The Brothers Baldwin

My great-great-great-grandfather, James A. Baldwin, was a blacksmith who made his home with his wife, Susan, in Cannon, Kent Co., Michigan. In 1872, when he was only 38, he was killed in a gun accident. 

According to a news account, "Last Sabbath, Mr. J. A. Baldwin, of this village, in company with another person, were going out in a buggy, hunting.  When about 3 miles out on the State road, and while stopping to talk with a man, the gun dropped down through the buggy, (a skelton,) and, probably striking the axle tree, discharged itself killing Mr. Baldwin instantly. The deceased is said to have been a first-rate mechanic, but of intemperate habits. We learn that he left a wife and six children, in very destitute circumstances." (Rockford Weekly Register, Nov. 13, 1872)

James and Susan were the parents of three daughters -- Elizabeth, Nellie, and Maude, and four sons --James, Harry, Eudoras, and Ralph. 

The first son, James, appears to have died before 1872. A biography of the second son, Harry, says he "early assisted in his father’s shop where he became a skilled artisan as did two of his brothers." (A Third Volume Devoted to Kent County, 1924).

An advertisement in the Grand Rapids Press, 1913

Public records show that the Baldwin brothers worked as blacksmiths throughout their lives. In 1880, Harry was married and working as a blacksmith in Grattan. My great-great-grandfather Eudoras (Dora), was living with Harry and his wife, and also working as a blacksmith. Ralph worked as a blacksmith in Luther, Michigan in the mid-1880s. Dora then operated a blacksmith shop in Rockford for many years. He was self-employed as a "Carriage & wagon mnfr & blacksmith" according to the 1884 Western Michigan Directory.

About 1881, Dora married my great-great-grandmother Hattie, and they soon had two children. The family was together in 1894, but in 1900, Hattie and her children were living in Grand Rapids, and Dora was living and partnering with his brother-in-law, George Crakes in Charlevoix. Ralph, who had married in 1888, appears to have separated from his wife. Over the years, Dora and Ralph moved around, going back and forth between southern and northern Michigan. 

In 1891, Harry moved to Grand Rapids where he would stay the rest of his life. He established a blacksmith business there and over time, became a substantial citizen in the city. Harry patented the Baldwin ice tongs and by 1915, was employing seven men in "manufacturing, building wagons, making chain, ice tongs, and other ironmongery." (‪History of Michigan, Volume 4‬, 1915)

An advertisement in the 1916 Grand Rapids City Directory

Harry ran for office and was elected alderman in 1903. He served a total of fourteen years as alderman, then served as commissioner for two terms. "He takes deep interest in all that concerns the welfare of his home city and native county, and here he has a secure place in popular confidence and esteem." (A Third Volume Devoted to Kent County, 1924)

An article in the Grand Rapids Press, 1907

While Harry was a picture of civic responsibility, Ralph appears to have followed a different path. A newspaper headline proclaimed "Too Fond of Drink" and went on to explain, "A little punishment evidently fails to satisfy Ralph Baldwin of Solon Center. Wednesday, shortly after finishing a jail sentence for being drunk he was arrested again by the police and Judge Hess fined him $5 and costs, which he paid." (Grand Rapids Press, July 27, 1906)

The last record I have found of Dora is the 1920 census, where he was living in Norman, Michigan, and working in a blacksmith shop. He was listed as "Widowed." Meanwhile, on the same census, his wife, Hattie, was working as a housekeeper in Courtland, Michigan, and was listed as "Married."

A unique family heirloom - the Baldwin ice tongs,
passed down to me and hanging in my kitchen

The Stephens Family Immigrates to America

Henry Stephens, my great-great-grandfather, immigrated to the U.S. in the 1840s when he was a boy. The Stephens family was part of an increasing tide of German immigrants who came to America during the 1800s to escape crop failures, political unrest, and a widespread lack of opportunity. Many German immigrants went to Wisconsin, where the population grew from 11,000 in 1836 to over 305,000 in 1850. The soil and climate in Wisconsin was similar to that in Germany, and suited immigrants like Henry's father, Mathias, who had been a farmer. A biography of Henry's older brother John said he was from Trier, Germany, and immigration records show that a family of eight, headed by Mathias Stephany, a 40-year old farmer, immigrated in 1843 from Konfeld, which is about 20 miles from Trier, Prussia. This may very well be our Mathias Stephens.   

Henry Stephens, born about 1833 in Prussia, died in 1908 in Waterloo, Iowa

Matthias and his first wife Eve (Schuh) Stephens had four sons. Henry, their last son, was born about 1833, but sadly Eve died a week after he was born. Mathias then married Eve's sister, Barbara, and in 1843, Mathias, Barbara, and six children, immigrated to America, arriving in New York City after a ship's voyage of sixty-three days. 

Upon arriving in America, the family traveled to Milwaukee by way of the Hudson River, Erie Canal and the Great Lakes. There, Matthias paid $62.50 for forty acres of timbered land in the town of New Berlin. 

The Peck cabin, the first house in Madison
(no connection to the Stephens family)

According to the biography of John Stephens, "Their first home was a log cabin, the floor of which was mother earth; snow would sift through the shake roof until it would be an inch or two deep on the beds in the morning, while the chimney was a stove pipe thrust through the roof. Indians were almost as numerous as the white inhabitants." (Portrait and Biographical Record of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, 1894)

Another biography, of Henry's brother Nicholas, reports: "The family lived under a tree while building a log cabin, with Indians, deer, wolves, etc., for neighbors." (History of Waukesha, 1880)

The red border shows the 80 acres Matthias purchased in 1846, the West half of the
Southeast quarter of Section 14, Township 6 N, Range 20 E.

John Stephens recalled deer were plentiful. One of the men would take an old-fashioned cow-bell and station himself in their 'runway,' and at the approach of the deer he would ring the bell, thus attracting their attention, while his comrades would slip up and shoot them from the opposite direction."

Mathias and Barbara appear to have been fruitful in their new home. By 1870, their land was valued at $6,000 and they had $600 worth of personal property. Mathias had numerous children - possibly more than 12, and several of his children had large families, ensuring that the descendants of Mathias in the U.S. are many. They are now spread all over the country.

The gravestones of Matthias and Barbara Stephens, Holy Apostles Cemetery,
New Berlin, Waukesha, Wisconsin

There are numerous Stephens family members buried in the beautifully kept Holy Apostles Cemetery in New Berlin, Wisconsin.