison Hutchins was one of a family of eleven children, born to his parents, only four of whom are living. Two died in infancy, and the remaining nine bore the names of Sophia, Adeline, Alvin, Louisa, Samuel, David, Harrison, Cynthia, and Sarah. David Hutchins, on removing to New York, first located in St. Lawience County, where he was engaged in running a sawmill. His next removal was to Jefferson County, where he followed the occupation of a farmer. Fourteen years later he came to Allegan County with his family, where he lived until his death. He was a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, and stood by his order during the strong excitement of the Morgan episode.
Although his school days were few, our subject was diligent in prosecuting his studies at home, and thus acquired a good fund of information. On attaining his eleventh year, he went to work in a factory, and three years later migrated to Canada, where he was employed in a brickyard. He came to Michigan when twenty years of age and, in 1838, located in Ganges Township, Allegan County, where he was the first settler. His pioneer life is well described in the following poem, written by his wife and read at an Old Settlers' meeting in Allegan a few years ago. It is only a small portion of the poem, and the sturdy youth referred to is her husband:
"No rushing cars m noisy haste
At Fennville depot called,
No logs from out the pinery
To Fennville e'er were hauled.
"The Indian built his wigwam then
Beside the lake so fair,
And feasted on the shining bass,
The muskrat and the bear.
"The houses then in Allegan
Were numbered by the score—
Upon its public square, my friends,
The pine trees numbered more.
"The rippling waves of Hutcliins' Lake
The unbroken green encased,
And where you now view verdant fields
There lay a wooded waste.
"McCormiek, the first pioneer,
The emerald surface broke,
And from his clayey chimney
First arose the white man's smoke.
"And next there came a sturdy youth
His future home to make,
And cut a path and built a house
Beside the shining lake.
"His step, so firm and buoyant then,
Is not as lithe to-day;
His forehead bald, his raven locks
Old Time has turned to gray.
"As time rolled on new neighbors came,
A handful, three or four,
And while they much of hardship saw,
They'd courage to endure.
"O'er rooty road from Allegan
The oxen drew their food,
And pumpkin dumplings in those days
Were 'reckoned pretty good.'"
On coming to Ganges Township, Mi Hutchins purchased the one hundred and thirty acres of land which is his present home. Here he built a log cabin which contained but one room, and commenced the work of improvement. To day his estate is made more valuable by the erection thereon of all the buildings which best subserve the purposes of an agriculturist. The pride which he feels when viewing his broad acres is justifiable when we learn that his present standing in the farming community has been brought about solely by his own efforts, seconded by the wise judgment and economy of his good wife.
Mr. Hutchins has been a member of the Baptist Church for the past thirty years, in which body he has filled the office of Deacon. He built the first Baptist Church in Ganges Township, and has always been a warm supporter of that faith. In politics, he is a Republican.
Miss Laura C. daughter of Milo L. Hudson, became the wife of our subject, June 8, 1847. Mr. Hudson was born October 15, 1791, in Goshen, Conn., and was the son of David Hudson, born February 17, 1761. The latter named gentleman is a
descendant of the discoverer of the Hudson River, as is proved by the following: Hendrick Hudson, who discovered the Hudson River in 1609, named his youngest son David, who in turn named his youngest son David. Thus the name of David was carried down for seven generations. The grandfather of Mrs. Hutchins was the sixth of that line, being born in Blanford, Conn., February 17, 1761.
The paternal grandmother of Mrs. Hutchins was Anna M. Norton, and after her marriage with David Hudson they resided in Goshen, Conn. In 1799, they moved to Summit County, Ohio, with their six children, one child having died prior to their removal. It was there, in a one-roomed log house in the midst of an unbroken forest, that the eighth child was born, October 22,1800, who was the first white child born in Summit County, Ohio. In 1805, another son, David, was added to the household. Our subject's wife was afterward born in the same house, on the same farm, which was afterward sold to the noted John Brown. The house has since been carried away in pieces by tourists, who visited that historic place.
Mrs. Hutchins' parents died when she was very young, and she was then taken into the home of her grandparents. Her grandfather was one of the patriots in the Revolutionery War and her greataunt was the second wife of Ethan Allen. Her grandfather, Constant Rogers, was a lineal descendant of John Rogers, the martyr of Smithfield. Mrs. Hutchins taught the first school in the Union District. The happy married life of our subject and his wife is shown forth in the following lines, which were written, and read at the fortieth anniversary of their marriage, by their daughter, Mrs. Emily H. Hafford, June 8, 1887:
"'Twas fifty years ago or more,
A youth with earnest, honest air,
Departed from the Empire State
And sought the Western forests fair
"Some brave resolves were in his thoughts,
And braver still his hardy heart,
From out the great wild wilderness
He'd carve himself a humble part.
"His bank account was principle,
His stock in trade a sturdy arm—
With outfit strapped upon his back
He sought in Michigan a farm.
"From far Detroit to Allegan,
Along the weary, winding way, Through many forests green he trod
Where beasts were free and birds were gay.
"His father traveled by his side,
All other friends were left behind—
Like ^Eneas, of ancient lore,
The youth possessed a filial mind.
"The muse would fain pursue him close
Through all the scenes of daily life,
Describe how brave with poverty
He waged a hardly hopeful strife.
"How oft at night, 'neath branching tree,
He laid his weary form to rest Where lonely hoot and dismal screech
Proclaimed him an unwelcome guest.
"Marked trees were oft his only guide
While traveling through the lonely wood,
And flesh of bear and venison
Made pioneer a wholesome food.
"He said he would not catch a bird
Without a cage to put her in.
If, then, the bird must sure be caught
To build the nest he must begin.
"To toil no stranger lad was he.
He gloried in his muscle strong— What wonder that he owned a farm
With house and barn and team ere long?
"The broadening acres dressed in green
Proclaimed the spring from year to year,
And garners stored with yellow corn
Awaited winter's lonely cheer.
"A loving sister followed soon
And sat beside his cabin hearth;
She baked his bread, prepared his meal,
And kindly proved a sister's worth.
"About the home with feeble tread
His mother's step ere long was heard;
The cage was done, the nest was built.
Had he forgot to catch the bird?
"A maiden taught the village school,
The youth had seen her gentle worth,
And soon the bird was in the cage;
He took her to his heart and hearth.
"'Twas forty years ago to-day,
The man beside the maiden stood,
And their two lives united were
For weal or woe, for ill or good.
"The years came on, the years went by,
With much of trial, much of care.
God gave to them prosperity,
The orchards bloomed, the fields were fair,
"And infants sweet from time to time
Found shelter in that glad home nest,
And each one found a welcome place,
Till eight the happy parents blessed.
"The muse could tell of washing days,
Of logging fires and harvest times,
Could picture maple-sugar camps,
Or tell of childish pranks and crimes,
"But time goes by on restless wings:
The children grew to thoughtful years,
And each in turn forgot their toys,
Their childish pleasures, joys and fears.
"Two forms are missing from our band—
Two faces still remembered well,
Our darling Mary early slept,
And our beloved Samuel.
"And some have left the dear home nest;
Like roving birds on restless wing, Soon far away the fledglings flit,
And for themselves they build and sing.
"But we have all come home to-day
To wish our parents happy cheer,
And we do foudly hope and pray
That they may reach the 'golden year.'"
Early Memories of Saugatuck, Michigan : 1830-1930
Author: Heath, May Francis
Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Grand Rapids, Mich: 1930
HARRISON HUTCHINS
Harrison Hutchins, 7th child of David and Sally Burnell Hutchins, was born at Brandon, Rutland County, Vt., September 3, 1815, died June 18, 1893, at his home in Ganges, Mich.
Laura Caroline Hudson was born at Hudson. Ohio, June 22, 1828, died at the Hutchins home in Ganges Sept. 13, 1907.
They were married near Allegan, Mich., June 8, 1847.
She was in the 7th generation down from Henry Hudson, the Navigator, who discovered the Hudson river in 1609. and Hudson Bay in 1610, the last of which proved both his monument and his grave. During the winter of 1847 she taught the first school in what is now the Fennville district.
In 1836 Harrison Hutchins, with his father, came from Rochester, N. Y., by canal boat on the Erie Canal to Buffalo, by schooner to Detroit and followed Indian trails through the woods to Allegan, Mich., carrying on their backs their provisions and blankets and sleeping under the friendly forest trees during the night, and arrived here in middle July.
The following year Harrison went back to Rochester and brought his eldest sister, Mrs. Sophis Stillson and her son Samuel back to make her home with them. He walked the distance from Allegan to Detroit and back, making the third time he had thus covered it, but was able to get passage for her with emigrants coming this way. Leander Prouty came to Allegan in 1834 and was the first settler there so the place was but two years old when the Hutchins' arrived.
Harrison selected his location in 1837, but as Michigan had not yet been admitted as a state, (It was admitted in that year) he waited until the following year before building and moving in. He being' the first settler in Ganges township.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hutchins were Samuel, deceased; Edward, deceased; Henry H.; David M.; Emily S. Hafford; Ira and Sarah, (deceased).
The house in Ohio which was Mrs. Hutchin's birthplace afterward became the property of the noted John Brown, and the house has since been carried away in pieces by visiting tourists.
Mr. and Mrs. Hutchins lived hard working, worthy lives and earned the fine home and farm which they were spared to enjoy seventy years before she was called to her heavenly home. Some record.
------------------------------
1840 Census article- SDHS Newsletter-Harrison Hutchins The first settler in what would be Ganges Township. In 1840 his household consisted of himself, his father, a sister and her three children, and his widowed brother-in-law. The old Hutchins homestead is now owned by Crane's Pie Pantry.
------------
from the History of Allegan and Barry Cos, 1880
Harrison Hutchins, a New Yorker, led the way in the
fall of 1838 to the settlement of Ganges, and where he
then settled he lives to-day. He had come West in 1836,
and while residing in Allegan had purchased 160 acres of
land iu Manlius in 1837, and the same amount on section
1 in Ganges. Meanwhile, in Allegan, in the fall of 1838,
he put up a log cabin, 16 by 18 feet, on his Ganges tract.
In November of that year he brought his sister and her
three children to his house (he being himself unmarried),
and began life as a pioneer.
==========================
Portrait and Biographical
By Kalamazoo Allegan and Van Buren Counties, 1892
HARRISON HUTCHINS. This worthy old (fjl pioneer, whose portrait is shown on the /1W^ opposite page, is at present residing on ((j||) section 1, Ganges Township, Allegan County. He was born in Rutland Count}^, Vt., in 1815, and is a son of David and Sally Hutchins. The father was born on a farm in the Green Mountain State and received a very limited education, as when quite young he was engaged in lumbering on the St. Lawrence River.
Our subject's mother was Sally, daughter of Samuel Burnel, a native of Connecticut, who spent most of his life in Vermont. Mr. Burnel was a farmer, and during the Revolutionary War served
his country from the beginning to the close of hostilities. He was very prominent in political affairs in his community and served several terms in the Vermont Legislature, finally declining further office on account of his advanced vears.
Harrison Hutchins was one of a family of eleven children, born to his parents, only four of whom are living. Two died in infancy, and the remaining nine bore the names of Sophia, Adeline, Alvin, Louisa, Samuel, David, Harrison, Cynthia, and Sarah. David Hutchins, on removing to New York, first located in St. Lawience County, where he was engaged in running a sawmill. His next removal was to Jefferson County, where he followed the occupation of a farmer. Fourteen years later he came to Allegan County with his family, where he lived until his death. He was a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, and stood by his order during the strong excitement of the Morgan episode.
Although his school days were few, our subject was diligent in prosecuting his studies at home, and thus acquired a good fund of information. On attaining his eleventh year, he went to work in a factory, and three years later migrated to Canada, where he was employed in a brickyard. He came to Michigan when twenty years of age and, in 1838, located in Ganges Township, Allegan County, where he was the first settler. His pioneer life is well described in the following poem, written by his wife and read at an Old Settlers' meeting in Allegan a few years ago. It is only a small portion of the poem, and the sturdy youth referred to is her husband:
"No rushing cars m noisy haste
At Fennville depot called,
No logs from out the pinery
To Fennville e'er were hauled.
"The Indian built his wigwam then
Beside the lake so fair,
And feasted on the shining bass,
The muskrat and the bear.
"The houses then in Allegan
Were numbered by the score—
Upon its public square, my friends,
The pine trees numbered more.
"The rippling waves of Hutcliins' Lake
The unbroken green encased,
And where you now view verdant fields
There lay a wooded waste.
"McCormiek, the first pioneer,
The emerald surface broke,
And from his clayey chimney
First arose the white man's smoke.
"And next there came a sturdy youth
His future home to make,
And cut a path and built a house
Beside the shining lake.
"His step, so firm and buoyant then,
Is not as lithe to-day;
His forehead bald, his raven locks
Old Time has turned to gray.
"As time rolled on new neighbors came,
A handful, three or four,
And while they much of hardship saw,
They'd courage to endure.
"O'er rooty road from Allegan
The oxen drew their food,
And pumpkin dumplings in those days
Were 'reckoned pretty good.'"
On coming to Ganges Township, Mi Hutchins purchased the one hundred and thirty acres of land which is his present home. Here he built a log cabin which contained but one room, and commenced the work of improvement. To day his estate is made more valuable by the erection thereon of all the buildings which best subserve the purposes of an agriculturist. The pride which he feels when viewing his broad acres is justifiable when we learn that his present standing in the farming community has been brought about solely by his own efforts, seconded by the wise judgment and economy of his good wife.
Mr. Hutchins has been a member of the Baptist Church for the past thirty years, in which body he has filled the office of Deacon. He built the first Baptist Church in Ganges Township, and has always been a warm supporter of that faith. In politics, he is a Republican.
Miss Laura C. daughter of Milo L. Hudson, became the wife of our subject, June 8, 1847. Mr. Hudson was born October 15, 1791, in Goshen, Conn., and was the son of David Hudson, born February 17, 1761. The latter named gentleman is a
descendant of the discoverer of the Hudson River, as is proved by the following: Hendrick Hudson, who discovered the Hudson River in 1609, named his youngest son David, who in turn named his youngest son David. Thus the name of David was carried down for seven generations. The grandfather of Mrs. Hutchins was the sixth of that line, being born in Blanford, Conn., February 17, 1761.
The paternal grandmother of Mrs. Hutchins was Anna M. Norton, and after her marriage with David Hudson they resided in Goshen, Conn. In 1799, they moved to Summit County, Ohio, with their six children, one child having died prior to their removal. It was there, in a one-roomed log house in the midst of an unbroken forest, that the eighth child was born, October 22,1800, who was the first white child born in Summit County, Ohio. In 1805, another son, David, was added to the household. Our subject's wife was afterward born in the same house, on the same farm, which was afterward sold to the noted John Brown. The house has since been carried away in pieces by tourists, who visited that historic place.
Mrs. Hutchins' parents died when she was very young, and she was then taken into the home of her grandparents. Her grandfather was one of the patriots in the Revolutionery War and her greataunt was the second wife of Ethan Allen. Her grandfather, Constant Rogers, was a lineal descendant of John Rogers, the martyr of Smithfield. Mrs. Hutchins taught the first school in the Union District. The happy married life of our subject and his wife is shown forth in the following lines, which were written, and read at the fortieth anniversary of their marriage, by their daughter, Mrs. Emily H. Hafford, June 8, 1887:
"'Twas fifty years ago or more,
A youth with earnest, honest air,
Departed from the Empire State
And sought the Western forests fair
"Some brave resolves were in his thoughts,
And braver still his hardy heart,
From out the great wild wilderness
He'd carve himself a humble part.
"His bank account was principle,
His stock in trade a sturdy arm—
With outfit strapped upon his back
He sought in Michigan a farm.
"From far Detroit to Allegan,
Along the weary, winding way, Through many forests green he trod
Where beasts were free and birds were gay.
"His father traveled by his side,
All other friends were left behind—
Like ^Eneas, of ancient lore,
The youth possessed a filial mind.
"The muse would fain pursue him close
Through all the scenes of daily life,
Describe how brave with poverty
He waged a hardly hopeful strife.
"How oft at night, 'neath branching tree,
He laid his weary form to rest Where lonely hoot and dismal screech
Proclaimed him an unwelcome guest.
"Marked trees were oft his only guide
While traveling through the lonely wood,
And flesh of bear and venison
Made pioneer a wholesome food.
"He said he would not catch a bird
Without a cage to put her in.
If, then, the bird must sure be caught
To build the nest he must begin.
"To toil no stranger lad was he.
He gloried in his muscle strong— What wonder that he owned a farm
With house and barn and team ere long?
"The broadening acres dressed in green
Proclaimed the spring from year to year,
And garners stored with yellow corn
Awaited winter's lonely cheer.
"A loving sister followed soon
And sat beside his cabin hearth;
She baked his bread, prepared his meal,
And kindly proved a sister's worth.
"About the home with feeble tread
His mother's step ere long was heard;
The cage was done, the nest was built.
Had he forgot to catch the bird?
"A maiden taught the village school,
The youth had seen her gentle worth,
And soon the bird was in the cage;
He took her to his heart and hearth.
"'Twas forty years ago to-day,
The man beside the maiden stood,
And their two lives united were
For weal or woe, for ill or good.
"The years came on, the years went by,
With much of trial, much of care.
God gave to them prosperity,
The orchards bloomed, the fields were fair,
"And infants sweet from time to time
Found shelter in that glad home nest,
And each one found a welcome place,
Till eight the happy parents blessed.
"The muse could tell of washing days,
Of logging fires and harvest times,
Could picture maple-sugar camps,
Or tell of childish pranks and crimes,
"But time goes by on restless wings:
The children grew to thoughtful years,
And each in turn forgot their toys,
Their childish pleasures, joys and fears.
"Two forms are missing from our band—
Two faces still remembered well,
Our darling Mary early slept,
And our beloved Samuel.
"And some have left the dear home nest;
Like roving birds on restless wing, Soon far away the fledglings flit,
And for themselves they build and sing.
"But we have all come home to-day
To wish our parents happy cheer,
And we do foudly hope and pray
That they may reach the 'golden year.'"
see also: http://fennville.memorieshop.com/Pilgrims/Harrison.html
Early Memories of Saugatuck, Michigan : 1830-1930
Author: Heath, May Francis
Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Grand Rapids, Mich: 1930
HARRISON HUTCHINS
Harrison Hutchins, 7th child of David and Sally Burnell Hutchins, was born at Brandon, Rutland County, Vt., September 3, 1815, died June 18, 1893, at his home in Ganges, Mich.
Laura Caroline Hudson was born at Hudson. Ohio, June 22, 1828, died at the Hutchins home in Ganges Sept. 13, 1907.
They were married near Allegan, Mich., June 8, 1847.
She was in the 7th generation down from Henry Hudson, the Navigator, who discovered the Hudson river in 1609. and Hudson Bay in 1610, the last of which proved both his monument and his grave. During the winter of 1847 she taught the first school in what is now the Fennville district.
In 1836 Harrison Hutchins, with his father, came from Rochester, N. Y., by canal boat on the Erie Canal to Buffalo, by schooner to Detroit and followed Indian trails through the woods to Allegan, Mich., carrying on their backs their provisions and blankets and sleeping under the friendly forest trees during the night, and arrived here in middle July.
The following year Harrison went back to Rochester and brought his eldest sister, Mrs. Sophis Stillson and her son Samuel back to make her home with them. He walked the distance from Allegan to Detroit and back, making the third time he had thus covered it, but was able to get passage for her with emigrants coming this way. Leander Prouty came to Allegan in 1834 and was the first settler there so the place was but two years old when the Hutchins' arrived.
Harrison selected his location in 1837, but as Michigan had not yet been admitted as a state, (It was admitted in that year) he waited until the following year before building and moving in. He being' the first settler in Ganges township.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hutchins were Samuel, deceased; Edward, deceased; Henry H.; David M.; Emily S. Hafford; Ira and Sarah, (deceased).
The house in Ohio which was Mrs. Hutchin's birthplace afterward became the property of the noted John Brown, and the house has since been carried away in pieces by visiting tourists.
Mr. and Mrs. Hutchins lived hard working, worthy lives and earned the fine home and farm which they were spared to enjoy seventy years before she was called to her heavenly home. Some record.
------------------------------
1840 Census article- SDHS Newsletter-Harrison Hutchins The first settler in what would be Ganges Township. In 1840 his household consisted of himself, his father, a sister and her three children, and his widowed brother-in-law. The old Hutchins homestead is now owned by Crane's Pie Pantry.
------------
from the History of Allegan and Barry Cos, 1880
Harrison Hutchins, a New Yorker, led the way in the
fall of 1838 to the settlement of Ganges, and where he
then settled he lives to-day. He had come West in 1836,
and while residing in Allegan had purchased 160 acres of
land iu Manlius in 1837, and the same amount on section
1 in Ganges. Meanwhile, in Allegan, in the fall of 1838,
he put up a log cabin, 16 by 18 feet, on his Ganges tract.
In November of that year he brought his sister and her
three children to his house (he being himself unmarried),
and began life as a pioneer.
==========================
Portrait and Biographical
By Kalamazoo Allegan and Van Buren Counties, 1892
HARRISON HUTCHINS. This worthy old (fjl pioneer, whose portrait is shown on the /1W^ opposite page, is at present residing on ((j||) section 1, Ganges Township, Allegan County. He was born in Rutland Count}^, Vt., in 1815, and is a son of David and Sally Hutchins. The father was born on a farm in the Green Mountain State and received a very limited education, as when quite young he was engaged in lumbering on the St. Lawrence River.
Our subject's mother was Sally, daughter of Samuel Burnel, a native of Connecticut, who spent most of his life in Vermont. Mr. Burnel was a farmer, and during the Revolutionary War served
his country from the beginning to the close of hostilities. He was very prominent in political affairs in his community and served several terms in the Vermont Legislature, finally declining further office on account of his advanced vears.
Harrison Hutchins was one of a family of eleven children, born to his parents, only four of whom are living. Two died in infancy, and the remaining nine bore the names of Sophia, Adeline, Alvin, Louisa, Samuel, David, Harrison, Cynthia, and Sarah. David Hutchins, on removing to New York, first located in St. Lawience County, where he was engaged in running a sawmill. His next removal was to Jefferson County, where he followed the occupation of a farmer. Fourteen years later he came to Allegan County with his family, where he lived until his death. He was a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, and stood by his order during the strong excitement of the Morgan episode.
Although his school days were few, our subject was diligent in prosecuting his studies at home, and thus acquired a good fund of information. On attaining his eleventh year, he went to work in a factory, and three years later migrated to Canada, where he was employed in a brickyard. He came to Michigan when twenty years of age and, in 1838, located in Ganges Township, Allegan County, where he was the first settler. His pioneer life is well described in the following poem, written by his wife and read at an Old Settlers' meeting in Allegan a few years ago. It is only a small portion of the poem, and the sturdy youth referred to is her husband:
"No rushing cars m noisy haste
At Fennville depot called,
No logs from out the pinery
To Fennville e'er were hauled.
"The Indian built his wigwam then
Beside the lake so fair,
And feasted on the shining bass,
The muskrat and the bear.
"The houses then in Allegan
Were numbered by the score—
Upon its public square, my friends,
The pine trees numbered more.
"The rippling waves of Hutcliins' Lake
The unbroken green encased,
And where you now view verdant fields
There lay a wooded waste.
"McCormiek, the first pioneer,
The emerald surface broke,
And from his clayey chimney
First arose the white man's smoke.
"And next there came a sturdy youth
His future home to make,
And cut a path and built a house
Beside the shining lake.
"His step, so firm and buoyant then,
Is not as lithe to-day;
His forehead bald, his raven locks
Old Time has turned to gray.
"As time rolled on new neighbors came,
A handful, three or four,
And while they much of hardship saw,
They'd courage to endure.
"O'er rooty road from Allegan
The oxen drew their food,
And pumpkin dumplings in those days
Were 'reckoned pretty good.'"
On coming to Ganges Township, Mi Hutchins purchased the one hundred and thirty acres of land which is his present home. Here he built a log cabin which contained but one room, and commenced the work of improvement. To day his estate is made more valuable by the erection thereon of all the buildings which best subserve the purposes of an agriculturist. The pride which he feels when viewing his broad acres is justifiable when we learn that his present standing in the farming community has been brought about solely by his own efforts, seconded by the wise judgment and economy of his good wife.
Mr. Hutchins has been a member of the Baptist Church for the past thirty years, in which body he has filled the office of Deacon. He built the first Baptist Church in Ganges Township, and has always been a warm supporter of that faith. In politics, he is a Republican.
Miss Laura C. daughter of Milo L. Hudson, became the wife of our subject, June 8, 1847. Mr. Hudson was born October 15, 1791, in Goshen, Conn., and was the son of David Hudson, born February 17, 1761. The latter named gentleman is a
descendant of the discoverer of the Hudson River, as is proved by the following: Hendrick Hudson, who discovered the Hudson River in 1609, named his youngest son David, who in turn named his youngest son David. Thus the name of David was carried down for seven generations. The grandfather of Mrs. Hutchins was the sixth of that line, being born in Blanford, Conn., February 17, 1761.
The paternal grandmother of Mrs. Hutchins was Anna M. Norton, and after her marriage with David Hudson they resided in Goshen, Conn. In 1799, they moved to Summit County, Ohio, with their six children, one child having died prior to their removal. It was there, in a one-roomed log house in the midst of an unbroken forest, that the eighth child was born, October 22,1800, who was the first white child born in Summit County, Ohio. In 1805, another son, David, was added to the household. Our subject's wife was afterward born in the same house, on the same farm, which was afterward sold to the noted John Brown. The house has since been carried away in pieces by tourists, who visited that historic place.
Mrs. Hutchins' parents died when she was very young, and she was then taken into the home of her grandparents. Her grandfather was one of the patriots in the Revolutionery War and her greataunt was the second wife of Ethan Allen. Her grandfather, Constant Rogers, was a lineal descendant of John Rogers, the martyr of Smithfield. Mrs. Hutchins taught the first school in the Union District. The happy married life of our subject and his wife is shown forth in the following lines, which were written, and read at the fortieth anniversary of their marriage, by their daughter, Mrs. Emily H. Hafford, June 8, 1887:
"'Twas fifty years ago or more,
A youth with earnest, honest air,
Departed from the Empire State
And sought the Western forests fair
"Some brave resolves were in his thoughts,
And braver still his hardy heart,
From out the great wild wilderness
He'd carve himself a humble part.
"His bank account was principle,
His stock in trade a sturdy arm—
With outfit strapped upon his back
He sought in Michigan a farm.
"From far Detroit to Allegan,
Along the weary, winding way, Through many forests green he trod
Where beasts were free and birds were gay.
"His father traveled by his side,
All other friends were left behind—
Like ^Eneas, of ancient lore,
The youth possessed a filial mind.
"The muse would fain pursue him close
Through all the scenes of daily life,
Describe how brave with poverty
He waged a hardly hopeful strife.
"How oft at night, 'neath branching tree,
He laid his weary form to rest Where lonely hoot and dismal screech
Proclaimed him an unwelcome guest.
"Marked trees were oft his only guide
While traveling through the lonely wood,
And flesh of bear and venison
Made pioneer a wholesome food.
"He said he would not catch a bird
Without a cage to put her in.
If, then, the bird must sure be caught
To build the nest he must begin.
"To toil no stranger lad was he.
He gloried in his muscle strong— What wonder that he owned a farm
With house and barn and team ere long?
"The broadening acres dressed in green
Proclaimed the spring from year to year,
And garners stored with yellow corn
Awaited winter's lonely cheer.
"A loving sister followed soon
And sat beside his cabin hearth;
She baked his bread, prepared his meal,
And kindly proved a sister's worth.
"About the home with feeble tread
His mother's step ere long was heard;
The cage was done, the nest was built.
Had he forgot to catch the bird?
"A maiden taught the village school,
The youth had seen her gentle worth,
And soon the bird was in the cage;
He took her to his heart and hearth.
"'Twas forty years ago to-day,
The man beside the maiden stood,
And their two lives united were
For weal or woe, for ill or good.
"The years came on, the years went by,
With much of trial, much of care.
God gave to them prosperity,
The orchards bloomed, the fields were fair,
"And infants sweet from time to time
Found shelter in that glad home nest,
And each one found a welcome place,
Till eight the happy parents blessed.
"The muse could tell of washing days,
Of logging fires and harvest times,
Could picture maple-sugar camps,
Or tell of childish pranks and crimes,
"But time goes by on restless wings:
The children grew to thoughtful years,
And each in turn forgot their toys,
Their childish pleasures, joys and fears.
"Two forms are missing from our band—
Two faces still remembered well,
Our darling Mary early slept,
And our beloved Samuel.
"And some have left the dear home nest;
Like roving birds on restless wing, Soon far away the fledglings flit,
And for themselves they build and sing.
"But we have all come home to-day
To wish our parents happy cheer,
And we do foudly hope and pray
That they may reach the 'golden year.'"
Early Memories of Saugatuck, Michigan : 1830-1930
Author: Heath, May Francis
Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Grand Rapids, Mich: 1930
HARRISON HUTCHINS
Harrison Hutchins, 7th child of David and Sally Burnell Hutchins, was born at Brandon, Rutland County, Vt., September 3, 1815, died June 18, 1893, at his home in Ganges, Mich.
Laura Caroline Hudson was born at Hudson. Ohio, June 22, 1828, died at the Hutchins home in Ganges Sept. 13, 1907.
They were married near Allegan, Mich., June 8, 1847.
She was in the 7th generation down from Henry Hudson, the Navigator, who discovered the Hudson river in 1609. and Hudson Bay in 1610, the last of which proved both his monument and his grave. During the winter of 1847 she taught the first school in what is now the Fennville district.
In 1836 Harrison Hutchins, with his father, came from Rochester, N. Y., by canal boat on the Erie Canal to Buffalo, by schooner to Detroit and followed Indian trails through the woods to Allegan, Mich., carrying on their backs their provisions and blankets and sleeping under the friendly forest trees during the night, and arrived here in middle July.
The following year Harrison went back to Rochester and brought his eldest sister, Mrs. Sophis Stillson and her son Samuel back to make her home with them. He walked the distance from Allegan to Detroit and back, making the third time he had thus covered it, but was able to get passage for her with emigrants coming this way. Leander Prouty came to Allegan in 1834 and was the first settler there so the place was but two years old when the Hutchins' arrived.
Harrison selected his location in 1837, but as Michigan had not yet been admitted as a state, (It was admitted in that year) he waited until the following year before building and moving in. He being' the first settler in Ganges township.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hutchins were Samuel, deceased; Edward, deceased; Henry H.; David M.; Emily S. Hafford; Ira and Sarah, (deceased).
The house in Ohio which was Mrs. Hutchin's birthplace afterward became the property of the noted John Brown, and the house has since been carried away in pieces by visiting tourists.
Mr. and Mrs. Hutchins lived hard working, worthy lives and earned the fine home and farm which they were spared to enjoy seventy years before she was called to her heavenly home. Some record.
------------------------------
1840 Census article- SDHS Newsletter-Harrison Hutchins The first settler in what would be Ganges Township. In 1840 his household consisted of himself, his father, a sister and her three children, and his widowed brother-in-law. The old Hutchins homestead is now owned by Crane's Pie Pantry.
------------
from the History of Allegan and Barry Cos, 1880
Harrison Hutchins, a New Yorker, led the way in the
fall of 1838 to the settlement of Ganges, and where he
then settled he lives to-day. He had come West in 1836,
and while residing in Allegan had purchased 160 acres of
land iu Manlius in 1837, and the same amount on section
1 in Ganges. Meanwhile, in Allegan, in the fall of 1838,
he put up a log cabin, 16 by 18 feet, on his Ganges tract.
In November of that year he brought his sister and her
three children to his house (he being himself unmarried),
and began life as a pioneer.
==========================
Portrait and Biographical
By Kalamazoo Allegan and Van Buren Counties, 1892
HARRISON HUTCHINS. This worthy old (fjl pioneer, whose portrait is shown on the /1W^ opposite page, is at present residing on ((j||) section 1, Ganges Township, Allegan County. He was born in Rutland Count}^, Vt., in 1815, and is a son of David and Sally Hutchins. The father was born on a farm in the Green Mountain State and received a very limited education, as when quite young he was engaged in lumbering on the St. Lawrence River.
Our subject's mother was Sally, daughter of Samuel Burnel, a native of Connecticut, who spent most of his life in Vermont. Mr. Burnel was a farmer, and during the Revolutionary War served
his country from the beginning to the close of hostilities. He was very prominent in political affairs in his community and served several terms in the Vermont Legislature, finally declining further office on account of his advanced vears.
Harrison Hutchins was one of a family of eleven children, born to his parents, only four of whom are living. Two died in infancy, and the remaining nine bore the names of Sophia, Adeline, Alvin, Louisa, Samuel, David, Harrison, Cynthia, and Sarah. David Hutchins, on removing to New York, first located in St. Lawience County, where he was engaged in running a sawmill. His next removal was to Jefferson County, where he followed the occupation of a farmer. Fourteen years later he came to Allegan County with his family, where he lived until his death. He was a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, and stood by his order during the strong excitement of the Morgan episode.
Although his school days were few, our subject was diligent in prosecuting his studies at home, and thus acquired a good fund of information. On attaining his eleventh year, he went to work in a factory, and three years later migrated to Canada, where he was employed in a brickyard. He came to Michigan when twenty years of age and, in 1838, located in Ganges Township, Allegan County, where he was the first settler. His pioneer life is well described in the following poem, written by his wife and read at an Old Settlers' meeting in Allegan a few years ago. It is only a small portion of the poem, and the sturdy youth referred to is her husband:
"No rushing cars m noisy haste
At Fennville depot called,
No logs from out the pinery
To Fennville e'er were hauled.
"The Indian built his wigwam then
Beside the lake so fair,
And feasted on the shining bass,
The muskrat and the bear.
"The houses then in Allegan
Were numbered by the score—
Upon its public square, my friends,
The pine trees numbered more.
"The rippling waves of Hutcliins' Lake
The unbroken green encased,
And where you now view verdant fields
There lay a wooded waste.
"McCormiek, the first pioneer,
The emerald surface broke,
And from his clayey chimney
First arose the white man's smoke.
"And next there came a sturdy youth
His future home to make,
And cut a path and built a house
Beside the shining lake.
"His step, so firm and buoyant then,
Is not as lithe to-day;
His forehead bald, his raven locks
Old Time has turned to gray.
"As time rolled on new neighbors came,
A handful, three or four,
And while they much of hardship saw,
They'd courage to endure.
"O'er rooty road from Allegan
The oxen drew their food,
And pumpkin dumplings in those days
Were 'reckoned pretty good.'"
On coming to Ganges Township, Mi Hutchins purchased the one hundred and thirty acres of land which is his present home. Here he built a log cabin which contained but one room, and commenced the work of improvement. To day his estate is made more valuable by the erection thereon of all the buildings which best subserve the purposes of an agriculturist. The pride which he feels when viewing his broad acres is justifiable when we learn that his present standing in the farming community has been brought about solely by his own efforts, seconded by the wise judgment and economy of his good wife.
Mr. Hutchins has been a member of the Baptist Church for the past thirty years, in which body he has filled the office of Deacon. He built the first Baptist Church in Ganges Township, and has always been a warm supporter of that faith. In politics, he is a Republican.
Miss Laura C. daughter of Milo L. Hudson, became the wife of our subject, June 8, 1847. Mr. Hudson was born October 15, 1791, in Goshen, Conn., and was the son of David Hudson, born February 17, 1761. The latter named gentleman is a
descendant of the discoverer of the Hudson River, as is proved by the following: Hendrick Hudson, who discovered the Hudson River in 1609, named his youngest son David, who in turn named his youngest son David. Thus the name of David was carried down for seven generations. The grandfather of Mrs. Hutchins was the sixth of that line, being born in Blanford, Conn., February 17, 1761.
The paternal grandmother of Mrs. Hutchins was Anna M. Norton, and after her marriage with David Hudson they resided in Goshen, Conn. In 1799, they moved to Summit County, Ohio, with their six children, one child having died prior to their removal. It was there, in a one-roomed log house in the midst of an unbroken forest, that the eighth child was born, October 22,1800, who was the first white child born in Summit County, Ohio. In 1805, another son, David, was added to the household. Our subject's wife was afterward born in the same house, on the same farm, which was afterward sold to the noted John Brown. The house has since been carried away in pieces by tourists, who visited that historic place.
Mrs. Hutchins' parents died when she was very young, and she was then taken into the home of her grandparents. Her grandfather was one of the patriots in the Revolutionery War and her greataunt was the second wife of Ethan Allen. Her grandfather, Constant Rogers, was a lineal descendant of John Rogers, the martyr of Smithfield. Mrs. Hutchins taught the first school in the Union District. The happy married life of our subject and his wife is shown forth in the following lines, which were written, and read at the fortieth anniversary of their marriage, by their daughter, Mrs. Emily H. Hafford, June 8, 1887:
"'Twas fifty years ago or more,
A youth with earnest, honest air,
Departed from the Empire State
And sought the Western forests fair
"Some brave resolves were in his thoughts,
And braver still his hardy heart,
From out the great wild wilderness
He'd carve himself a humble part.
"His bank account was principle,
His stock in trade a sturdy arm—
With outfit strapped upon his back
He sought in Michigan a farm.
"From far Detroit to Allegan,
Along the weary, winding way, Through many forests green he trod
Where beasts were free and birds were gay.
"His father traveled by his side,
All other friends were left behind—
Like ^Eneas, of ancient lore,
The youth possessed a filial mind.
"The muse would fain pursue him close
Through all the scenes of daily life,
Describe how brave with poverty
He waged a hardly hopeful strife.
"How oft at night, 'neath branching tree,
He laid his weary form to rest Where lonely hoot and dismal screech
Proclaimed him an unwelcome guest.
"Marked trees were oft his only guide
While traveling through the lonely wood,
And flesh of bear and venison
Made pioneer a wholesome food.
"He said he would not catch a bird
Without a cage to put her in.
If, then, the bird must sure be caught
To build the nest he must begin.
"To toil no stranger lad was he.
He gloried in his muscle strong— What wonder that he owned a farm
With house and barn and team ere long?
"The broadening acres dressed in green
Proclaimed the spring from year to year,
And garners stored with yellow corn
Awaited winter's lonely cheer.
"A loving sister followed soon
And sat beside his cabin hearth;
She baked his bread, prepared his meal,
And kindly proved a sister's worth.
"About the home with feeble tread
His mother's step ere long was heard;
The cage was done, the nest was built.
Had he forgot to catch the bird?
"A maiden taught the village school,
The youth had seen her gentle worth,
And soon the bird was in the cage;
He took her to his heart and hearth.
"'Twas forty years ago to-day,
The man beside the maiden stood,
And their two lives united were
For weal or woe, for ill or good.
"The years came on, the years went by,
With much of trial, much of care.
God gave to them prosperity,
The orchards bloomed, the fields were fair,
"And infants sweet from time to time
Found shelter in that glad home nest,
And each one found a welcome place,
Till eight the happy parents blessed.
"The muse could tell of washing days,
Of logging fires and harvest times,
Could picture maple-sugar camps,
Or tell of childish pranks and crimes,
"But time goes by on restless wings:
The children grew to thoughtful years,
And each in turn forgot their toys,
Their childish pleasures, joys and fears.
"Two forms are missing from our band—
Two faces still remembered well,
Our darling Mary early slept,
And our beloved Samuel.
"And some have left the dear home nest;
Like roving birds on restless wing, Soon far away the fledglings flit,
And for themselves they build and sing.
"But we have all come home to-day
To wish our parents happy cheer,
And we do foudly hope and pray
That they may reach the 'golden year.'"
Gravesite Details
age 77y 9m 15d
Family Members
Siblings
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