Tales of John Hulett Sr. Family of St. Lawrence County, NY > to Michigan

HULETT FAMILY HISTORY by Allyn Dean

This history was given to me from the Kingsley historian, Floyd Webster.  If any family members objects to this being online, please write to me (Brenda) at kingsley@aol.com.  No date for when it was written. Note: I was contacted by a fellow stating he wrote this and he did not tell me I had to remove it when I asked.

This story touches Grand Traverse County with many of its people.  Please do a Ctl+F to search for names.  The typing for this copy is faded and very light on some sheets and all errors included. There is a section in this story of coming to Grand Traverse County, Mayfield and Paradise townships that is interesting about the migration from New York.

Page 1:

            In writing this early history of the Hulett family, continuing down with the John Hulett branch.  I have nothing to go on in the way of actual dates, as most of it came down to me by events that the older members of the family told me about, that happened when I was young.

            At that time I was about twenty years old and their memories went back about seventy years before that.  Now that I am nearing seventy the span of memory covers a period of over one hundred and twenty years and some of the events they had heard of carries it on back to about two hundred  years ago.

            Claude Hulett was born in France.  He came to the United States and settled in St. Lawrence County New York.  He was among the many French settlers who settled in St. Lawrence County.  There was also many settlers who came to Vermont from Scotland and Ireland and moved from there to St. Lawrence County.

            Claude Hulett ... ?
not been able to lean the name of this woman. I do not know how many children were born to Claude and his wife. The only ones I ever heard of were the three who had children that came to Grand Traverse County, Michigan and settled in the Kingsley-Summit City area.

            There is one son I know of and his name is John Hulett.  Also two daughters Polly Hulett, who married Noah Taylor and Clarissa Hulett, who married Justus Morehouse.  There were probably many more children in the family as all families were large in those days and the Huletts were no exception.

            The three mentioned above may have been among the younger members of the family.  According to the way events figure out they were probably born in a period from 1770 to 1800.

            John Hulett Sr., son of the above mentioned John claims he remembers his grandfather Claude when he was near one hundred years old.  At that time in John Sr. life this was-- we have no way of knowing.

            The first John Hulett Sr., some reported is married a girl by the name of Clark, yet they also said that Johns's son John Hulett Sr., and Franklyn Taylor were double first cousins.  Each ones mother was a sister to the other ones father, so in that case the wife of the first John would be a sister to Noah Taylor, who married John's sister Polly.  John Sr. also spoke of his mother's father and called him Grandfather Clark.   He may have been referring to himself by his first name, as some of the later generations of the family often did their grandparents.  John Sr., refers to this grandfather as also being nearly one hundred years old.

            At this time I will explain that there were three generations of John Huletts.  John the son of Claude, John Sr., and John Jr.

            The first John and his wife had five children.  They were Hannah, Homer, Samuel, John and Benjamin.  John died about 1807? at the age of 35.  His wife died six months later at the birth of his son Benjamin, age 33.  The sister Hannah was 14 at the time of her parents death.  She kept the family together for two years, then they scattered, some never to see the others again.  The family of Benjamin was not located till 100 years later, in Aberdeen, Washington.

Page 2:

            The first John and his wife lived all of their lives in St. Lawrence County, New York.

            Many people at this time were pushing on west across the St. Lawrence River into Ontario, Canada.  Hannah Hulett and her husband made this move.  Homer and Samuel remained in St. Lawrence County.  John Sr. remained there 62 years before coming to Michigan.  One report was that Benjamin was taken to Adrian, Michigan.

            John Hulett Sr. was born February 23, 1805 in Canton, St. Lawrence County, New York.  His parents died when he was two years old, his sister kept the family together for two years, then his grandfather took him to the home of Major Barnum where he remained until he was able to are for himself.  John Sr. married Lucy Burnett.  I have never found the date of this marriage.  The record of this family was in a Bible supposedly taken by Marco Hulett when he left Michigan and went to Missouri.

            John Sr. and Lucy were the parents of seven children.  They were Clarissa, Sally, Corinthie, Phoebe, Polly, John Jr. and Henry.  The mother Lucy died when Henry was born, about 1810.  Henry was taken by his mothers sister and was cared for be her and went by her name which I have been told was Barnes.

            Phoebe and Polly died in infancy.  That left at home with their father three daughters and one son, Clarissa, Sally, Corinthia and John Jr.  John Sr. owned a small farm near De Kalb, New York.  He was a farmer, a woodsman and a hunter.  The latter more than a farmer.

            At this time a number of people were leaving St. Lawrence County, and moving to De Kalb, Illinois.  They settled and named De Kalb County Illinois for this home De Kalb, New York.

            When the Hulett family reached maturity Clarissa married Gardner, "first name unknown to me."  Sally married Clark Frasier and Corinthia married Steele.  They all moved to De Kalb, Illinois and their brother John Hulett Jr. followed them making his home with his sister Clarissa Gardner.

            In about 1847 John Hulett Sr. married Elizabeth Bryant.  They continued to live on the farm at De Kalb, New York.  To this union were born ten children.  Maria, Albion, Emma, Homer, Bryon, Samuel, George, Marco, Alice and Delbert.  Delbert died in infancy and the rest survived to old age, some to be very old.  Maria, Emma and Alice, were later known as Mattie, Hattie, and Millie.

            At this time we will refer back to the family of the first wife of John Hulett Sr. the mother of John Jr.

            The grandmother of John Hulett Jr. was Polly Benjamin, she lived in St. Lawrence County at De Kalb.  She first married Burnett, first NAME unknown to me.  They were the parents of five daughters.  They being Lucy, married John Hulett Sr., Eveline married Philander Taylor, Lois married Carver.  The other two I do not know the names of.  One of them was the one who raised John Jrs. brother Henry.  The youngest girl was taken by some friends of the family and raised by them.  Burnett died when the daughters were quite young.  Polly Benjamin Burnett them married a second time.  This man being John Bonney.  To John and Polly Bonney were born three children.  Polly married Franklyn Taylor, Reuben Bonney whose wife's name was Susan and Clara married Hiram Beech. 

Page 3:

           Of this family Burnett, Lucy Hulett died in St. Lawrence County. Eveline Taylor, and Lois Carver moved to De Kalb, Illinois.  The tow younger sisters lived in St. Lawrence County, New York.

           Of the Bonney family Polly Taylor moved to De Kalb, Illinois, and later to Grand Traverse County, Michigan.  Reuben Bonney and Clara Beech remained in De Kalb, New York.

          Around 1850, many people were leaving New York state and moving west to Illinois.  Many members of the Hulett family made this move.

         May of them were descendants of the daughters of the family.  The only one by the name of Hulett that I know of who went [their] was John Hulett, Jr.  While in Illinois he stayed with his sister Clarissa Gardner.

         I have heard of so many members of the family being at De Kalb, Illinois that it didn't seem like [their] was room for as many people there.

         Among these were Polly Taylor, daughter of Claude Hulett.  His sister Clarisea Morehouse.  Also their children, and grand children.  Also the sisters of John Hulett Jr., Clarissea Gardner, Sally Frasier, and probably, Corninthea Steele who later come to Summit City.  By this time Clarinthea had married Terrill, and later on, Rice and after she arrived here as Coninthia Hartman.

        My grandmother Allie Dean tell of an event which took place in 1865 the year she was 9 years old.

        Josiah Taylor, son of Philander, and Eveline Taylor married Francelia's sister Rose Gardner.  They rode horse back in this caravan.  Dan Taylor and Rosetta Gardner were married when the group reached its destination in Iowa.

        I might add at this time that when John Hulett Sr. celebrated his one hundred birthday, "February 23, 1905" it was the same year that his [granddaughter], Franelia, and Si Tayler were married forty years.  How many people married forty years have a parent living, to say nothing of a grandparent

        Also when the caravan made its journey, the Hulett's and Taylor's helped make history of the west.

Page 4:

        In the previous narration indicated, many people were leaving De Kalb, Illinois and moving on west into Iowa, South Dakota, the Nebraska.  Others not liking the prairie country, wished to move to a wooded country, the as the country from which they come, and had spent the early part of their lives.

        Among these who made this move were John Hulett Jr., Frank Taylor and George Taylor.

        In the fall of 1865 they come to Grand Traverse County to select land for homesteading.

        Grand Traverse County was easily accessible to Illinois.  They would go from De Kalb to Chicago, then take a boat from Chicago to Traverse City.  As all of the land close to Traverse City had been taken, it was necessary to come out to the south side of the county to Mayfield and Paradise Townships.  In doing so they passed many homes of people who had been their neighbors both in Illinois and New York.

        They each selected a quarter section for homestead along the line of Mayfield Township, but could not file claim on the land that fall, as they would have been obligated to stay on it from then on and could not remain during the winter.

        They went back to Illinois for that winter and returned in the spring to find that  two of the homesteads had already been claimed by Aaron Box and Thomas Matchett.

        They drew cuts as to who would get the third one.  The lot fell to Franklyn Taylor.  This being the NE 1/4 of Section 24, Mayfield Township.  John Hulett Jr., located on the SW 1/4 of Section 18, Paradise Township, across the NE of the corner of the Taylors.  George Taylor located on the NW 1/4? of Section 30, Paradise Township.  One mile south of the corner of the Taylor, and John Jr. homesteads.

        During the summer of 1866 John Hulett Jr., and Frank Taylor worked at building a log house 16 x 24 on the Taylor homestead.  They made their home with Mr. and Mrs. William P. DeYoe, a neighbor who ha also been a neighbor in Illinois.

        When the home was completed the first family to arrive here was Lutina Hulett, and two little daughters, Arvilla, age 3 and Lucy (Stella), who was just an infant.  They being the family of John Jr. They had been with relatives back in De Kalb, New York.

        The next to come was George, and Sarah Taylor and two little boys, Charley, and Myron.  They come from De Kalb, Illinois by boat to Traverse City, and walked out to the Taylor home, each carrying a bundle of their belongings on their back, a boy in their arms, and George leading a cow.  They did not make the whole distance in one day, so spent the night at the home of Rev. and Mrs. William A. Nickerson.  "Now the Stinson place."  Completing the last 2 1/2 miles to the Taylor home the next morning.

        I might add here that George Taylor had married Sarah Knapp, granddaughter of Clarissa Hulett Morhouse, and as his brothers, Si and Dan Taylor, ha married Gardner girls who were cousins George married a cousin.

Page 5:

        In the meantime since the arrival of Lutina Hulett, who did all the - and correspondence for the group here, a letter was received from John Hulett Sr., from De Kalb, New York that he, and his family wanted to come here and take a homestead too.

        It was agreed among them if he wanted to come here they would help him to get settled.

         A letter was sent to John Sr. telling him to come on out to Michigan.  Two weeks before Thanksgiving Polly Bonney Taylor, and six children arrived from De Kalb.  They were met by Frank Taylor in Traverse City, who brought his family out to the new home with his ox team.  Their were seven children when the family left Illinois but the youngest one Reuben Taylor, had taken sick on the boat, and died.

         At the same time a letter come from John Hulett Sr., stating that he and his wife and nine children would arrive in two weeks.

         As the Taylor house was sheltering 16 people now, eleven more would more than fill it to over capacity, so arrangements were made for George Taylor's family to go to the home of Ed Wall, whose homestead joined the George Taylor homestead.  Ed Wall had been their neighbor at the De Kalb, Illinois, and also at De Kalb, New York.

        John Sr. and family boarded a boat at Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence County on the St. Lawrence River.  This journey was to carry them through Lake Ontario and Eire, Lake St. Clair, and Lake Huron, through the straits into Lake Michigan.  The boat was bound for Chicago but one of its stops was at Northport, Michigan.  Here the Hulett family landed.

         John Sr. spent his last $50.00 hiring a man to haul his family and belongings to Traverse City.  Here Frank Taylor met them,, and brought them to his house, with his ox team.  The day of this arrival being the day before Thanksgiving in 1866.

        So here we have 23 people living in the Taylor home from Thanksgiving until some time in February.

        John Hulett Sr., set about a short time looking for land to homestead.  He soon located a homestead in Section 6 NE 1/4, in Greenwood Township, Wexford County.  This place is now owned by Maurice Hulett.

        John Sr., and three of his sons, Albion 17, Homer 14 and Byron 12, would go from the Taylor home each day, to work on the homestead, building a house.  This house like the rest was built of logs, the difference being it was 16 ft sq., one story high, with a shod roof,  ____ was soon ready and by the last of Feb. 1867 the family moved in.

        By spring John Hulett Sr. had ___ (appears to be: that his home was ready) and moved from the Taylor home.

        Now we must return to the life of John Hulett Sr., and John Jr.  For awhile their lives were so entwined with the lives of these other relatives that it was necessary to bring them into this narration.  Of course they were in association with them the rest of their lives, but it will not be necessary to mention them again.

Page 6:

          We know that the two elder daughters of John Sr. moved from De Kalb, NY to Illinois and later to Iowa.  These being Clarissa Gardner and Sally Frasier.  The third daughter Corinthia Hartman may have been in Illinois too, be we know that she eventually came to Summit City, where she died in 1902.  She is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, on a lot joining the lots where several members of the John Hulett Jr. families are buried.  Her grave marker reads, Alvira C. Hartmand 1834-1902.

         On the same day her sister Clarissa Gardner died in Iowa.  Thus John Hulett Sr. lost daughters on the same day.  He being 97 years of age at the time.

         John Sr. attended the funeral of Corinthia Hartman, which was held in the Summit City M. E. Church.  At the same time the funeral of Clarissa Gardner was being conducted in Iowa, and Michigan being on central standard time both funeral were at exactly the same time.

        As of Henry Hulett, son of John Jr. and Lucy, he being taken by his mother's sister and raised by her, he grew to be a man at the home of his aunt, and when the Civil War broke out, he took up the cause of the South.  He went south and enlisted in the rebel army.  Down in Texas he took sick with malaria and died.

        His aunt had his body returned to De Kalb, NY and buried under the name of Henry Barnes, although the person informing me of this was not to sure the name was Barnes.

        This was one of too many cases where one brother fought for the Confederacy and another for the Union, as John Hulett Jr. served in the Union Army.

        Some accounts claim that their was 6 children in the (family) of John Sr. and Lucy, leaving out Polly, who died in infancy,  but others claim their was a Polly, therefore making 7 children in this family.

        If Sally Frasier had not died before Clarissa and Corinthia she died within the next 4 years, as John Jr. was the only  one of the first family left by the time when John Jr. died in 1906.

        We will now give an account of the family of John Hulett Sr., and his second wife Elizabeth Bryant, and then return to John Jr. who is in the direct line of descendant in this enumeration.

        The first of the 10 children of John Sr. and Elizabeth Hulett was Maria known as Mattie.  She was born about 1848 and was baout 18 when the family came to the Grand Traverse region.

        She married George Geigar and the lived several years on a farm near Kingsley divorcing Geigar she married Ike Kreglow a cousin of the Kreglow's to be mentioned here later.  She left this region and was later married to Walt Hinman.  She finally settled in the state of Washington, and was married a fourth time, this mans name I never heard.  She lived till in the 1930' years.

Page 7:

        The second one was Albion, born about 1849, and was 17 when they came here.  At the age of 21 he homesteaded the SE 1/4 of Section (8), Greenwood Township  This is now owned, the north half by Harry Geigar, and the south half by Earl Muth.  Back in the field toward the south side is an orchard, and it was near this orchard where Albion had his buildings.

        He later traded farms with William ___, of Allendale, and moved to that community where he was to remain (the rest of ) his life, except for a few years back on his fathers homestead.

        He also was in Okalahoma some time, and also owned property there when he died.

        About 1910, Albion decided to to be with his brothers and sisters.  In the spring of the year he (si--- horse - ?gear to the wagon, and started for where most of them were.  As he went along he engaged in the horse trading business and by the time he reached the home of his brother Marc Hulett in Missouri, he had several horses tied behind the wagon.    Among these was a riding pony he gave to Marc's children.  He continued on visiting relatives, and trading horses till he reached Aberdeen Washington.  Here he visited his younger sister, and started the return trip.  He come through the Upper Peninsula, and across the Straits, and toward fall when he arrived at the home of his brother Bryon Hulett at Summit City, he had twelve horses behind the wagon.

        He made his headquarters with Byron for several days visiting his brothers, Sam, and George, and half brother John Jr.  Also several cousins,, and then returned to Allendale.  He probably received considerable profit from his horse dealing.

        Albion Hulett died in 1927.  He had lived alone several years.  His daughter died, and word was sent to Allendale, and a neighbor went to notify Albion.  The neighbor found Albion lying in the barn door dead, where he had been struck by lightning in a storm several days before.  He was 78 years of age.

        The third child of John Sr. and Elizabeth Hulett was Emma, later known as Hattie.  She was born about 1850, and was 16 when the family came here.  She first married William Monroe of Monroe Center.  He was several years older than she.  They had one daughter.  After a few years she and her husband went to Orland, Indiana.

        She then married John Watson.  They had one son.  Where they lived I do not know.  Hattie later married Sarles Whitesall, an they lived at Burwell, Nebraska.  She died in later 1939, or early 1940.  She was 89 years of age.  Mr. Whitesall had preceded her in death.

        The fourth one was Home Hulett, born about 1852, and was 14 when the family came to the Grand Traverse region.  Homer grew to manhood here, and married Viola Willsey.  They had two sons.  They moved to Nebraska, or Kansas.  I am not sure which.  They separated and Viola returned here with the boys and Homer remained in the west.

        The next we hear of him he was in the Oklahoma Land Rush.

        He and his oldest son, who was still a boy, and Homers brother Marco, had a horse and buggy and when the signal was given they started out across to stake a claim.

--- the end of the story as I have it.  If anyone can complete this story and or fix any unknown words please write to Brenda

Return: MIGENWEB Grand Traverse
@Grand Traverse Region
Typed 23Mar2005