PART I: THE FAMILY MYSTERY
Hubbard Lydia L Straight Hubbard Lydia L Hubbard
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A special thanks to "distant" cousins and internet "friends" for their contributions to our story.
After spending many hours attempting to understand great-great grandmother Hubbard's
old photo album and feeling totally lost, the following thoughts came to mind, June 18, 2001.
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OUR ANCESTORS
Who are they, where did they come from, our ancestors?
What hardships did they endure, what brought joy,
to our ancestors?
Who will wonder, who will care, from where we came?
Will the now generation remember us in years to come,
Or will the memories of our existence fade with time,
As did the images in the album, of our ancestors?
~ by: me ~
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A JOURNEY INTO THE PAST
With those thoughts in mind, we began our journey with great-great
grandmother Lydia Lucretia (Straight) Goodwin Hubbard, her
widowed mother Lucy (Hoisington) Straight and seven siblings.
WHO ARE THEY, WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?
Q and A:
Why leave Wayne County, New York to settle in Somerset,
Hillsdale County, Michigan? The reason for leaving NY can only
be speculation, but moving to MI seems somewhat clear. In about 1824,
Lucy's sister Achsa (Hoisington) married Samuel Lemuel Avery Maples.
By 1829 they had three children, the third Caleb A. Maples was born
13 Jun 1828 in Ontario, Wayne County, New York. Lydia Lucretia, born
11 Oct 1828 in Ontario, Wayne County, New York. Samuel's parents
Priscilla (Leffingwell) and William Comstock Maples, originally from
Connecticut, removed to Lenawee County, MI. Samuel L. A., Achsa,
their three children, and other family members left NY in 1829 to start
a new life in MI.
When the Maples left NY, g-g-grandmother Lydia L. was about two
years old, she had five siblings. Lucy was expecting her seventh
child in October, of 1830 when her husband George R. Straight, at
the age of 35, died unexpectedly. In about 1836/1837 widow Lucy
decided to take her seven children, along with her father and several
siblings, to eventually become part of the early pioneers of Hillsdale
County, Michigan.
A letter, written by a descendant of her brother William Clinton Straight
has given us invaluable information about the family.
LETTER: [Shared 28 Mar 2001, by a distant cousin and dear friend L.F.]
In part, the letter tells us that great great grandmother Lydia Lucretia
was a young girl near the age of nine when she, her six siblings,
their widowed mother Lucy, widower Gpa Verlina Hoisington, Uncles
and Aunts [Hoisington's and families] left home in New York to
become some of the first pioneers to eventually settle in Hillsdale
County, MI. They boarded a steam boat on Lake Erie in 1836/1837,
their destination was Detroit, Michigan.
TRAVEL:
As a passenger, cost to travel on a "steamer" in the 1830's was
$5.00. It is not known if the fee was less for each child. [cost in 2006, $111.]
Previously, 1829 and before, there were only eight steamboats
for freight and passengers on Lake Erie, and there were no
cabins on deck. It was necessary to carry twenty to thirty cords
of wood for fuel. Seven of the eight "steamers" went from Buffalo,
NY to Detroit, MI stopping at each port along the way.
"The Captain, per year, from $600 to $1,000.00 [pay in 2006, $13,400-$22,350.]
1st Mate, per month, from $24 to 40.00 [pay in 2006, $530.-$900.]
2nd do. do.from $18 to 25.00
Steward, do.from $25 to 35.00
Engineer, do. from $50 to 90.00
Wheelmen, do. from $15 to 20.00
Firemen, do. 13.00
Sailors,do. 16.00
1st Cook,do. 25.00
2nd do. do. 13.00
3d. do. do. 10.00
Other hands, do.from $10 to 15.00"
Source:
Home page: http://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/Search.asp
http://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/details.asp?r=vs&ID=2952&number=1
From Detroit, they possibly traveled by train to Ypsilanti,
Washtenaw Co, MI which at that time was the "end of the line".
They were still in Washtenaw County in 1840. The railroad line
extended to Hillsdale County, MI in 1843. Not long after, the
Straight family was living in Somerset, Hillsdale County, Michigan.
PRATT / SMITH CEMETERY:
Q and A:
What is the connection between the Pratt's, Smith's, Straight's and
Hubbard's? Nathaniel B. Pratt's second wife was Lutia T. / Lucia T.
(Straight), they married in about 1850. Lutia T. AKA Lucia T. was a
sister of Lydia Lucretia (Straight) Goodwin Hubbard.
It is not known how g-g-grandmother Lydia L. (Straight) met
our great-great-grandfather Elizar B. Hubbard, but they married
on 3 April 1845 in Hillsdale Co, MI. She was 17 1/2 years of age,
and he, not yet 23. They were living in the township of Somerset
when they had their first child, a son they named Andrew Elizar G.
Hubbard born in 1846. Baby Andrew E. G. survived less than two
months. Their second child, Julia C. Hubbard born in 1849, passed
away at only six weeks of age. Their third child born in 1851 was
Helen M. Their fourth child, another daughter, they named Lucy A.
after her grandmother Lucy. Baby Lucy A. was born in 1852 and died
at the age of just under eight months. Causes of deaths are unknown.
The three babies were buried on a neighbors land at the Pratt / Smith
Cemetery. Andrew E. G. appears to be the first buried their. The second
Martha J. (_____) Pratt b:Mar 1821, d:19 Sep 1849, was the wife of
Nathaniel B. Pratt. Nathaniel B. Pratt secondly married Lydia L.'s sister,
Lutia T. / Lucia T. (Straight) in about 1850. After Lucia T.'s death in 1861,
Nathaniel B. Pratt thirdly married Nancy M. (Smith). It appears all names
on the Pratt Cemetery "headstone list" were at some point in time
family and / or neighbors in Somerset. Because they were the first to
settle in the area of Somerset, it was most likely one of the first cemeteries.
This is a picture of Lydia L.'s red velvet photo album
OUR LEGACY “STRAIGHT” FROM THE PAST is a
red velvet photo album of my Great-Great-Grandmother
Lydia L. (Straight) Goodwin Hubbard. She took great care
in placing the fifty plus photographs into family clusters, or
at least it appears that way. She handed this family treasure
down to her only living daughter Ida Susan Hubbard. The
seventh of thirteen children, Ida S. probably received it
around the time of her mothers death in 1907. Ida Susan
then handed the album down to her daughter, Cora Bell,
and Cora Bell handed it down to her daughter, my mother.
As mentioned earlier, their third child born 1851 in Somerset,
was Helen M. (Hubbard). At the age of 22, Helen M. married
William Henry Voorhees in Independence, Buchanan County,
Iowa, in 1873. They had a daughter (Lydia L. and Elizar B.'s
first grandchild) they named Maud M. born in 1876, passing
away at the age of about six weeks. Helen M. died around
twenty months later, cause of death unknown. Helen M. and
William H. had been married less than five years. There were
no surviving grandchildren from this union for Lydia L. and
Elizar B. The first surviving grandbaby was Myrtle May (Hoffman)
born 16 Nov 1876, Fox, Black Hawk Co, IA. [this writers grandaunt].
Christmas Day 1881 William Henry Voorhees secondly married
Florence Algenia (Ross) one of the daughters of Joseph Ross.
I only mention Joseph now because the Ross name will come
up again when we share information on Lydia L. and Elizar B.'s
son George A. Hubbard.
William Henry Voohees' new family was cherished by his first in-laws,
Lydia L. and Elizar B. Hubbard. Great-great-grandmother Hubbard
has in her old family photo album, placed on the thirty-fourth page,
four photographs. One is that of William H. Voorhees, and the other
three are of his three children by his second marriage to Florence A.
On the back of the third photograph, one of Veretta Mae (Voorhees)
it says, "Grandma Hubbard". Though not directly related, the Hubbards
loved Veretta Mae as their granddaughter. See pictures and learn more
The next born in Somerset is the fifth child of Lydia L. and Elizar B.
Born, 8 February 1854, he was named William Henry Hubbard. He
also married on Christmas Day 1879, in Black Hawk County, Iowa.
His bride was a young lady named Harriet "Hattie" (Cox). Their
marriage would be less than four years as Henry W. Hubbard
passed on. There were no grandchildren from this union for
Lydia L. and Elizar B. William Henry died at the age of 29 on, 17
June 1883. Hattie (Cox) would later marry James Haywood Goen
having a daughter, Ethel E. (Goen). Hattie and Ethel E. are
photographs 22 and 23 in Group 2 of Lydia L. Hubbard's
Old Family Album.
The sixth child of Elizar B. and Lydia L., Alice H. (Hubbard), was not
born in Michigan.
During our researching Michigan records we made a surprising
discovery!
Interested in pictures taken at the National Cemetery, Chattanooga, TN
or additional information pertaining to this web site?
SOURCE:
- Our first, in the beginning was a paper handwritten by Lydia's
son Elmer E. Hubbard for his sister Ida Susan (Hubbard) Hoffman.
It is dated, May 20, 1898, three months and three weeks after the
death of Elmer and Ida S.'s father, Elizar B. Hubbard.
- Our second source that lead the way to telling g-g-grandmother
Lydia L.'s story was a marriage record for Hillsdale County, MI
- Our third, a typed transcript of the 1850 Somerset, Hillsdale Co,
MI census records.
- From there, other sources have been hand written images of
census reports, published books, images, transcripts, etc.
- The following page reveals many of the mysteries of my
g-g-grandparents, Lydia L. and Elizar B. Hubbard, their children
and many of Lydia L. and Elizar B.'s ancestors.
RI ~ Rhode Island:Straight, Lucy Hoisington Straight, Lydia L Hubbard
CT ~ Connecticut: Lord, Joseph Lord 1696-1736
NY ~ New York: Straight, Aspen Wall Straight A W Straight Aspen Straight 1774-1854
OH ~ Ohio: Hubbard, Roswell Hubbard 1790-1865
VT ~ Vermont: Hoisington, Verlina Hoisington 1795-1847
Story: You are viewing - Part I: The Family Mystery