Hales & Winans Family Obituaries
Hales, William D.
Jan. 11, 1804 - May 5, 1892
"The following sketch of the life of William Hales, who died May 5, 1892, aged 88
years, may be of interest to those who knew him during his residence of more than sixty
years in this county. He was born January 11, 1804, in North Bradley, County of Wiltshire,
England.
"At the age of 13 years, he was apprenticed to a weaver, and after serving his time,
continued to work for his employer until he could save enough money to bring him to
America. He emigrated, landing in New York in 1825.
"After a short residence in Philadelphia, he went to Northern New York and settled.
Finding that section too cold and the snow too deep, he started for a western location.
This start was made with a horse and farmer-made sled. Traveling to Eastern Ohio, he was
obliged to leave the sled and proceed on horseback.
"Arriving in Cleveland (then a small port of a few straggling log houses, with no
bridge across the Cayahoga River and no means of crossing it other than a rude flatboat).
Land on Euclid Avenue was offered him at $4.00 per acre. At that time it was considered
too light soil for farming purposes and this was the only value land had there in the eyes
of settlers.
"He arrived in what is now Lorain County, Ohio in 1831 and settled in Henrietta. This
township was then an unbroken forest of heavy timber, the Indians being the principal
inhabitants, although a few white settlers had come in. He built himself a small log cabin
and worked at clearing his land and farming. Through his industry and ability, his
holdings of land increased until he became the owner, at one time, of about six hundred
acres of land.
"On June 10, 1835 he was married to Laura Blackman, daughter of Ansel and Sarah
Blackman. He was the father of eleven children, six girls and five boys, all of whom grew
to manhood and womanhood. ... His wife died in 1862, and for his second wife he married
Mary A. Bemis, widow of the Reverend Varanes Bemis.
"He was a resident of Lorain County for more than sixty years, spending forty years
of this time on various farms in Henrietta Township. In 1878 he removed to North Amherst,
where he resided until the time of his death. In early manhood he became a Christian,
uniting with the Baptist Church at Henrietta, being one of the pioneer members of that
church, and during his whole life presenting a bright example of a true Christian life,
having that faith in God and implicit trust in Jesus which no vicissitudes of life ever
managed to disturb. He never permitted any other duties to interfere with family worship
in his home or any Christian obligations, and during his last illness he calmly awaited
the end, knowing it to be but the entrance to the mansion of the blessed."
Obituary, entitled "Pioneer Gone," was printed on the front
page of the Lorain County Reporter, published in Elyria, Ohio, on Saturday, May 14, 1892.
©2008 by David Paul Statler of StatlerWeb
Last Updated: February 29, 2008