JOSEPH HINMAN
From "Past and Present of Clinton county" - 1910
JOSEPH HINMAN
The name of Joseph Hinman is closely associated with official
service in Eagle township and as a representative of farming interests he is also
well known. He was born in McKane county, Pennsylvania, November 25, 1834,
and is a son of Curtis and Almira S. (De Witt) Hinman, who were natives of the
Empire state. The paternal grandfather was Peleg Hinman, who was killed at
Sacket Harbor, while serving in the war of 1812. The maternal grandfather, Jacob
De Witt, came from Pennsylvania to Michigan in I838 by ox team and after going to
Dunkirk and Detroit he located in Oakland county, where he spent one year. He
then came to Clinton county in 1839 and settled in Eagle township, where he spent
his remaining days.
In 1838 our subject's parents also came to Michigan, settling in
Oakland county, but the following year removed to Eagle township,
Clinton county, and the father
began farming on section 15 in what is known as the Grand
river country. He there bought eighty acres of land, to which
he added until at his death he owned a large estate. In the early
days he frequently made trips to
Pontiac to mill and marketed his grain at Detroit. He passed away
at the age of sixty years, while his wife died previously at the
age of forty-seven years. In their
family were ten children, of whom the following are living: Joseph,
of this review; Charles, of Necosta county, Michigan; Dorleska,
the wife of A. H. Gibbs, of South
Dakota; Herbert, of Tennessee; Milford, of Missouri; George, who
is living in Bay county, Michigan; Reuben, of Westphalia township,
Clinton county; and Henry,
who resides in the state of Washington. Two of the family have
passed away: Jennie, who was the wife of
William Radcliff; and Edward C., who was buried at sea while returning from Alaska.
Joseph Hinman received but limited educational privileges, pursuing
his studies in a log schoolhouse on the frontier, where the methods
of instruction were very primitive. He early began work on a farm.
His father was a
carpenter but Joseph Hinman preferred the labor of the fields
and at the age of twenty one years he started out in life on his
own account. Attracted by the
discovery of gold at Pike's Peak he went west to Colorado, and
afterward to Oregon, where he remained for two years. He then returned
to his native state and
locating in Eagle township purchased eighty acres of his present
farm. As his increased financial resources have made possible
the additional purchase of land he has added to the place until
he now owns two hundred and seventy acres, the greater part of which
has been brought to a high
state of cultivation. He has erected modern buildings here and
has one of the finest farms in Clinton county. He has assisted in clearing much land in this locality
and in his own business operations has displayed the unfaltering energy and
determination which always constitute a safe basis for success.
With the family he shared in all of the hardships and privations
of pioneer life as well as its pleasures and can remember when Clinton
county was largely an
unsettled district. He was but eleven years of age when he killed
a bear in this
county and he had other interesting and exciting experiences.
On the 17th of May,
1862, Mr. Hinman was married to Miss Sarah Goss, a daughter of
David Goss, of
Westphalia township, and they now have three children: Maud, the
wife of Henry
Childs, of Saginaw, Michigan; John C., living in Eagle township;
and Ada, the wife of Charles W. Brown, living on the home farm.
In his political views Mr. Hinman is independent. He has served
as supervisor for two terms, as township treasurer for
three terms and in other minor offices, the duties of which he
has discharged with capability
and promptness. He is a man of sound judgment in business matters
and his utilization of opportunity and carefully directed labors
have made him one of the substantial agriculturists of his community.
Moreover he is one of the
pioneer settlers of the county and his memory carries with it many
pictures of the
early days when the forests were uncut and land unclaimed. As
the years have
gone by he has taken just pride in what has been accomplished
in the way of
development and improvement and has long been classed as a representative
and public spirited citizen.
|
