Pam Hawley Marlin October 2021
The following genealogy profile is based on research compiled by the author. Martin Gilbert Hawley is the author's third great grandfather. Hawley Family Tree.
Martin Hawley family. Martin and Adelaide (seated), young
sons are Stephen and Ely, standing sons are Walter, Jay, and
Eugene.
Martin Gilbert Hawley, the author's third great grandfather, was born to John Hawley, Jr. and Jerusha Bushnell Cleveland in Springfield, Bradford County, Pennsylvania on October 11, 1841. This Hawley family consisted of John Jr. (father), Jerusha (mother), Adelaide (wife), and sons Walter, Jay, Eugene, Frank, Stephen and Ely.
This line of Hawley men (John Sr., John Jr., Martin and Walter) made their living as farmers. Each one of these men owned many acres of farmland in New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Iowa, and Kansas as the family migrated west. It was not unusual for the Hawley patriarch and his sons to establish their homestead on the same farmland for a time before the eldest son would venture out on his own.
Martin Gilbert Hawley was born in Springfield, Bradford County, Pennsylvania on October 11, 1841. The 1850 Springfield, Pennsylvania census lists Martin as a 9 year old boy living with his parents, John Jr., and Jerusha, siblings, Eugene, and Amelia, as well as his aunt, Sephrona Cleveland on a large farm. Martin's maternal grandfather, Daniel Cleveland, lived on adjacent property in Springfield.
In September 1854, when Martin was 13 years old, his parents sold this property to David Fanning and moved to Porter, Van Buren County, Michigan. This was part of a Hawley family migration west, as Martin's grandfather, John Hawley Sr., who lived in Clarendon, New York, also moved to Michigan in 1854. The photo below is of the John Jr. (Martin's father) house in Springfield. Martin was probably born in this house, or at the least, on this property.
1850 Springfield, Bradford County, Pennsylvania Census.
Ancestry
John Hawley Jr. (Martin's father) house and property in
Springfield, Bradford County, Pennsylvania. P Marlin
In 1854, Martin's father John Jr., bought 80 acres of land in Porter, Van Buren County, Michigan, about 4 miles southeast of Lawton. In the 1860 census, Martin is 18 years old and living with his parents and siblings, Eugene, Lelia (Amelia), Atwell, Sophronia, and John on this property. The below photo is of the house his father, John Jr., built on the property. Martin lived in this house as a teenager and possibly the first few months of his marriage.
1860 Porter, Van Buren County, Michigan Census. Ancestry
John Hawley Jr., and Martin's property (Martin bought A. Sherman's property) on the 1860 Van Buren County Land Ownership map.
John Hawley Jr., house where Martin lived as a teenager and
possibly the first few months of his marriage. P Marlin 2021
On July 27th, 1863, Martin married Adelaide Amanda Richardson of Paw Paw, Michigan. Per the marriage record below, "This certifies that Martin G. Hawley of Porter, Van Buren Co., Mich. aged 20 years and Adelaide A. Richardson of Paw Paw, Mich aged 18 years were by me joined in Holy Matronimony at the residence of S. Hanson on the 27th day of July AD One thousand eight hundred and sixty three in presence of Mary Jane Wait, S. Hanson. L.M. Bennett, Preacher of the Gospel."
Martin and Adelaide had 6 sons, Walter, Jay, Eugene, Frank, Stephen, and Ely.
Martin Hawley and Adelaide Amanda Richardson marriage record.
After Martin's marriage to Adelaide, he purchased property and built a small house on property adjacent to his father, John Jr. The following abstract of title shows Martin purchased property from Alonzo Sherman on October 29, 1864 (the above land ownership map shows A. Sherman and John Hawley properties). Martin built a small house (photo below) and it was in this house that two of his sons, Walter and Jay, were born.
Abstract of title for Martin Hawley house.
The author at the Martin Hawley house in
Porter, Van Buren County, Michigan. P Marlin 2021
The US Civil War Registration Records lists Martin as part of the Civil War draft in 1863. It is not known if he served time in the Civil War.
Martin G. Hawley listed in the US Civil War Registration Records 1863-1865. Ancestry
As tradition goes, Martin, as the oldest Hawley son, decided to leave Michigan and venture west to new territory. On August 8, 1868, Martin sold his Porter home and property to Solomon Philips, packed up his wife and two sons, and moved to Buffalo, Buchanan County, Iowa. This trek was most certainly made by horse and buggy. Martin's maternal grandfather, Daniel Cleaveland, and two uncles, Quartus Ely and Erasmus Darwin Cleveland, had recently moved to the same area from Pennsylvania. This may have been Martin's enticement to head west.
Martin and Adelaide had two more sons while living in Iowa, Eugene and Frank. Sadly, Frank died a few days after birth.
Martin and Adelaide Hawley deed for sell of Porter, Michigan,
property and home. 1868.
After dwelling in Iowa for about 9 years, Martin decided to head west again. In January 1877, he purchased 80 acres of a quarter section of the Leavenworth, Lawrence and Galveston (L.L. & G.) railroad land grant near Garnett, Kansas. Railroad land grants were provided by Congress as an aid to the construction of railroads in the state of Kansas.
L.L. & G. Railroad warranty deed to Martin G. Hawley. Anderson County Courthouse, Garnett, Kansas.
1901 Anderson County, Kansas, Land Ownership map.
Upon arrival in Kansas, Martin built a house on his newly purchased property for his young family. As Martin's sons grew to adulthood, the two eldest, Walter and Jay, purchased adjacent land and built houses of their own. After 28 years at this homestead, Martin sold this house to his son, Eugene, in 1905. It has been said that Martin's wife, Adelaide, did not want the house sold and became unwell shortly thereafter.
In 2021, only a few remnants of the Hawley's time here remains. Martin's house did survive until the 1980's. When I visited in 1985, I was able to capture what was left of it. When I visited again in 2019, however, the house was gone (photos below). There is a cellar located behind where the house once stood. This was used for food storage, but as a storm shelter as well. An article in the the Garnett Evening Review dated June 17, 2012, talks about Eugene and his family (after he purchased the home from Martin) using the shelter during a storm (see Walter's profile).
Martin Hawley home in 1985.
Martin Hawley home is gone in 2019. P Marlin 2019
Concrete entry and fence remnants with the cellar
in the distance. P Marlin 2019
A close up of the cellar. P Marlin 2019
A close up of the cellar. P Marlin 2019
Glimpses into Martin's life are told through the local newspaper's frequent reporting of its residents daily coming and goings. These articles tell of Martin's work in harvesting fields, his travels, his second marriage, and trip out west for the health of his son, Ely.
Martin and family travel back to Porter, Michigan to
care for his elderly parents (John Jr. and Jerusha) for a while. Garnett Republican-Plaindealer, April 6, 1894
Kansas Agitator, February 7, 1896
Kansas Agitator, September 23, 1898
Garnett Journal, July 6, 1900
Kansas Agitator, May 24, 1901
After the sell of his house and farm to Eugene,
Martin moves with his family to Chanute, Kansas. Garnett Journal, December 18, 1903
Martin returns to Garnett and purchases a home
in Orchard Park. Independent Review, July 28, 1905
After the death of his wife, Adelaide, Martin takes
his ill son, Ely, to California. Garnett Journal-Plaindealer, September 14, 1906
In March 1906, Martin admitted his wife Adelaide to the Osawatomie State Hospital. It is thought that she had been unwell for some time. According to her commitment papers, Adelaide had "disregard for personal appearance and filthy habits of recurrent origin. Delusional without a basis coupled with family history, and _____ unsanitary environments." The following news clipping indicates that Martin traveled to the hospital in April to see if Adelaide was well enough to go home. Evidently not, as she died at the hospital on June 24, 1906.
The Journal-Plaindealer April 20, 1906.
It was during this time that Ely, Martin's youngest son, was also ill (probably tuberculosis). Ely first traveled to Colorado for his health, then he and Martin decided to travel to California. It was on the way to California that Martin met and married his second wife, Anna. The 1907 Los Angeles City Directory lists Margin G. and Ely G. and the 1910 Los Angeles, California Census lists Martin G. with his wife, Anna.
Garnett Journal-Plaindealer April 5, 1907
Martin G. and his son Ely G. in the 1907 Los Angeles,
California Directory. Ancestry
Martin and Anna in the 1910 Los Angeles, California Census.
Ancestry
Broken in health, Martin returned to Garnett with his second wife, Anna in February 1913. His son Ely, who had been in ill health, died in California in 1909. The following article from The Evening Review in Garnett, tells the story of Martin's return (typed below).
Garnett Journal-Plaindealer February 3, 1913
M.G. Hawley Home Again, Strayed from Depot in Kansas City; Found by Sons and Sheriff
"Martin G. Hawley, a former resident of this city and county, who went to California wit his son Ely, some years ago, is at home again. He and his wife (whom he married in Colorado, after leaving Garnett,) came back to make their home. Some time ago, a blood vessel in his brain burst, causing a blood clot, and it also caused a paralytic strike, which rendered his left side almost helpless. He has some use of the leg, but none of the arm.
He and Mrs. Hawley arrived at the Union Station in Kansas City Saturday, expecting to come on to Garnett on the morning train, but he wandered out of the depot, and Mrs. Hawley was unable to find him, and missed the train. She started some policemen out to hunt Mr. Hawley, and they found him and took him back to the station. Later in the day, Mr. Hawley got away again. Mrs. Hawley intended taking a later train, but he couldn't be found, so she missed that train. Again the policemen were sent out to find Mr. Hawley but did not succeed. So, Mrs. Hawley, who had both tickets, gave his ticket to the matron at the depot, and came on to Garnett on the Hot Springs Express, and notified Mr. Hawley's sons here. Eugene and Steve prepared to go to Kansas City and hunt their father, and they asked Sheiff Decker to go with them. The three went to Kansas City on an early morning train, and, upon reaching Kansas City, went to police headquarters, and the hunt began. Mr. Hawley was found in the railroad yards in Kansas City, Kansas, but how he got there, he did not seem to know. He was brought to Garnett, where he will be taken care of by his sons. Mr. Hawley's friends here will be sorry to learn of his affliction."
On August 14, 1913, Martin died at his son Walter's home near the property he had purchased 36 years earlier. He was laid to rest next to his first wife, Adelaide, at the Garnett Cemetery. Buried near their son Jay's burial site, Martin and Adelaide do not have a tombstone.
Garnett Journal-Plaindealer February 3, 1913
Martin Hawley obituary August 14, 1913.
The author standing at approximate burial site of
Martin and Adelaide Hawley in Garnett Cemetery, Kansas. P Marlin 2021