GatheringGardiners: Sylvanus Hulet 1758 - 1824

History number 1

Compiled by Ruth Sidwell Mecham

JOHN HOWLETT The Hulets came to America at an early date in the 1600's. Tradition states that John Howlett came from Yorkshire, England to America.

JOHN HOWLETT John Howlett, born in 1647, was perhaps the son of John Howlett from Yorkshire, England. Hulet records give Boston, Massachusetts as the place of his birth.

In 1670 he married Abigail Powell in Rehoboth , Bristol County, Massachusetts. They were the parents of three sons: Samuel Hulet, born in Boston;

John Hulet born in Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut; and Michael Hulet (Howlett), our ancestor, born in Killingly, Connecticut. John and Abigail both died in Boston, Massachusetts. The date of John's death was November 6, 1708. Abigail was the daughter of Michael Powell and Abigail Bedell. MICHAEL HULET

Michael Hulet (Howlett) was born about 1679 in Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut. His parents were John Howlett and Abigail Powell. He married Experience Newton in 1704 at Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.

They had nine children: Josiah Hulett, Daniel Hulet, Nathaniel Hulett, David Hulet, John Howlett (our ancestor), Michael Howlett, . Oliver Hulett, Experience Howlett and Nehemiah Howlett. The first two children were born in Newton, Massachusetts. The rest, Killingly, Connecticut.

JOHN HULET (HOWLETT) John Hulet (Howlett) was born about 1713 in Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. His parents were Michael Hulet and Experience Newton. He married Sarah Searles December 4, 1746 in South Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut. They had nine children, all with the surname Hulet: Mary, John, Sarah, Experience, John, Sylvanus (our ancestor), Samuel, Asa and Mary Elizabeth. The first six children were born in Killingly, Connecticut; the next two, Thompson, Connecticut; the last one, Monterey, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Sarah's parents were Robert Searles and Elizabeth Hathorne. Elizabeth was a descendent of Welch royalty through her mother, Mary Gott and her grandmother, Elizabeth Morris. John Hulet was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.

SYLVANUS HULET Sylvanus Hulet was born November 7, 1758 in Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut. His parents were John Hulet (Howlett) and Sarah Searle (Searles). Sylvanus was a descendent of Welch royalty through his mother. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.

He married Mary Lewis of Lee, Berkshire, Massachusetts about 1786 or 1787. Mary was onefourth Indian, her grandmother being Running Deer or Josnorum Scoenonti. They were the parents of nine children, all with the stirname Hulet and all born in Lee, Massachusetts:

Sally, Charles, Charlotte, Rhoda (our ancestor), Jonathan, Sylvester, Francis, Mary and Tryphena.

About 1800 when their oldest daughter, Sally, was about 13 years old, she "was taken to visit her Indian relatives from Lee, Massachusetts". It would be about 118 years after Running Deer's probable birth year.

Three Hulet brothers were partners for many years in farming, blacksmithing, milling, etc. in Lee, Massachusetts. They were John, Sylvanus and Samuel. Samuel died in 1813. In 1814 Sylvanus sold out and moved to Nelson, Portage County, Ohio on the Connecticut Reserve. It was land that the state of Connecticut gave to the soldiers who fought for Connecticut in the Revolutionary War.

Sylvanus was 56 years of age when he moved to Nelson: his wife, Mary, 51. He owned more than $3000 in 1814 before he moved to Ohio. The Hulets were considered welltodo at that tire. Most of their children went to Ohio with their parents.

Their oldest daughter, Sally, had married Elisha Whiting in 1806. They came to Ohio a few years after Sally's parents came, about 1816.

Their oldest son, Charles, married Anna Taylor of Lee, Massachusetts. Charles and Anna's only child, a son, was born in 1815 in Nelson, Ohio, which would indicate that they probably came with their Hulet parents. Anna died in 1815. Charles later married Margaret Ann Noah; and still later, Mary Lawson.

Rhoda (our ancestor) was 19 years of age when the family moved to Nelson, Ohio. Before leaving Massachusetts, she had received what was known as "a good Massachusetts education". Sylvester, a younger brother, emigrated to Ohio about 1820 when he was 20 years old. He became a very important individual in Rhoda's life, some of his other brothers and sisters and with the Coxes.

Sylvanus died November 10, 1824 in Nelson, Ohio. He had applied for a Revolutionary pension in 1820, but it bas never granted. When he applied for the pension he owned $600. This was partly because of ill health. His wife, Mary was baptized October, 1830. She died about 1835, probably in Nelson, Ohio.

History number 2
HISTORY OF THE HULETS By Emma Hulet Hanks, Historian (1958)

We will begin our history with John Hulet, or Howlet, Mariner and blacksmith of Boston and Newton, Massachusetts. He was born about 1646 or 1647. He married Abigail Powell, daughter of
Micheal Powell and Abigail Collins. He died at Rehoboth, Massachusetts, probably 6 November, 1708. They had three sons of Record: Samuel, Michael and John. Michael is our direct ancestor. He was born about 1676 or 1682 in Boston. He bought land in Killingly, Windham, Connecticut in 1708. Michael married Experience Newton, daughter of John Newton and Elizabeth Larkin. They lived in Killingly, Connecticut and raised a family of seven children. Their son, John, was born in Killingly, December 29, 1721. He married Sarah Searles, 4 December 1746. She was the daughter of Robert Searles and Elizabeth Hawthorne.

John was a soldier in the French and Indian War. In 1760 he purchased land near Lee, Berkshire County, Massachusetts and moved his family there in 1761. Sylvanus Hulet, John’s son was born in Killingly, Connecticut 7 November 1758. At Lee, Berkshire, Massachusetts he married Mary Lewis. Their eight children were horn in Lee. Seven of these were known to have joined the Church and probably the other did, also. (17751783)

Sylvanus served in the Revolutionary War, as a trusted scout, in General Schuyler’s army. He served two terms in the Connecticut Militia. In the fall of 1777 against Burgogne and in 1780 against: the traitor, Arnold, when he burned his home town.

Some time after the war was over, Sylvanus moved his family to Nelson, Portage, Ohio, in that part known as the “Connecticut: Reserve” which was used by the State to give farms to her soldiers. By 1814, Sylvanus owned 640 acres. (He purchased land in Nelson, Ohio in 1814.

They heard of the vision of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. In February, 1830, uncle Sylvester, one of the sons, traveled East to New York state, horse back, to talk to Joseph Smith. He was converted and baptized in March, 1830, before the Church was organized, and returned to Nelson with a freshly printed Book of Mormon.

In October 1830, Mormon missionaries came to Nelson and most, if not all of the Hulet family were baptized and were confirmed with the gift of Holy Ghost. In 1831, Joseph Smith was in Hiram, Ohio, revising the scriptures, so no doubt: the family became well acquainted with him. Hiram, Ohio was seven miles from the “Hulet Settlement” in Nelson Township.

Uncle Sylvester was a Lieutenant in the Mormon Battalion. He married the widow of John Whitmer, one of the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon, at Clay County, Missouri. She refused to come to Utah and stayed with the Whitmers in Clay County. Uncle Sylvester never remarried.

In June 1831, the Hulets moved to Jackson County, Missouri. Uncle Sylvester took care of his two sisters, Rhoda and Charlotte. In November 1833, they were driven with the other Mormons from Jackson County. They went north and east, across and down the Missouri River into Clay County. There they lived in what is known in Church History as “The Hulet Settlement".

Mary Hulet, youngest daughter of the Sylvanus Hulet family was born 15 December 1804 and married Nathan Ayers West. She died in Clay County about1834.

Francis, the youngest son, married Persis Barber. Sally, the oldest daughter, born 29 October, 1787, married Ann Taylor 22 June 1814, at Lee, Berkshire, Massachusetts.

Charles was born 3 March 1790 and was baptized at Nelson, February, 1831. He married Ann Taylor 22 June 1814, at Lee Berkshire, Massachusetts, who bore him a son 0rrin. She probably died at his birth, in Nelson, Ohio, in 1815. On 10 Oct. 1816, he married Margaret Noah, at Ravenna, Ohio. She was the daughter of John Noah and Elizabeth Schmidt, who were both from Germany. Charles and Margaret went with the saints to Far West, Missouri in 1836. Here Rhoda Hulet Mills died. (She is the maternal ancestor of the Hulet line of the Elvira Mills Cox line.)

When they were driven from Far West, the Hulet family settled in Lima, Illinois, 27 miles south of Nauvoo. Some of them received their endowments at Nauvoo. In all their wanderings, the Hulets always stayed together. Eventually, they, with the other saints, were driven westward from Nauvoo.

While crossing the plains of Iowa, Sally and her husband, Elisha Whiting, both died in 1846 or 1848. (Head of the Whiting Organization.)

Sylvanus Cyrus, son of Charles and Margaet, married Catherine Stoker at Mt. Pisgah, Iowa. They were endowed 18 December, 1845 in the Nauvoo Temple.

Uncle Sylvester and Charles with his wife, Margaret and most of their children and one of Rhoda’s two children, (Elvira Mills Cox) and two of Sally’s children, (Edwin Whiting and Emeline Whiting Cox) came to Utah in 1847-1849. Uncle Sylvester settled in Manti and Charles in Springville, Utah.

In Springville, Edwin Whiting joined his uncle Charles later. The other children of Sally and Rhoda, and one daughter of Charles, named Elizabeth, later went back to Far West. Some went back to Ohio, near Nelson.

Charles and Margaret Ann had eight children: Anna Maria, Catherine, Sylvanus, Cyrus, Electa Fidelia, Sarah, Elizabeth and Jane.

Margaret Ann, Charles wife, was a good practical nurse and was commonly known as nurse Hulet in Springville. Soon after arriving in Springville, in 1846-1847, there was an epidemic of diptheria, and while she was caring for a family stricken with it, she contracted the disease herself and died on 15 May, 1856-7. She was one of the first to be buried in Springvllle.

Charles later married a third wife, Eleanor Jenkins, then later, when he was about 70 years old, he married Mary Lawson Kirkman, widow of Robert Kirkman, who had died on the plains. She came to Utah poverty stricken, friendless and forlorn. She was a member of the ill-fated Martin Handcart Company. So many of this company died of cold and hunger. Her husband and one of their three children died on the way. Her feet were frozen off. She used to stump around her kitchen on wooden pegs, made for her by a shoemaker. Her two boys by Kirkman were raised by Charles. He and Mary had two girls, Margaret and Mary Francis Hulet.

Charles died May 1863 in Springville. Three years before his death, his son, Sylvanus Cyrus was called, with others, to help settle St. George, Utah.

In all the research on the Hulet ancestry in New England States and elsewhere, the same reports have been found. They were honest, God-fearing, industrious in most cases, owning prosperous farms and comfortable homes. These qualities carry over to our day. The homes of Charles and son Sylvanus Cyrus, built in Springville, speak for themselves. They are still standing (1958). They are two story adobe buildings, well built and still in use. Sylvester Cyrus built another good home in St. George, Utah and also one in Summit, Utah, where he spent his remaining years.

It is hoped that some of their fine qualities will follow through in their descendants. It is our work as genealogists to find out what became of the others, who did not come to Utah with the family.

Note: Uncle Sylvester Hulet (after he moved to Manti) made combs of cow horns with many tiny saws. He never had any children. He lived in Manti until his death in 1888. Emma Hulet Hanks,

History number 3

SYLVANUS HULET 1758 - 1824 Revolutionary War Veteran and Massachusetts and Ohio Frontiersman

Sylvanus Hulet was born on November 7, 1758, at Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut, the sixth child and third son of John and Sarah Searles Hulett (John was the last Hulet who seems to have used the double “t” in his name with any regularity.

Both his mother’s and father's families were old New England stock, having emigrated to Massachusetts Bay with the great Puritan migrations of the early Seventeenth Century. By the time of Sylvanus’ birth the Hulets had been in Connecticut for a generation, though some of their more distant ancestors had been founders of the colony at New Haven in the 1630s. They were integrated into its life, but they were obviously--like many colonists of the time-- looking beyond the fringe of settlement that formed the British Colonies in North America.

It was as a member of the colonial army of those colonies that John Hulett served during the French and Indian Wars, the wars between England and France that finally expelled the French from North America, John might have been a member of the British Army that captured Quebec on September 13, 1759, or his service might have been a more limited one--in actions directed against France's Indian allies.

Whatever the impetus, it was probably while serving on some military expedition with the Clonial Amies that John Hulet first saw Berkshire County in far western Massachusetts: a hilly area of virgin land, wooded hills, and tumbling streams that promised limitless water-power for mills.

In 1763 or 1764, right after the French surrender at the Peace of Paris turned over Canada and the Ohio ***** to the English, John Hulett moved his family (including five-year old Sylvanus) settled from Killingly in Connecticut, to the frontier of Berkshire County, Massachusetts. There, at Monetrey, 41-year old Sarah Searles Hulett gave birth to her ninth child, a daughter whom they named Mary Elizabeth.

It was in Berkshire County, in Monetrey, then during the 1770s in Tyringham, and finally in Lee, that Sylvanus grew to manhood and where he spent most of his life.

We don’t know what was John Hulett’ economic base in Connecticut. He almost certainly farmed, but he may also have been involved in milling, blacksmithing and furniture manufacture. He was certainly involved in at least some of those fields in Massachusetts; and his grandsons and great-grandsons were wheelwrights and furniture makers in Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, and Utah.

It is possible, in a general way, to reconstruct something of Sylvanus’ childhood. From affidavits signed in Ohio in 1819, it is clear that both Sylvanus and his older brother John received an education that gave them the ability to read and write. No doubt those skills were partially owed to the superior educational system of Massachusetts; but the difference between scratching out letters and writing a fair hand (and John Hulet’s signature shows he did) indicates considerable time in school. That, considering the time and place, probably indicates that Sylvanus’ father was prosperous enough that his children were not always needed in the shop or on the farm.

But, of course, Sylvanus must have spent time in the shops and on the land where he learned the trades that would be his livelihood.

It is only at the age of 21, that Sylvanus Hulet definitely emerges from the historical blank that is the life of most men and women of his time and place - About July 8, 1779, at Tyringham, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Sylvanus enlisted in the Thirteenth Regiment of the Massachusetts Line as a soldier in the American Army in the Revolutionary War. The Thirteenth Massachusetts was probably raised upon the request of General Washington to cover the lower Hudson Valley in the summer of 1779 as General Howe marched from Philadelphia across New Jersey. The British were evacuating Philadelphia and moving their headquarters and their garrison to New York; but at the time no one could be sure they were not planning an invasion up the Hudson or into New England--hence the call for new troops.

Sylvanus could very well have seen action at the Battle of Stony Point or some other skirmish in southern New York or Northeast New Jersey. What is certain is that when the American Army went into Winter Quarters in New Jersey (with Washington and most of the troops at Morristown), Sylvanus and his colleagues wintered in 1779-1780 at Totowa, New Jersey, a small town a few miles west of Patterson. It was during that winter that his brother John came down from Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and visited him.

The next April, Sylvanus was formally mustered out of the colonial service at Fishkill, New York.

He probably returned to Massachusetts, but there is no record of that. From April 1780 until the fall of 1787, the available record is silent about him. What is known, is that during that time he met and married. Mary Lewis was five years younger than Sylvanus; and the search for her origins has plagued three generations of Hulet Family genealogists.

Mary Lewis was one-quarter Indian. The name of her grandmother was remembered in the family (and preserved by her granddaughter Elvira Mills Cox) as Running Deer. That's all that is known. Not even the tribe or the area where the tribe lived. There are hints in the names of her children and grandchildren (Lewis, Francis, Schyler-- all New York Colonial names) that hers was a New York family and her Indian relations may very well have Mohawk of the Iroquois Confederacy.

Whatever the tribe, whatever the other connections, Mary Lewis and Sylvanus Hulet were married sometime between 1780 and 1786, and by 1787 were settled near the other Hulets at Lee and Tyringham in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

Once finally settled in Lee on a farm owned jointly with Sylvanus' younger brother, Samuel, and with various mills and forges and shops owned in various combinations with Samuel and elder brother John, Sylvanus and Mary had their family. Eventually it was to total eight children, all of them born in Lee:

Sally, October 29, 1787

Charles, March 3, 1790

Charlotte, November 7t 1793

Rhoda, June 3, 1795

Tryphena, August 8, 1797

Sylvester, March 7, 1800

Francis, March 3, 1803

Mary, September 16, 1805

The records are unclear, and there may have been another son, Johnathon, and other offspring before 1787, born in either New York or New Jersey, who did not survive.

At Lee and Tyringham, Sylvanus joined with his brother Samuel in fairly extensive farming, blacksmithing, and milling operations. They were frontier industries; arid in an area of growth--as was the Massachusetts-New York border in the years between the Revolution and the War of 1812-- they were profitably industries. By 1813 Sylvanus Hulet was a prosperous man.

Samuel Hulet died in Lee on March 6, 1813. His estate was inventoried on November 3, 1813. The Inventory gives an indication of some of his brother Sylvanus’ assets:

Samuel Hulet homestead, Sylvanus Hulet homestead, and their jointly owned farm 117 3/4 acres $4,413

Wheelwrights shop 52

The mill, forge, land, house, and water right 1,000 less 1/3 interest to John Hulet 667

The Phillips home 100 Land near William Ingersoll's, 14 acres 400 less debt owing Thaddues Pomeroy 100

Total $5,413 one half belonging to Sylvanus Hulet $2,716

Personal estate of Samuel Hulet $592.71

If Sylvanus’ personal estate equaled his brother's, then in the late fall of 1813, Sylvanus Hulet was worth over $3,000-- a princely sum in 1813.

Despite the obvious level of prosperity, in 1814, Sylvanus Hulet and his family left Berkshire County, Massachusetts, for the new lands of Portage County, Ohio, in Connecticut's Western Reserve. The reason for the move is obscure. There is no obvious reason. In 1814, Sylvanus was 56 years old-- too old for Nineteenth Century pioneering. There may have been difficulties in Massachusetts about the division of brother Samuel's estate; or--more likely-- settled Massachusetts did not offer Sylvanus’ sons the frontier opportunities that Portage County, Ohio-- with its sparse population and miles of uninhabited land-- would have offered.

Whatever the reason, in 1814, Sylvanus and his family, and his eldest son Charles and his family moved to Portage County. At about the same time John Hulett Sylvanus= elder brother moved to Medina County, Ohio.

Central Portage County was settled in the summer of 1804 when John Noah and Abraham Dyson of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, moved to Ohio's Western Reserve and joined Col. John Garrett of New Castle, Delaware. Garrett had purchased the Ohio land the previous year and moved his family onto a farm that is now the town Garrettsville, Ohio. Dyson, a blacksmith, built a cabin near that of Colonel Garrett, but Noah located his family on a farm midway between there and the Village of Nelson which had been founded in 1800 by Captain DeLaun Mills from Connecticut.

During the latter part of the War of 1812, after Northern Ohio’s Indians had been conquered by the American Army, Portage County drew new settlers. Most of the newcomers were from Connecticut (In fact, some may very well have been Sylvanus’ relations from Connecticut. The Portage County township immediately south of Nelson was named “Windham” -- the name of the town in Connecticut where Sylvanus was born in 1758), but from Lee in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, came the family of Sylvanus and Mary Lewis Hulet and Sally Hulet and Elisha Whiting, Jr.

The Hulets in 1814 and the Whitings in 1815 or 1816 settled in Nelson Township, close to Garrettsville. But in an area of so small a population (there were only 33 families in Nelson Township in 1815), they were obviously quickly acquainted with everyone else. And when Sylvanus’ only son Charles' wife died on October 20, 1815, he lost no time marrying Margaret Ann Noah of Garrettsville.

In Connecticut-- certainly-- and in Massachusetts-- probably-- the Huletts were members of the Congregational Church, the established state church in both colonies. But the Congregationalists were not represented in Portage County, Ohio). There the Hulets affiliated with either the Presbyterian Church in Nelson or with the Bethesda Baptist Church in Garrettsville.

The Bethesda Church had been organized in 1808 and served much of northeast Portage County: Mantua, Hiram, Ravena, Garrettsville. It was called the "floating church" because its pastors traveled on circuit among the many small churches that comprised the parish. The church dissolved in the 1830s, at a time when many of its members joined the Mormons.

The move to Ohio does not seem to have helped Sylvanus’ finances. Available evidence suggests that his were declining fortunes. Unfortunately, the major source for that conclusion is his 1820 application for a pension as a Revolutionary War veteran; and there may well have been the natural inclination on his part to exaggerate his difficulties in order to gain the pension. His formal statement was made to Seth Day, Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of Portage County, Ohio.

On this 8th day of August in the year of our Lord 1820, personally appeared in open Court being a court of Record for Portage County and state aforesaid Sylvanus Hulet aged sixty three years, resident in Portage County and state aforesaid, who being first duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath declare that he served in the Revolutionary War as follows; in the Massachusetts state line in the Company commanded by Capt. Abraham Williams, thirteenth regiment Commanded by Col . Sprout, that he is inscribed on the pension list ro11 of the Ohio agency No. 17,530-- And I do solemnly swear that I was a resident citizen of the United States on the 18th day of March 1818, and that I have not since that time, by gift, sale, or in any manner disposed of my property or any part thereof, with intent thereby to diminish it, as to bring myself within the provision of an (act) of Congress entitled "An Act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land War" passed on the 18th day of March 1818, and that I have not nor has any persons in trust for me any property or securities, contracts or debts due to me, nor have I any income other than what is contained in the Schedule hereto annexed and by me subscribed,

160 acres third rate land about twenty five acres improved with a log cabin for a house, A new frame put-up barn Lands $3.25 per acre $520.00

1 pair five year old oxen 50.00

2 Cows & one Calf 32.00

6 Sheeps 6.00 7 Swine 7.00

3 iron Cittles (kettles) 18 galls each 10.00

1 Brass cittle (kettles) 5.00

No debts due to the amount of twenty dollars

Owe twenty-four dollars to David Garrit

Owe twenty-two dollars to Arastus Jonson

[One line illegible, but apparently it lists his occupation as Carpenter] infirmity & weakness of eyes, that I have a wife and four children depending on me for support. Mary my wife, aged fifty seven years, had been unable to do but little for her support for twenty years post, Charlotte aged twenty seven years sickly for eighteen years past-- Sylvester aged twenty years of a sound constitution but one year to stay-- Francis aged seventeen years of a weakly constitution not able to perform any hard labour. Mary youngest daughter aged fifteen years of a Sound constitution.

The pension was granted at the rate of 8 dollars a month with arrears to March 4, 1820.

Obviously, the life of the Hulets in the Western Reserve of Ohio was one of difficulty, both financially and with a considerable number of health problems. But there must have been compensation in what seems across the years to have been a very close home life. Even years later, when they were routed from their homes in Missouri and Illinois, they left as an extended family group.

And that says much for the kind of life Sylvanus and Mary Lewis Hulet were able to create together.

Sylvanus Hulet died at Nelson on November 10, 1824, and was buried in the Park Cemetery in nearby Garrettsville. He left his widow, Mary Lewis Hulet, and a large family in Nelson Township. Four of his children were married with families of their own: Sally Hulet Whiting, Charles Hulet, Charlotte Cole, Tryphena Tillotson, and Rhoda Hulet Mills, daughter-in-law of Nelson's founder, Capt. DeLaun Mills. Three children were unmarried: Sylvester, Francis, and Mary. The man they buried in Garrettsville that November day in 1824, was not old by later standards. only 66. But they were full years-- double pioneering in Massachusetts and Ohio, service in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, the work of wheelwright and farmer and blacksmith, the care of an invalid family. It was Sylvester, Sylvanus eldest unmarried son, who seems to have filled his father's place as head of the family after 1824. And they, too, were full years. In February 1831 the entire Hulet family were converted to John Whitmer and Lyman Wight to the new Mormon Church. In the spring of 1832 most of them left Ohio to settle in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. Eighteen months later they were driven across the Missouri River to Clay County. There, in what was called "The Hulet Settlement," a refugee camp of Mormons expelled from Independence, Mary Lewis Hulet died on March 6, 1835.

Today her grave is unmarked, it’s location lost. Sylvanus still sleeps under his stone in the Park Cemetery in Garrettsville. Their descendants are throughout the country.

History number 4

Naoma Manwaring Harker Research: FGS 57

1. Orville Cox Day Records

2. Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine vol XXV p. 77 Call #979.2/B2ug Film #564,353

3. Church Records of Thompson, Connecticut 974.645/T1/K2t

4. Vital Records of Lee, Massachusetts Q/974.41/L1/V2h

5. Baptisms for the Dead in Nauvoo 1841

Record of Ella Whiting Waite - LaGrande, Oregon;

Archive Record of Charlotte Cox;

Utah Genealogical Magazine 1934 p 130; Hartford Times 27 Nov 1937;

Boston Transcript 12 Dec 1928 by Orville Cox Day; IGI 1988 Conn p 7,588 batch 7450336 0;

Sylvanus was a Soldier in 2 campaigns in the Revolutionary War, against Bourgogne in 1777 and against Arnold, who burned his home town in South Connecticut in 1780. Three brothers, John, Sylvanus and Samuel were partners in a blacksmith and wagon-making shop and a mill in the edge of Lee township against Tyringham township, Berkshire, Massachusetts. Samuel died 6 Mar 1813. The farm was valued at $35 per acre. The estate was settled and by 1815 Sylvanus and John had moved to Nelson township, Portage, Ohio. When Sylvanus applied for a Revolutionary Pension in 1820, his 160 acres was valued at $3 per acre. Connecticut kept the Northeast corner of Ohio for Revolutionary Soldiers as the "Western Reserve".

In 1814 the Hulets' moved from Lee, Berkshire, Massachusetts to Nelson, Portage, Ohio. They were baptized Mormons in Oct 1831. About 1831 they moved to Independence, Jackson, Missouri. Oct 31, 1833 mobs drove them north across the Missouri River into Clay County. In 1836 they moved north into Far West, Caldwell, Missouri. In early spring 1839 they moved to Melrose, Lima township, Illinois, about 30 miles south of Nauvoo. In the fall of 1845 mobs drove them into Nauvoo. In 1846 they were driven into Iowa, later coming to the Salt Lake Valley.

DOCUMENTATION (by Margaret Neuffer):

BIRTH: Source - Utah Gen & Hist. mag. Vol XXV, p. 77; Church Record of Thompson, Connecticut Vital Records of Lee, Berkshire, Massachusetts.

BAPTISM: Baptisms for dead in Nauvoo 1841; Sylvanus was a member of the Nauvoo, Illinois First Ward.

In 1850, Sylvanus had a household of five, a real wealth of $O, and a personal wealth of $O.

In 1860, Sylvanus had a household of 9, a real wealth of $250.00, and a personal wealth of $1200.00 In 1870, Sylvanus had a household of 8, a real wealth of $O, and a personal wealth of $300.00

Patricia Skinner (4 - 2000) patty555@webtv.net "Sylvanus bought land in Lee, Massachusetts and Great Barrington in 1800. He stayed in that vicinity until approximately 1812, when he boutht land in the new frontier - Ohio. He moved to Portage, Ohio. He married Mary (Polly) Lewis. Sylvanus' children were among the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). He and Polly had 4 children. They were: (1) Sally, born 29 Oct 1787 who married Elisha Whiton (Whiting) on 18 Sep 1806, (2) Charles, born 3 Mar 1790 who married Anna Taylor on 22 Jun 1814 in Lee, Massachusetts. Anna died a year later. Charles then married Margaret Noah on 10 Oct 1816 in Portage, Ohio. Margaret died on 15 Apr 1851 of Dithers disease. On 24 Jan 1852 Charles married Cinthia Clyde. Shortly thereafter, Cinthia divorced him. In 1857 Charles married Eleanor Jenkins. During his marriage he took a second wife, which was the custom of the Mormons in those days. Her name was Mary Lawson. They were married 1 Jan 1858. Mary died in an accident while crossing the plains. By his 5 wives Charles had 7 children. (3) Charlott, born 7 Nov 1792 (4) Rhoda, born 8 Jun 1795. Those were the children listed as born in Lee Vital Records. Other children I have found born to him and Mary (Polly) are (5) Sylvester, born about 1800 (6) Francis, born about 1803, and (7) Mary, born about 1805. Sylvanus can be found in the tax list for Hiram, Portage County in 1817 and 1818. In 1819 and 1820 I have found him in the tax list for Nelson, Portage County, Ohio. He applied for a Soldier's Pension on 14 Jun 1819 while living in Nelson. Many in his family moved to Missouri and then later to Utah.

John's brother Samuel married Susannah Wadsworth on 3 Jun 1789 in Tyringham, Massachusetts. He began buying land in Lee and Great Barrington in the year 1800. While living in Lee they had 4 chidren: (1) Chauncey born 14 Mar 1790, (2) Electa, born 3 May 1793, (3) Orren, born 17 May 1796, (4) (the only thing known about the 4th child is that it passed away at 7 AM on 6 Mar 1808. When malaria hit the area in 1813, every family was affected. Samuel and Susannah died a week apart as a result of the deadly illness. Chauncey is found in the same tax lists in Ohio that his uncle Sylvanus lived in. John's youngest brother, Asa married a girl named Freelove. Her last name is unknown at this time. They had at least 3 children that we know of: (1) Mary, born about 1781 and (2) Asa, born about 1786. Both children joined the short-lived Shaker religion. (3) Calvin, born about 1792. Asa and his family moved to Barrington, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Freelove died in 1807. Asa remarried on 8 Mar 1812 at Onondaga, New York to Polly Austin. On 8 Jan 1838 he applied for a Soldiers Pension in Livingston County, New York. At least two different dates can be found for his date of death in Russia, Lorain County, Ohio. They are 8 Oct 1846 and 18 Jun 1847. Calvin lived in Leslin, Ingham County, Michigan in 1853.

John's sister Mary married her 1st cousin, Seth Hulet on 19 Jun 1764 in Killingly, Connecticut. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Noadiah Russell. Seth was born to Oliver Hulet and his wife Sarah. Oliver was a brother of John Julet (Sr.), also Mary's uncle. While living in Killingly, Seth and Mary had 3 children: (1) Alpheus, born 11 Jan 1765 and baptized 29 Nov 1767 in Thompson, (2) Sybil, born 16 Aug 1767 and baptized 29 Nov 1767 in the church at Thompson. Their Grandmother, Oliver's wife did not live to see them. She passed away in Killingly on 3 Feb 1759. Seth enlisted in the Revolutionary War in 1777. He moved to Tyringham, Massachusetts, where Mary's family had moved to at an earlier date. Seth can be found in the Tyringham, Massachusetts land records between 1796 and 1803. In 1803 he moved to Westmoreland, New York, where he applied for a Soldiers Pension on 7 Aug 1832.

John's sister, Experience married Henry Herrick in Tyringham, Massachusetts on 12 Dec 1776. In May 1777 a daughter is listed as born to them, however no name is given. Henry died in Tyringham on 6 May 1827. I have found no further record of Experience to date.

John married Sarah Howe, and was converted to the Methodist religion. He and his father were both constantly buying land, even when they were not living in the immediate area. The younger John and his wife, Sarah, lived in Tyringham until a year after the war was over. During this time their first child was born. It was a girl, whom they named Achsah, born on 5 May 1784. She was only one of a long line of children to come. Achsah married Seymore Chapin.

Duane Dalley Ardell J. Koyle, a descendant of Sylvanus Hulet and Mary Lewis wrote: What do we need to do to get our information to you and what else have you found out about Running Deer? I am wondering if she could be of another tribe than the Mohawk perhaps the Mohican which were in the same area at the same time and the woman married the colonists when there men were killed off in the wars. I wonder if lack of knowledge about the differences in the tribal name could have caused a miss-interpretation of the tribe she was from. "

History number 5

Sylvanus Hulet was born in Killingly, Connecticut to John Hulet and Sarah Searles on November 7, 1758. At Lee Berkshire, Massachusetts about 1786 he married Mary Lewis. Their eight children were born in Lee, Massachusetts. Even of these children were known to have joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and probably the other did, also. Sylvanus served in the Continental Army for the term of nine months from June 9, 1779 to April 10, 1780 in Colonel John Ashley’s regiment which drove the British from New London westward across Connecticut to New York. He then reenlisted on October 13, 1781 and was discharged on October 20, 1781. This latter enlistment included four days (84 miles) of travel from home marching under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Collar by order of Colonel John Ashley, Jr. on an alarm at the Northward.

Sylvanus was described as being 5 feet 10 inches tall and o a dark complexion. He also appears on early records as a yeoman – that is, a man who owned land and worked it himself.

Sylvanus and his brothers, John and Samuel were partners in a blacksmith and wagon-making shop and a mill on the edge of Lee township against Tyringham township, Berkshire, Massachusetts. Samuel died in 1813 and the farm was valued at $35 per acre. The estate was settled and by 1815 Sylvanus and John had moved to Nelson township, Portage, Ohio in that part known as the “Connecticut Reserve” which was used by the state to give farms to her soldiers. (Connecticut kept the northeast corner of Ohio for Revolutionary Soldiers as the “Western Reserve.”) By 1814 Sylvanus owned 640 acres. (He purchased land in Nelson, Ohio in 1814.) Six years later in 1820 when he applied for a Revolutionary Pension, his 160 acres was valued at $3 per acre. This was partly because of ill health. The Revolutionary War pension was not granted.

The family heard of the vision of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon in 1830. Sylvester, one of Sylvanus’ sons, traveled east to New York on horseback to talk to the prophet, Joseph Smith. The prophet converted and baptized Sylvester in March of 1830, before the church was organized and then Sylvester returned to Nelson with a freshly printed Book of Mormon. In October 1830 Mormon Missionaries came to Nelson and most of the Hulet family were baptized.

In 1831, Joseph Smith was in Hiram, revising the scriptures, so no doubt, the family became well acquainted with him. Hiram was seven miles from the Hulet Settlement in Nelson township. In 1831 the Hulet family, including Mary, moved to Jackson County, Missouri. In November 1833, the family was driven with the other members of the church from Jackson County into Clay County. Mary died in 1835 and is buried in Clay County. (Some family members think Mary is buried in the cemetery at the Hulet settlement near Nauvoo.)

In 1836 the rest of the Hulet family moved north into Far West, Caldwell, Missouri. In early spring 1839 they moved to Melrose, Lima township, Illinois about 30 miles south of Nauvoo. In the fall of 1845 mobs drove them into Nauvoo. In 1846 they were driven into Iowa, later coming to the Salt Lake Valley.

Sylvanus Hulet

GIVN: Sylvanus

SURN: Hulet

NSFX: Revolutionary War Soldier

Born: 7 Nov 1758 in Killingly, Windham, Connecticut

Christened: 10 Dec 1758 in Thompson Church, Killingly, Windham, Connecticut

Died: 10 Nov 1824 in Nelson, Portage, Ohio, USA

Buried: Nov 1824 in Nelson, Portage, Ohio, USA

AFN: 8KKQ-7F

Baptised LDS: 28 Jul 1844

TEMP: NAUVO - Nauvoo Illinois (original) 20 Feb 1878

TEMP: SGEOR - St. George Utah 27 Feb 1947

TEMP: IFALL - Idaho Falls Idaho

Record last updated: 1 Jul 2008

TIME: 18:53 • Notes:

Sylvanus was a Soldier in 2 campaigns in the Revolutionary War, against Bourgogne in 1777 and against Arnold, who burned his home town in South Connecticut in 1780. Three brothers, John, Sylvanus and Samuel were partners in a blacksmith and wagon-making shop and a mill in the edge of Lee township against Tyringham twp, Berkshire, MA. Samuel died 6 Mar 1813. The farm was valued at $35 per acre. The estate was settled and by 1815 Sylvanus and John had moved to Nelson twp, Portage, OH. When Sylvanus applied for a Revolutionary Pension in 1820, his 160 acres was valued at $3 per acre. Connecticut kept the NE corner of Ohio for Revolutionary Soldiers as the "Western Reserve".

Sylvanus was 56 years of age when he moved to Nelson: his wife, Mary, 51. He owned more than $3000 in 1814 before he moved to Ohio. The Hulets were considered well-to-do at that time. Most of their children went to Ohio with their parents. When Sylvanus applied for a Revolutionary pension in 1820 his 160 acres was valued at $3 per acre.

Their oldest daughter, Sally, had married Elisha Whiting in 1806. They came to Ohio a few years after Sally's parents came, about 1816.

The Hulets were baptised Mormons in Oct 1831. About 1831 they moved to Independence, Jackson, MO. Oct 31, 1833 mobs drove them north across the Missouri River into Clay County. In 1836 they moved north into Far West, Caldwell, MO. In early spring 1839 they moved to Melrose, Lima twp, IL, about 30 miles south of Nauvoo. In the fall of 1845 mobs drove them into Nauvoo. Sylvanus was a member of the Nauvoo, Illinois First Ward. In 1846 they were driven into Iowa, later coming to the Salt Lake Valley.

The 2 Great Hulet Mysteries:

According to some people there are two great mysteries in the Hulet family.

Mystery one: Who was Mary Lewis? who were her parents, grandparents? Who was running deer? what tribe of indians did she come from?

Bert on Mary Lewis from Kent Gardiner on Vimeo.

29 April, 2003

Dear Marcia,

I talked to Bert Hulet 801-292-1923 yesterday about Mary Lewis. His great grandfather was Sylvanus (our grandfather's twin). He said that about 5 years ago he had done quite a bit of research on the running deer story. He said his family has also had the story about Indian blood.

He believes that the Lewis families were Indians, or part Indian, He said that John Hulet built a church in or around Lee Berkshire Mass. And that a Banano Lewis (an Indian) painted the church.
He said that there was in Stockbridge (NY or Mass) a Trinity Church where a lot of the Indian children went to school or lived there. This is in the same valley that Lee Berkshire is in.
He said the Lewis that painted the church was a Mohawk, so he believes that running deer was Mohawk, but she could also have been a Mohican.

He said he was never able to find a marriage license for Sylvanus and Mary Lewis.
After the Civil war the Indians at Stockbridge were moved to the Dakotas. However all of their records were sent to Green Bay Wisconsin. He believes that if we contacted the Historical Society there, they maybe could give us some information on running Deer. He has had just too much to do the last few years to try and pursue it any farther. He said I know that in some boxes in a back room in Green Bay is the history of Running Deer.

He said in a book called Before and after Mt, Pisgah (sp) there is a mention of Running Deer.
So the plot thickens a bit, but might take quite a bit of research to find anything.

If your searching finds anything, let me know.

Dale

Stockbridge Mission, near Lee, http://www.berkshireweb.com/themap/stockbridge/history/index.html

Mystery two: We know that Sylvanus Hulet served in the Revolutionary War. Where did he come from? does the Hulet name to back to England? Here are two videos that may help with this question:

Hulets in England 1 from Kent Gardiner on Vimeo.

Hulets in England 2 from Kent Gardiner on Vimeo.

Sylvanus Hulet, the father of Charles Hulet, served in the Revolutionary war. For this he was given land near Kirkland, Ohio. It was here his family joined the church. Here is some information about him. He is a direct line ancestor.

Birth record:

1790 Census of Massassusetts:

1800 census

1820 census:

Revolutionary War pension application:

Revolutionary War Document: Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, 17 Vols. Vol. 8 page 476 9 (Ancestry)

Hulet, Sylvanus. Descriptive list of men raised in Berkshire Co. to serve in the Continental Army for the term of 9 months, agreeable to resolve of June 9, 1779, returned as received of Justin Ely, Commissioner, by Capt. Christopher Marshall, at Springfield, July 16, 1779; Capt. Lancaster's co., Col. Ashley's regt.; age, 20 yrs.; stature, 5 ft. 10 in.; complexion, dark; engaged for town of Tyringham; also, list of 9 months men; entered service July 10, 1779; discharged April 10, 1780; also, Private, Lieut. Solomon Jackson's co., Col. John Ashley's regt.; enlisted Oct. 13, 1781; discharged Oct. 20, 1781; service, 12 days, including 4 days (84 miles) travel home; company marched from Berkshire Co. under command of Lieut. Col. John Collar by order of Col. John Ashley, Jr., on an alarm at the Northward; roll dated Tyringham.

Second entry:

Hewlett, Sylvanus. Pay roll for 6 months men raised by the town of Tyringham for service in the Continental Army during 1780; marched to camp July 19, 1780; discharged Jan. 16, 1781; service, 6 mos. 1 day, including travel (80 miles) home.

From OS Cox Website:

GIVN: Sylvanus
SURN: Hulet
NSFX: Revolutionary War Soldier
Sex: M
Born: 7 Nov 1758 in Killingly, Windham, Connecticut
Christened: 10 Dec 1758 in Thompson Church, Killingly, Windham, Connecticut
Died: 10 Nov 1824 in Nelson, Portage, Ohio, USA
Buried: Nov 1824 in Nelson, Portage, Ohio, USA
AFN: 8KKQ-7F
Baptised LDS: 28 Jul 1844
TEMP: NAUVO - Nauvoo Illinois (original) 20 Feb 1878
TEMP: SGEOR - St. George Utah 27 Feb 1947
TEMP: IFALL - Idaho Falls Idaho
Record last updated: 8 Nov 2008
TIME: 18:07
Notes:

Sylvanus was a Soldier in 2 campaigns in the Revolutionary War, against Bourgogne in 1777 and against Arnold, who burned his home town in South Connecticut in 1780. Three brothers, John, Sylvanus and Samuel were partners in a blacksmith and wagon-making shop and a mill in the edge of Lee township against Tyringham twp, Berkshire, MA. Samuel died 6 Mar 1813. The farm was valued at $35 per acre. The estate was settled and by 1815 Sylvanus and John had moved to Nelson twp, Portage, OH. When Sylvanus applied for a Revolutionary Pension in 1820, his 160 acres was valued at $3 per acre. Connecticut kept the NE corner of Ohio for Revolutionary Soldiers as the "Western Reserve".

Sylvanus was 56 years of age when he moved to Nelson: his wife, Mary, 51. He owned more than $3000 in 1814 before he moved to Ohio. The Hulets were considered well-to-do at that time. Most of their children went to Ohio with their parents. When Sylvanus applied for a Revolutionary pension in 1820 his 160 acres was valued at $3 per acre.

Their oldest daughter, Sally, had married Elisha Whiting in 1806. They came to Ohio a few years after Sally's parents came, about 1816.

The Hulets were baptised Mormons in Oct 1831. About 1831 they moved to Independence, Jackson, MO. Oct 31, 1833 mobs drove them north across the Missouri River into Clay County. In 1836 they moved north into Far West, Caldwell, MO. In early spring 1839 they moved to Melrose, Lima twp, IL, about 30 miles south of Nauvoo. In the fall of 1845 mobs drove them into Nauvoo. Sylvanus was a member of the Nauvoo, Illinois First Ward. In 1846 they were driven into Iowa, later coming to the Salt Lake Valley.

Patricia Skinner (4 - 2000) patty555@webtv.net "Sylvanus bought land in Lee, Massachusetts and Great Barrington in 1800. He stayed in that vicinity until approximately 1812, when he boutht land in the new frontier - Ohio. He moved to Portage, Ohio. He married Mary (Polly) Lewis. Sylvanus' children were among the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). . . . Sylvanus can be found in the tax list for Hiram, Portage County in 1817 and 1818. In 1819 and 1820 I have found him in the tax list for Nelson, Portage County, Ohio. He applied for a Soldier's Pension on 14 Jun 1819 while living in Nelson. Many in his family moved to Missouri and then later to Utah."

Four families descended from Sylvanus (4) Hulet came early to Utah.

1. Elvira (6) Mills Cox, daughter of Rhoda (5) Hulet Mills, arrived in Salt Lake October 2, 1847. She lived in Manti and Fairview. Her descendants numbered about 2000.

2. Edwin (6) Whiting, son of Sally (5) Hulet Whiting, ar in the fall of 1849. He lived in Manti and Springville. His descendants number about 8000.

3. Charles (5) Hulet, son of Sylvanus (4) came in 1850; lived in Springville, with descendants perhaps about 9000.

4. Emeline (5) Whiting Cox, daughter of Sally, came in 1852, lived in Manti, with descendants perhaps about 2000.

Your cousin, Orville Cox Day

!Birth: Birth per Killingly vital records

Alt Birth: 7 Nov 1758 Killingly, Windham, Connecticut
Alt Birth: 13 Nov 1758 Of, Lee, Berkshire, Massachusetts

Baptism given by Thompson, Windham, Connecticut church records.

Alt Name: Sylvannus HULETT

Alt Death: 10 Mar 1824 Nelson, Portage, Ohio

Alt Baptism: 1 Nov 1933
Alt Endowment: 15 Mar 1937

Alt Seal to Parents: 18 Sep 1944
Alt Seal to Parents: 21 Apr 1973 PROVO - Provo Utah

Alt 1 marriage: 1 Sep 1944
Alt 1 marriage seal: 1 Sep 1944

Naoma Manwaring Harker Research: FGS 57
1. O.C. Day Records
2. Utah Gen. & Hist. Mag. vol XXV p. 77 Call #979.2/B2ug Film #564,353
3. Church Records of Thompson, Connecticut 974.645/T1/K2t
4. Vital Records of Lee, Massachusetts Q/974.41/L1/V2h
5. Baptisms for the Dead in Nauvoo 1841

Rec of Ella Whiting Waite- LaGrande, Oregon; Archive Rec of Charlotte Cox;
Ut Gen Mag 1934 p 130; Hartford Times 27 Nov 1937; Boston Transcript 12 Dec 1928 by O.C. Day; IGI 1988 Conn p 7,588 batch 7450336 0;

!DOCUMENTATION (by Margaret Neuffer):

!BIRTH: Source - Utah Gen & Hist. mag. Vol XXV, p. 77; Church Rec of T Thompson, Conn. Vital Records of Lee, Berkshire, Massachusetts.

!In 1850, Sylvanus had a household of five, a real wealth of $0, and a personal wealth of $0.
!In 1860, Sylvanus had a household of 9, a real wealth of $250.00, and a personal wealth of $1200.00
!In 1870, Sylvanus had a household of 8, a real wealth of $0, and a personal wealth of $300.00

! He and Polly had 4 children. They were: (1) Sally, born 29 Oct 1787 who married Elisha Whiton (Whiting) on 18 Sep 1806, (2) Charles, born 3 Mar 1790 (3) Charlott, born 7 Nov 1792 (4) Rhoda, born 8 Jun 1795. Those were the children listed as born in Lee Vital Records. Other children I have found born to him and Mary (Polly) are (5) Sylvester, born about 1800 (6) Francis, born about 1803, and (7) Mary, born about 1805.

Video of Abbott Cemetery, second half of video.

Charles Hulet Farm and Abbott Cemetery from Kent Gardiner on Vimeo.

GatheringGardiners

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Sylvanus Hulet 1758 - 1824 - Revolutionary War Vet