This update include new information forwarded on Levi Hillman. First Generation 1. Justin HILLMAN was born on 17 AUG 1792 in Colrain, Hampshire, Massachusetts. Marriage intention was recorded on 4 SEP 1814 in Conway, Franklin, Massachusetts He died in 1866 in Williamsburg, Hampshire, Massachusetts. Vital Records of Conway, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass. 1943. p. 158. of Conway, Mass., 1814 Mary K. Moore. Justin & Abigail removed to Williamsburg, where their last child was born in 1841. Justin HILLMAN and Abigail TAYLOR were married in 1814. Abigail TAYLOR (daughter of Rufus TAYLOR and Abigail COLBURN) was born on 28 SEP 1794 in Charlemont, Franklin, Massachusetts. She died in Williamsburg, Hampshire, Massachusetts. Vital Records of Conway, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass. 1943. p. 158. of Worthington, 1814. Justin HILLMAN and Abigail TAYLOR had the following children: +2 i. Roswell HILLMAN (born on 9 AUG 1815). +3 ii. Elizabeth HILLMAN (born on 4 JUL 1817). +4 iii. Ozro HILLMAN (born on 23 DEC 1819). +5 iv. Levi HILLMAN (born in 1821). +6 v. Julia HILLMAN (born about 1823). 7 vi. Susanna HILLMAN was born about 1825 in Conway, Franklin, Massachusetts. +8 vii. Charles T. HILLMAN (born on 20 MAY 1828). 9 viii. Jerome HILLMAN was born about 1835 in Conway, Franklin, Massachusetts. He died on 31 MAR 1895 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts. +10 ix. Fred O. HILLMAN (born in 1837). +11 x. Gusta HILLMAN (born on 29 SEP 1841). Second Generation 2. Roswell HILLMAN (Justin-1) was born on 9 AUG 1815 in Conway, Franklin, Massachusetts. Roswell HILLMAN and Ruth WHITE were married. Roswell HILLMAN and Hattie GUILFORD were married. 3. Elizabeth HILLMAN (Justin-1) was born on 4 JUL 1817 in Conway, Franklin, Massachusetts. She died on 23 JUN 1880. Elizabeth HILLMAN and Horace Wiley FIELD were married. Horace Wiley FIELD (son of Walter FIELD and Elizabeth Sprague WILEY) was born on 10 JAN 1814 in Sunderland, Franklin, Massachusetts. He died on 10 NOV 1888. Resided in North Hadley, Mass. Elizabeth HILLMAN and Horace Wiley FIELD had the following children: +12 i. Edwin Wiley FIELD (born on 29 JAN 1842). +13 ii. Henry Hillman FIELD (born on 8 OCT 1843). 4. Ozro HILLMAN (Justin-1) was born on 23 DEC 1819 in Conway, Franklin, Massachusetts. He died on 25 JUN 1885 in Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Ozro HILLMAN and Fanny LYMAN were married. Ozro HILLMAN and Catherine WHITE were married. 5. Levi HILLMAN (Justin-1) was born in 1821 in Conway, Franklin, Massachusetts. He died on 11 MAR 1861 in Cannon Falls, Goodhue, Minnesota. He was buried in Cannon Falls Cemetery, Cannon Falls, Goodhue, Minnesota. Cannon Falls Beacon, Cannon Falls, Goodhue County, Minnesota, Thursday, July 18, 1974 Grandfather Records History In Prose of the 1850's The grandfather of a Cannon Falls woman has recorded in prose the dedication and hardiness of pioneers during the 1850's. Levi Hillman is the man, and he was a grandfather of Myra Poe, and great grandfather of Marge (Mrs. Stan) Mattix, Mrs. Myra Bostwick and Robert Glover, all current residents of Cannon Falls. Levi sent a series of about 15 letters to his wife in the 1850's while he was far across the country. The letters, in their original form, are in the possession of Myra and Marge. They are classics, and tell a great deal about life in those days, and the hardships encountered by the pioneers. Marge spent last winter deciphering and copying over the many letters Levi sent to his wife. Marge left in the misspellings and oddly phrased (in our grammar0 sentences, to keep the copy as original as possible. But getting back to Levi - there's the situation: he was born in Massachusetts on January 25, 1822. He married Mary Shelly on August 22, 1847, in Collinsvile, Connecticut. Levi was managing the farm and country estate of Warren Delano, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's grandfather, in 1849. Levi was apparently a man who wanted the best for his family, and in 1852 he decided to leave his wife and young twin sons to join the gold rush to California. The decision to leave his family, for an indeterminate time must have been a hard one to make. And the dangers involved with taking a ship around Cape Horn to California were many. Levi spent 125 day aboard the ship, the Gov. Morton. They had some rough weather, and spent several days laying low before winds subsided so they could get around the Cape. In his letters, he reveals a talent for putting words on paper, and a sense of humor, probably uncommon to most in those hard days. He writes about the storms at Cape Horn, "the seas run not exactly mountains high, but they looked like 10,000 hills playing hide and seek in a rainstorm." And in a letter that sounds like it's from Mutiny on the Bounty, "We have got a noble ship, a good crew and have had favorable winds most of the time. But the Captain has proved himself wholly and totally unfit to take the command of a noble ship like this or even a fishing boat. He is too mean for his own interests. in endeavoring to save a little by stinting the passengers he loses three times as much as he gains. There has been enough slat junk and other stuff (badly cooked so that we should not eat so much) thrown overboard to last 40 men the whole passage. He loses at the bung by trying to save at the spiggot." After 110 days at sea, a reaffirmation of his decision to go: "I have seen no time since I made up my mind to go, that i have regretted my determination: Although I have seen many times when i would have given almost anything if i could have clasped your and the boys in my arms." Again, in what must have been a homesick mood, "Talk not to me about this of the tempting pleasures of life upon the deep blue sea, but rather give me the weeds and the fields, the hills and the valleys with their gently flowing streams and murmuring hills." Once he got to California, live found the gold rush over, and thousands of men seeking to get rich quick, like himself. He bought a claim in a river, but the gold, if it was there was too deep. At 26 feet in depth, water filled their hole faster than they could pump it out. His luck improved, however, as the months went by, and by buying and selling claims, he was able to mail several hundred dollars back to his wife. His letters to her were written about once a month over the period of 15 months. Letter writing as art, and the flowery prose sometimes hard to read, Levi, and perhaps others, wrote on the front and the back of the paper. Then he would turn the paper sidewise and write over what had been written, going the other direction. Paper shortage" Probably not - just pure economics, since it cost $1 to receive a letter in those days. The cross writing made it very difficult to read, a Mrs. Mattis will tell. Levi apparently did strike gold, in a hurry. He writes of coming home in March of 1854, but left a month after that letter was sent, in July of 1853, with a $2,500 profit. How he got home is not related in the letters, but Mrs. Mattix guesses it was probably by stagecoach, across the continent. Levi is reunited with his wife and twins, after a year and a half apart. In 1853, he went into the hardware business back east, apparently ready to settle for good. Quite possibly for health reason, but maybe again to increase the fortunes of family life, in the spring of 1856 he struck out alone again and came to Cannon Falls to locate land to homestead and to build a house for his family. In May, Mary wrote him that she was to have another child, so Levi hurried back east to bring her and the children to Minnesota. (The guy was traveling more that a corporate executive.) They came by rail to Galena, Illinois, by steamboat up the Mississippi and then by ox team from Hastings to Cannon Falls. Little is said about the cross country trips he made, but the fact he made them at all says quites a lot about his determination. A historic not in the Cannon Falls Beacon mentions that Levi was elected justice of the peace for Randolph township on May 11, 1858. The only daughter of Levi and Mary, also named Mary, later married James L. Scofield and one of their tow daughters is Mrs. Poe, residing here now. Levi died March 11, 1861, at the age of 39. That's young for today, but after several transcontinental trips and a boat trip around Cape Horn, Levi probably died an old man. His letters remain, but heir complete story will never be told. The generations have erased those records. Source: Mary Nordstrom Moore [Hillman]. Biography - Levi Colburn Hillman Levi Colburn Hillman, son of Abigail (Taylor) and Justin Hillman, was born in Conway, Massachusetts on January 25, 1822. He had five brothers, Roswell, Jerome, Fred, Ozro and Charles, and four sisters: Julia, Gusta, Elizabeth and Susan. He married Mary Marinda Shelly, (born September 29, 1829 in Hartford, Connecticut) on August 22, 1847 in Collinsville, Conn. Levi was managing the farm and country estate of Warren Delano, Franklin D. Roosevelt's grandfather, when twin sons, Charles Julius and William Julian, were born on April 17, 1849. In 1852 Levi decided to join the gold rush to California. He moved his family to Northampton, Massachusetts, where his parents and brothers and sisters lived. Mary, his wife had lived, prior to her marriage to Levi, with an aunt, Maria Cushing. It was Maria's husband who went to California with Levi. Levi went by sailing ship around Cape Horn and Mr. Delano inspected the ship before they sailed, to judge whether it was safe for his young friend to travel on. Coming home across country in 1753, he went into the hardware business with his brother Ozro in Northampton, Mass., supposedly using money he had made in California. In June, 1855, their only daughter, Mary Isabelle was born to them in their home on Elm Street, Northampton, Mass. Quite possible for health reasons, in the spring of 1856, he came to Cannon Falls to locate land to homestead and to build a house for his family. In May, Mary wrote him that she was to have another child, so Levi hurried East to bring her and the three children out to Minnesota. They traveled by rail to Galena, Illinois, by steamboat up the Mississippi, and then by ox team from Hastings to Cannon Falls. A former New England couple, Mr. and Mrs. Horace Kendall had taken him in before, and they welcomed his family as well. It was at their home that a third son, Frederick Earnest, was born, August 21, 1856, before Levi could finish the log cabin he was building, as he was also raising crops. A historic note in the Cannon Falls Beacon mentions that Levi was elected Justice of the Peace for Randolph Township on May 11, 1858. Levi passed away March 11, 1861, aged 39, and Mary on May 20, 1897, aged 67. Their only daughter, Mary later married James L. Scofield and one of their two daughters, Mrs. Richard Poe, still lives in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Levi HILLMAN and Mary Marinda SHELLY were married on 22 AUG 1847 in Collinsville, Hartford, Connecticut. Mary Marinda SHELLY was born on 29 SEP 1829 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut. She died on 20 MAY 1897. Levi HILLMAN and Mary Marinda SHELLY had the following children: +14 i. Mary Isabelle HILLMAN (born in JUN 1855). +15 ii. Frederick Earnest HILLMAN (born on 21 AUG 1856/57). 16 iii. Charles (twin) HILLMAN was buried in Cannon Falls Cemetery, Cannon Falls, Goodhue, Minnesota. 17 iv. William (twin) HILLMAN. 6. Julia HILLMAN (Justin-1) was born about 1823 in Conway, Franklin, Massachusetts. Julia HILLMAN and L. C. PRESBRY were married. 8. Charles T. HILLMAN (Justin-1) was born on 20 MAY 1828 in Conway, Franklin, Massachusetts. He died on 27 AUG 1864 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts. The History of the Town Whately, Mass. 1661 - 1899, by James M. Crafts, published by D.L. Crandall, Mann's Bloch, Orange, Mass. 1899. p. 438. of Northampton, Mass. Charles T. HILLMAN and Persis L. CLARK were married. Charles T. HILLMAN and Persis L. CLARK had the following children: +18 i. Sarah Wilder HILLMAN. 10. Fred O. HILLMAN (Justin-1) was born in 1837 in Conway, Franklin, Massachusetts. He died on 28 NOV 1880 in Williamsburg, Hampshire, Massachusetts. Fred O. HILLMAN and Belle S. PEASE were married. 11. Gusta HILLMAN (Justin-1) was born on 29 SEP 1841 in Williamsburg, Hampshire, Massachusetts. She died on 9 APR 1863 in Williamsburg, Hampshire, Massachusetts. Gusta HILLMAN and Daniel Sumner PRESBREY were married.