The New York Haskells
Generation 7: Henry(1) Haskill (b.1791) (d.1844)
++ Mary (Polly) Andrus (Andrews) (b,1704) (d.1854) (m.1812)
Children
Hannah M. Haskell (b.1814) (d.1882)
Henry(2) Haskell (b.1815) (d.1861)
Jeremiah Haskell(3) (b.1818) (d.1881)
Smith Arnold Haskell (b.1821) (d.????)
Laura Haskell (b.1823) (d.????)
Warren Haskell (b.1826) (d.1895)
Arnold Smith Haskell (b.1829) (d.????)
(I do not know if this person’s name is really Arnold Smith. Smith Arnold used this name and this birth date as often as he used his real name and birth date which is very confusing. I do know that according to the 1830 census there were two boy children under 5 and in 1830 Smith was over 5 and Warren was under five. Since I could not find any information for this second son under five, I assume he must have died young but have no evidence)
George W. Haskell (b.1832) (d.1906)
William James Haskill (b. 1839) (d. 1927)
Henry(1) grew up in Dudley Massachusetts. His father, Jeremiah(2), had fought the British during the American Revolution and he fought the British during the War of 1812. Henry(1) saw action against the British in New York at the battle of Plattsburgh. A record of pay for 12 days, September 9 thru September 20,1814 showed he served at Plattsburg in Cook’s Regiment, Captain Orrison Mead’s company, New York Militia. It was here in New York that he met his wife Mary Andrews who had grown up in a small community in the Catskill Mountains. I believe that this marriage was the main reason that he decided to reside in New York State. His father Jeremiah(2) came to live with them first in Oneida New York and then in Junius, Seneca County, New York. Jeremiah (2) died in 1835 and Henry(1) committed suicide by razor in 1844 at age 53. I do not know the reason for his suicide but he had served in the war of 1812 as a private and may have been suffering pain as a result of war injuries contributing to his suicide.
Although we did not officially win the War of 1812 both sides mainly gave up fighting, it is considered a win for the young United States. The winning of the War of 1812 was a very significant event. To President Thomas Jefferson, westward expansion was the key to the nation's health: He believed that a republic depended on an independent, virtuous citizenry for its survival, and that independence and virtue went hand in hand with land ownership, especially the ownership of small farms. Not losing the war allowed America to gain control of Lake Erie, preventing the British from penetrating the middle of the United States.
President Jefferson commissioned the Lewis and Clark expedition shortly after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 to explore and to map the newly acquired territory, to find a practical route across the western half of the continent, and to establish an American presence in this territory before Britain and other European powers tried to claim it. The expedition's secondary objectives were scientific and economic: to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and to establish trade with local American Indian tribes. The expedition returned to St. Louis to report its findings to Jefferson, with maps, sketches, and journals in hand.
The War of 1812 would greatly influence foreign relations between the United States and other European nations. As Americans were trying to migrate west across their newly acclaimed land the British would become another obstacle for the nation. The British were fighting to take back the nation for a second time, and used Native Americans to further their agenda. Native Americans sided with the British to try and stop Americans from moving westward. Britain’s agenda placed a strain on the ideology of manifest destiny because it impeded on the American ideal that they were the chosen one’s to settle the land. The war ended in 1814 with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. The treaty stated that any conquered territory from both sides would be returned to the opposition.
Following the conclusion of the War of 1812, Manifest Destiny attained its strongest ideological pull. Even though the United States did not expand geographically nor was there an actual winner of the War of 1812, relations between the United States and Britain were impacted greatly. The British would now need to recognize the United States as a world power. Also, tensions between Americans and Native Americans began to rise. Nationalism began to spread throughout the United States since the nation was able to fend off the British thus influencing manifest destiny. Expanding the nation to the Pacific Ocean was now a possibility for Americans.
Throughout the early history of the United States, manifest destiny was shaping the country in significant ways. The citizens of the United States believed that it was their destiny and right to expand and grow. The War of 1812 helped prove that this right was legitimate. The United States fended off the British for a second straight time, and this bestowed confidence in the public. These events helped make the term of manifest destiny relevant.
These events greatly influenced the citizens of the United States to continue to push west. Land in Western New York opened up for settlement, and men and women left their rocky farms in New England and moved west. Pennsylvanians and Marylanders migrated from the south.
The pioneers who rushed to clear and develop this rich frontier were all hoping to improve their lot. Some would turn back. Some would be struck by a form of malaria. Some would move on to Ohio and Michigan. That is exactly what Henry(2) and most of his siblings did. They moved on to Michigan, specifically to Wheatfield Township in Ingham county where Henry(2) and Warren had settled. Wheatfield Township was the marshalling point for all the Haskell’s who came to Michigan from this family and from there they spread out to other destinations in Michigan. Hannah married and stayed in New York her entire life. But Henry, Jeremiah, Smith, Laura, Warren and George all found their way to Michigan probably via the Erie Canal. William James' journey was interrupted by the Civil War. In 1861 when he was 21 years old, he enlisted in the first call issued by President Lincoln for 75,000 ninety-day men, known as the “Army of the Potomac. He served as a hospital steward, and was taken prisoner and placed in Andersonville Prison. After 3 months he was sent North in a prisoner exchange. An interesting note is that the Andersonville Prison records claim that there were no prisoner exchanges. They did give prisoners a chance for freedom if they would fight for the Confederacy. It is thought that William James may have fought briefly for the south and then deserted at the first opportunity and fled to Minnesota to hide. Anyway, he bypassed Michigan, He found himself living in Minnesota and after Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and then Portland Oregon.
Henry(2) and his family were members of the Baptist Church of Magee, Seneca and Tyre, New York. Smith and Laura in 1938 were excommunicated from the church for “manifesting a good deal of indifference in the course of religion”. But the remainder of the family continued to be members until they left for Michigan. William James became an ordained Baptist minister in Oregon. All of Henry(1)’s Children eventually came to Michigan except William James and Hannah. This is the reason that this generation is referred to as the Wheatfield Haskells. Hannah married and stayed in New York her entire life. Henry(2) brought his family to Wheatfield Township, Ingham County some time between 1850 and 1860. He was the first to make the trek. According to the United States Census, in 1850, the family was in Junius, New York and in 1860, they were in Wheatfield Township, Ingham County, Michigan. However in his son Alfred’s obituary, it states that the family came to Michigan in 1849. So it seems that they may have made the journey some time between 1849 and 1850. Jeremiah(3) did not come to Michigan until the late1860’s. He may have spent some time in Ohio because the church records show that he was in Hamilton County Ohio in 1837. He came first to Wheatfield Township and then moved to the Flint area. Smith also came to Michigan about the same time as Jeremiah(3) - first to Wheatfield and then to Mount Pleasant. Laura also came to Michigan but I am not sure when she came to Michigan but she lived near Albion. Warren came to Michigan in 1860. He enlisted in Company B, 7th Michigan Infantry August 17, 1861. He was wounded in action in February 1963 and discharged for disability September 9, 1863. He lived on his farm near Webberville just off Holt Road on Haskill Road his entire life. Although technically this farm is located in Leroy township, he is considered a Wheatfield Haskell. Henry(2) stayed in the Wheatfield area and farmed until he died in 1861. George also came to Michigan about the same time that Warren came to Michigan and he moved to a farm not far from Munith Michigan near Portage Lake. As previously stated, William James never came into Michigan. He went to Ohio and then joined the Army ending up in Oregon.
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