The Hastings Banner — Thursday, April 21, 2022 — Page 7The confusion and misunderstanding
of the two Calvin Hill families, conclusion
At the request of a descendent, Harold
Burpee in the mid-1960s began researching
the Calvin Hill family. In the process, he
learned – contrary to what others had written
many decades earlier – that two men named
Calvin Hill were among the early pioneers in
the northwest part of Barry County. Calvin G.
Hill was the first white settler in Middleville,
and his nephew, Calvin S. Hill was one of the
early white inhabitants of Yankee Springs
Township.
After extensive research, interviews, library
trips, and viewing of microfilm reels, Burpee’s
articles on the Hill families were published in
his “Fresh Out of the Attic” column in The
Banner over three weeks in February 1966.
Online resources today provide answers to
some of his lingering questions. New informa-
tion has been added to his columns, extending
it into this fourth and final week, [with new
information in brackets].
H.L. Burpee
And now let’s get out a few miles south of
Middleville in Yankee Springs Township and
see what we can find out about Luther Hill’s
family, which will include the other Calvin
Hill.
In the summer 1961 issue of Michigan Her-
itage, they published this following record of
inscriptions from the “Locust Hill Cemetery”
which I had sent to them.
HILL FAMILY CEMETERY
This cemetery is on the old Calvin Hill farm
upon which stands the oldest frame house in
Barry County. The cemetery is in Section 11
of Yankee Springs Township on the west side
of Highway 611 [now Yankee Springs Road].
Delia Sweet Hill
1836-
[died of cancer Oct. 14, 1898, age 62 years,
5 months, 28 days; widow]Daughter
[Evangeline] Eva Hill Weaver
d. Feb. 12, 1943, Kalamazoo
age 74, marriedCalvin Hill
b. Oct. 13, 1809
died Sept. 18, 1884
“At Rest”
Co. B, 13th Michigan InfantryIn memory of
Luther Hill
born Aug. 24, A.D., 1779
died May 1 A.D., 1862
aged 83 yearsIn memory of
Abigail [Bartlett] Hill
b. Dec. 22, 1784
died May 27, 1870
age 86 yearsAt rest
Lyman Hill
b. Aug. 25, 1818
Died Nov. 5, 1886
“May he rest in peace”A.E. Hill
wife of Lyman Hill
died April, 2, 1864
Lived 36 years
“And when we sit by sculptured stone,
and mourn for the loved one fled,
she speaks to us from her angel’s home:
‘Weep not, I am not dead.’”Orange
Son of C. and S. Hill
died Jan. 10, 1844
age 8 yrs., 10 mos., 26 days
“Sleep on, sweet child, and take thy rest. God
called thee home. He saw it best.”
My old 1860 atlas of Yankee Springs Town-
ship shows L. and S. Hill owning property in
sections 11, 12 and 14, on the corner of the
three sections where the old home and ceme-
tery is located on Section 11.
The 1873 atlas shows an L. Hill, and just
north of L. Hill is an N. Sweet, and where the
home and cemetery is, it shows Calvin Hill
owning it. He also owned the land in Section
14 that was marked L. Hill on the 1860 atlas.
The N. Sweet undoubtedly was Noah Sweet,
Delia Sweet Hill’s father who, before that,
according to records I have here, lived some-
where in Orangeville Township.
In a paragraph under the heading of “set-
tlers and anecdotes” in the 1880 “History of
Allegan and Barry Counties,” Yankee Springs
Township, it has this to say:
“The settlement of the township was carried
forward in the autumn of 1836 by Luther Hill,
who then located on Section 12 and following
him by his son Calvin [S.] Hill, who in the
same file made a settlement on Section 11, he
having lived for a year previous in Prairieville.
Calvin Hill, still living on Section 11, remem-
bers that when he came to the town first, the
country struck him as one of the prettiest he
had ever seen. The oak timber was light and
open while the ground was profusely decked
with wildflowers, and although there was a
prospect of tough pioneer work and perhaps of
privations, nature seemed to offer a beautiful
consolation for anticipated hardships.”
Anyway, the history of the “Locust Hill,” or
of “Crystal Fount” as Calvin Hill called it in
an old letter I have here, is rather vague.
Who Calvin’s first wife was, I have never
been able to find out. Calvin had a brother
Lyman, and I have not been able to find out
much about his family. Whether they had chil-
dren or not, I do not know. [Even today, these
questions remain mostly unanswered. Calvin’s
first wife was named Sarah, surname unknown.
His brother Lyman married Abigail E. Hutch-
ings (perhaps aka Eliza) in Jackson in 1846
and was living in Yankee Springs Township at
the time of the 1860 census. She died four
years later. 1880, Lyman had moved to the
Lake Odessa area and had not remarried. Cal-
vin and Lyman also had two sisters: Amanda,
who married Henry White, and Abigail who
married a Pritchard.]
You will note one of the inscriptions in
Locust Hill: “Orange, son of C&S Hill, died
Jan. 10, 1844, age 8 years, 10 months, and 26
days.”
Now how many, if any more children he
had by this first wife “S,” I do not know, nor
does she seem to be buried there in Locust
Hill. I believe there were other children, since
in one of his letters to Delia Sweet, he spoke
of being tied up that week at home since the
housekeeper was gone for a few days. [The
1850 U.S. Census lists an Albert Hill, age 10,
and a Fanny Freeman, also 10, living in the
home of Calvin and Sarah Hill.]
I have a copy of the marriage certificate of
Calvin Hill and Adelia Sweet. It states that
Calvin Hill of Yankee Springs Township and
Adelia Sweet of Orangeville Township were
united in marriage in Hastings the 8th of
March 1854, in the presence of W.J. Dunning
and Mary Ellis, and signed by T.B. Grainger,
minister of the gospel. Calvin was 54 years
old, and Adelia was 27. [That document
appears to be a rare find. It also raises some
questions. If the date of 1854 is correct, Hill’s
first wife, Sarah, was still alive. An April 14,
1859, document shows a transfer of property
from Calvin’s brother and sister-in-law,
Lyman and Eliza, to Sarah. Calvin is not men-
tioned, although Calvin G. Hill of Middleville
was the justice of the peace who filed the
document. Additionally, the 1860 census
shows Delia, 23, living with her parents in
Orangeville. Sarah Hill is listed as the home-
owner in Yankee Springs, along with three
hired helpers, but not Calvin nor the Hill’s son
Albert, who would have been about 20 years
old. Calvin had returned by late the following
year when he joined the Union effort, enlist-
ing in Yankee Springs Township.
[Calvin’s second marriage probably was in
1864, not 1854, especially since the children
he had with Delia Sweet – Calvin L., Delia
(later Sensiba), Evangeline (later Weaver) and
Orange “Ott,” – were born between late 1864
and 1874.]
According to old letters I have here in Bob
Weaver’s tin box, letters of proposal, beautiful
poems written to her, [Calvin Hill] had quite a
time selling her on the idea of getting married.
However, he evidently finally won out. [Weav-
er likely was a son or grandson of Calvin and
Delia’s daughter Eva Hill Weaver]
A letter here written by Calvin to his
in-laws, Mr. and Mrs. Noah Sweet, soon after
the birth of their son, Orange, obviously the
second son Orange for Calvin, gives one an
idea of the sentimental, lovable and kind-heart-
ed man Calvin Hill must have been:Crystal Fount
Jan. 22Grandpa [and Grandpa] Sweet:
Perhaps you don’t know who I am so I will
just tell you. I am a little tiny stranger, just
come to live with my pa and ma, who seem to
think a great deal of me, whether they do or
not can only be determined by the manner of
their treatment, but you know I am bound to
accept their provisions as sincere which as a
dutiful son, I certainly do.
Pa calls me Orange, which I suppose is to
be my name and I am very well pleased with it.
Ma gives me plenty of dinner only it comes too
fast sometimes and chokes me, which some-
times irritates and vexes me.
Ma is very careful to keep me clean and dry,
for she and Pa both think that little folks like
me should have the strictest attention paid
them in such matters. Why Grandma you
would be surprised to see the changes that I
have in one night. Pa sleeps on the lounge and
keeps the fire burning all night, and warms my
changes and brings them to the bed for Ma to
put on me.
I would like to see you and Grandma at our
house, where you must know that Pa and I
have entered into partnership in all our affairs
and taken Ma into the firm as a confidential
assistant. I think that a firm of such material
ought to have its affairs managed very nicely.
I wish Grandma could just look in and see Pa
and I sitting up by the fire every night talking
over our affairs. You may guess we have a real
love feast all to ourselves.
Ma told me she thought you and Grandpa
would come and see me today but I have wait-
ed all day with my clean clothes and to see
you, but it is so late that I think you won’t come
now. So I thought I would just write you a little
letter just to let you know that I am around. I
hope you will come and see me as soon as you
can, and when I get large enough I will come
down to Orangeville and make you a visit.Your dutiful Grandson
Orange Hill[Perhaps this letter was written after the
birth of Delia and Calvin’s first child, Calvin
Lyman Hill, who was born Dec. 31, 1864,
aligning better with the date of the Jan. 22
letter and a newborn. Records of births,
deaths and marriages were not filed immedi-
ately at the time, so maybe they initiallyreferred to him as “Orange” but later decided
the name him Calvin L. Orange was a repeat-
ed name in the Hill family. Along with his
first son, Calvin also had a brother named
Orange. Just a year older than Calvin, his
brother Orange died in 1822 at age 14. Cal-
vin’s son Orange, whose headstone gives him
the nickname of “Ott,” never married. The
youngest of Calvin and Delia’s children, he
reached 68 years of age before his death in- Regardless, Noah Sweet, Calvin’s
father-in-law, was only about seven years
older than Calvin.]
Now there are several letters in this box
from George E. Sweet to his folks here in the
“West.” He generally writes on one sheet of
the paper to his father (Noah Sweet) and on
the other side to his sister, Delia before she
became Delia Hill. He lived in Malone, which
I believe was Malone, N.Y.
This one in particular gives one the condi-
tions of 1856:
Malone, N.Y., 1856“Dear father, it’s with some hesitation that
I attempt to write this evening for the reason
that I do not really know what to write, but this
much I can say that I am well and hope these
few lines will find you the same. Yesterday was
Election Day and it went close in this county
but the little town of Constable rolled out 126
for Fillmore, 95 for Buchanan, 36 for the
Frenchman [John C. Fremont]. The other
towns, I have not heard from, but probably the
state will go for Buchanan.
I do not know what to say about going
“West” this fall, for the reason there is no cash
price for anything that I have got except my
rye that is worth 5 cents per bushel. Corn I
can’t give away now, but if it is a possible
thing for me to get the money for my stuff
before navigation closes, I will be with you,
but if not, I shall be obligated to stay here until
spring unless I sell my colt and go in the win-
ter. Newell Spencer has offered to furnish hay
for my colt if I would stay there and do chores
this winter, and if I cannot go ‘west,’ I shall
stay with him. I do not think of anymore to
write.
“So, goodbye
“This from your son, George E. Sweet to
Noah Sweet.”In the Orangeville Township section of the
[1880] “History of Barry and Allegan Coun-
ties,” it states that George Sweet and Truman
Clark went through the ice in Gun Lake in
1858 and were the first burials in the Oran-
geville Cemetery. They are buried side by side
on the same lot just south and west of the
water tower. I believe George Sweet did make
it west and came to this unhappy ending soon
after he arrived here.
I have never been able to figure out yet
where Noah Sweet lived in Orangeville.
The following article from The Banner
appeared at the time of Calvin S. Hill’s death:
Banner Sept. 19, 1884,
“Uncle Calvin Hill, one of the earliest set-
tlers of Barry County, died at his home in
Yankee Springs Monday Sept. 15, age 76
years. The remains were interred in the family
burying place.
“Mr. Hill was well known in Barry County
as a citizen, as a neighbor, as a man. He was
respected and beloved by all who knew him.
In the family circle, he was the true husband,
the true father. In politics, he was an ardent
Republican. He served through the War of the
Rebellion, though when he was enlisted he
had passed the year when such service could
be required.
“He moved to Barry County from Genesee
County, New York, in 1836, and was, we
believe, the fourth settler to brave the hard-
ships of pioneering in this county [this illus-
trates the confusion of the two Calvin Hills.
Calvin G. Hill of Middleville was considered
the fourth white settler in the county, moving
here in 1835]. By his death, a good man and
good citizen are lost to Barry County, while
his family will mourn departure of a loving
husband and father.”
Well, I hope this sort of straightens out the
history of the Hill family. Once well-known in
both Thornapple and Yankee Springs town-
ships, today, as far as I know, there are just a
few descendants left. A Patrick near Lake
Odessa and a Rev. Patrick from out West who
called on me a year ago who go back to C.V.
Patrick and Sabina Hill, and a few descendants
of Calvin and Delia Sweet Hill reside around
Delton and Kalamazoo.
I hope this paper is accepted in the sense in
which it was intended. I have no wish to criti-
cize anyone. I solely wished to rectify a few
discrepancies regarding the two Calvin Hills.Sources: Hastings Banner; findagrave.com;
familysearch.org; Hastings Public Library;
History of Allegan and Barry Counties, Mich-
igan; Bentley Historic Library/University of
Michigan.Early settlers disagreed on township name
Calvin G. Hill is tied to the history of
Middleville. William “Yankee Bill” Bill
name is inexorably linked to the history of
Yankee Springs Township. In between the
two lived Calvin’s nephew of the same
name, who apparently had a disagreement
with Lewis.
The entire population of Yankee Springs
Township in the 1850 U.S. Census takes
up only seven pages, with 42 lines per
page; so fewer than 300 people lived with-
in the 36 square miles. Page 6 includes the
families of Calvin S. Hill and William
Lewis, their occupations listed as farmer
and innkeeper, respectively.
Lewis was known for his hospitality and
his wife Mary for the good food provided
in their wilderness “hotel” situated near
springs along the Kalamazoo-to-Grand
Rapids stagecoach line. Those springs,
combined with his nickname of “Yankee
Bill,” gave the township its name.
However, that name didn’t seem to sit
well with Hill, a fellow Yankee.
Marshall L. Cook, in the July 31, 1941,
Banner, (and reprinted Sept. 30, 2021)
compiled information on how Barry Coun-
ty’s townships were named, revealing that
the process could be contentious and that
some had been known by other names.
Yankee Springs’ name seems to fall into
both categories, according to Cook:
“YANKEE SPRINGS – This township
received its name in a peculiar manner.
Henry Leonard and family, and with them
a young man named Charles Paul, were
driving toward [what is now] Thornapple
Township. When they reached the springs
that gave the name to Yankee Springs, they
stopped to eat their dinner and quenchtheir thirst with the fine spring water. Later
a stranger joined them. Their talk revealed
the fact that all of them had come from
New England and were therefore entitled
to be called Yankees. Someone in the party
suggested they ought to give the name
Yankee Springs to this place where they
had been refreshed.
“Accordingly, young Paul stripped the
bark from one of the large trees near the
springs and carved the name “Yankee
Springs” upon that tree. The name seemed
to stick. William Lewis, who established
his hotel that made the name famous as
Yankee Springs, was very proud of the
name. It was believed that his influence
resulted in first naming the township Yan-
kee Springs.
“But Calvin Hill, a prominent pioneer
living in the northern part of the township,
did not like that name. His neighbor and
friend Nathan Barlow was then a member
of the legislature. Through Barlow, Hill
had the legislature change the name of the
township to Gates, in honor of the New
York town from which Mr. Hill came.
Yankee Bill Lewis was wrathy when he
found the name had been altered. He
stirred up enough opposition so that the
following legislature restored the name of
Yankee Springs, which it has ever since
retained.”
In his 1912 “History of Barry County,
Michigan,” Hon. W.W. Potter wrote that
he was unable to determine when the name
was changed to Gates, but did verify that
the state legislature in 1848 “passed an act
changing the name of the township again
from Gates to Yankee Springs ...” which it
has ever since retained.Civil War veterans in the Hill family
Kathy Maurer
Copy Editor
Last week’s column included an accom-
panying story on family members of Calvin
G. Hill who served in the U.S. Civil War.
His nephew, Calvin S. Hill, of Yankee
Springs, joined the Union, as did at least
two members of his extended family.
Calvin S. Hill was just days shy of his
52nd birthday when he enlisted. His where-
abouts the previous few years is unknown
(see main story). His first wife, Sarah, was
still alive, and their son Albert, if still liv-
ing, would have been about 21 years old.
The elder Hill enlisted in Co. B of the
13th Michigan Infantry Oct. 2, 1861, regis-
tering in Yankee Springs. He signed on for
a three-year commitment, and was listed as
being 45 years old.
First Sgt. Hill mustered Jan. 17, 1862;
and was discharged in Nashville, Tenn.,
Sept. 8, 1862.
He married Delia Sweet in 1864 and had
four more children.
Departing that same day in mid-January
1862 was Sanford Sweet, who would
become Hill’s brother-in-law.
Sweet enlisted in Co. H of the 13th Mich-
igan Infantry Dec. 20, 1861, in Orangeville.
He was 26 and was to serve three years. The
first major encounter for the 13th Infantry
was the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee in
early April. Sweet was discharged about a
month later in Detroit May 9, 1862. Afterreturning to Michigan, he and his wife, Cal-
fernia Youngs, whom he’d married in 1859,
moved to Antrim County.
Kyler Sweet, uncle to both Sanford Sweet
and Calvin Hill’s second wife, Delia, was
already in uniform and out of state. He had
been living in Orangeville with Noah
Sweet’s family when he enlisted in Co. I of
Michigan’s 7th Infantry Aug. 11, 1861. He
was 41, and unlike Hill and his nephew
Sanford, Kyler Sweet would not return
home. He died at David’s Island Hospital in
New York. He died in the fall of 1862; dates
of his death range from Sept. 30 to Oct. 29
to Oct. 31, depending on the source. He is
buried at Cypress Hills National Cemetery
in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The 1880 “History of Allegan and Barry
Counties, Michigan” includes histories and
rosters of Civil War units and men from the
two counties. Generally, the military infor-
mation within the 500-plus-page book
closely matches other resources available
today. Unfortunately for the Sweet family,
Kyler (also spelled Cyler and Kylar) is list-
ed in that 1880 volume as having been dis-
charged Nov. 15, 1862.Sources: Record of Service of Michigan
Volunteers in the Civil War 1861-1865,
Brig. Gen. Geo. H. Brown, adjutant gener-
al, 1903; findagrave.com., familysearch.
org; Michigan in the War 1861-1865, com-
piled by Don and Lois Harvey.Family Owned and Operated
Serving Hastings, Barry County and Surrounding Communities for 50 years- Traditional and Cremation Services
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Dale Billingsley
Owner/ManagerRay Girrbach
Owner EmeritusThe state historic marker in Yankee Springs Township has a storied history that
includes relocation, theft, reconciliation and three dedications. The name of the
township itself also has a history of change and contention. Had Calvin S. Hill had
his way, it would be known as Gates Township. Some of the people pictured here
in 1966 when the marker was moved from Gun Lake to the actual site of the
Yankee Springs Inn are (from left) Ron Nagel, Orville Hammond, David Walton,
Martha Walton and Esther Walton. (File photo)