Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
NameAdaline S. WILLIAMS 
3178
3178Death19 Jul 1893, Richfield, Summit, Ohio3164, difficult to read handwriting,1537,3167,3173 Age: 74
ResidenceBath, Summit, Ohio3164
FatherSanford WILLIAMS (1783-1856)
MotherMary JERRALDS (1787-1819)
Individual Notes
• Paul Williams himself died sometime before I came to Akron 64 years ago [thus 1835]. At that time his widow (second wife, I think) was living in the old homestead (still standing) and with her were living a pair of twin granddaughters who had been orphaned by the early death of both of their parents. Their names were Adaline and Emeline Williams. The former married Samuel B. Axtell, of Richfield, in this county. A son, in Richfield, and a daughter, in New Jersey, survive them. Emeline Williams never married and is still living with her niece, I think, in Rahway, N. J.1547, p 4
• I have been doing quite a bit of investigation on the West Richfield connection. I have been to Richfield twice and collected some information there.
The first bit you might find of interest is that Adaline apparently separated from Samuel Beach before he went to Utah. She went back to Ohio and began buying land in West Richfield. At her death she apparently owned quite a bit. It was in her name, not in S.B.’s. I couldn’t find out how it was disposed of, except that some went to Roscoe. Charles Clifford had a small piece that that she apparently gave him while she was still living.
She is NOT buried with him in New Jersey. She is buried in Akron, along with Charles Clifford and Mary. Apparently Mary died first and C.C. lived in Akron with his brother Lewis until his death. From your account it appears that Lewis then went to Pennsylvania to work.
A large part of the land that Adaline owned in West Richfield was later taken over by the Girl Scouts as a camp. The GS are now trying to sell it. The Richfield Historical Society is trying to raise money to buy it as they don’t want it to be divided up for housing.3179
• Mrs. Adeline Axtell, widow of the late Hon. Samuel B. Axtell, who died about a year ago, departed this life at Richfield, Ohio, July 19th.3173
• Application has been filed in the same court for the admission to probate of the will of Adaline S. Axtell, late of Richfield township. All of the property of testatrix is left without reservation to her daughter, Alice Phillips, and husband.3178
• I have been doing quite a bit of investigation on the West Richfield connection. I have been to Richfield twice and collected some information there.
The first bit you might find of interest is that Adaline apparently separated from Samuel Beach before he went to Utah. She went back to Ohio and began buying land in West Richfield. At her death she apparently owned quite a bit. It was in her name, not in S.B.’s. I couldn’t find out how it was disposed of, except that some went to Roscoe. Charles Clifford had a small piece that that she apparently gave him while she was still living.
She is NOT buried with him in New Jersey. She is buried in Akron, along with Charles Clifford and Mary. Apparently Mary died first and C.C. lived in Akron with his brother Lewis until his death. From your account it appears that Lewis then went to Pennsylvania to work.
A large part of the land that Adaline owned in West Richfield was later taken over by the Girl Scouts as a camp. The GS are now trying to sell it. The Richfield Historical Society is trying to raise money to buy it as they don’t want it to be divided up for housing.3179
• Mrs. Adeline Axtell, widow of the late Hon. Samuel B. Axtell, who died about a year ago, departed this life at Richfield, Ohio, July 19th.3173
• Application has been filed in the same court for the admission to probate of the will of Adaline S. Axtell, late of Richfield township. All of the property of testatrix is left without reservation to her daughter, Alice Phillips, and husband.3178
Census
• 1850 Census: Richfield, Summit, Ohio. Age 30, enumerated with two sons, Myron and Clifford. Living with Warren Bishop family; no presence of her husband, Samuel Beach Axtell.3181
• 1860 Census: Jackson, Amador, California. Age 41, b OH.3174
• 1880 Census: West Richfield, Summit, Ohio. Age 60, b OH. Father b VT; mother b VT.3175
• 1885 New Mexico Census: Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Not present.3176
• 1860 Census: Jackson, Amador, California. Age 41, b OH.3174
• 1880 Census: West Richfield, Summit, Ohio. Age 60, b OH. Father b VT; mother b VT.3175
• 1885 New Mexico Census: Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Not present.3176
Spouses
Birth14 Oct 1819, Columbus, Franklin, Ohio3164, county only,3165, p 997; county only,3085,3166,3165, p 997; county only
Memonear Columbus
Memoat the home of his daughter
BurialFirst Presbyterian Cemetery, Morristown, Morris, New Jersey3166
OccupationAdmitted to Bar in Ohio; Gov. of Utah, 1874-5; Gov. of New Mexico, 1875-8
EducationWestern Reserve College, grad. 18443167
Residence1843, moved to Mt. Clemens, MI; 1851, moved to Calif.
Residence1885, Santa Fe, NM3168
FatherSamuel Loree AXTELL (1791-1855)
MotherNancy SANDERS (1792-1881)
Individual Notes
• Jackson, Amador Co. Cal
June 13th, 1864
J. P. Pownell, Esq.
Dear Sir
Your letter in relation to some money now in your hands as Administrator of Sanford Williams Estate, due to his daughter Adaline now my wife, has been duly Exd by us. We desire this money to be paid to my wife’s sister Emeline Williams.1540, p 1
• Hon. Samuel B. Axtell, one of Richfield's early adopted sons, and whose family and property interests are still in that township, represented the San Francisco (Cal)., district in the fortieth and forty-first sessions of Congress. Returning to Richfield, on the expiration of his second term, he was in January, 1875, appointed governor of the territory of Utah, by President Grant, but a few months later was transferred to New Mexico, of which territory he was governor between three and four years. Still later, in May, 1882, by appointment of President Arthur, he became chief justice of that territory, which position he filled with acknowledged ability for three years, tendering his resignation to President Cleveland, May 1st, 1885, to take effect on the 25th of the same month. On June 1, 1885, Judge Axtell accepted from the Southern Pacific railroad, the position of solicitor of that road for New Mexico, with headquarters at Santa Fe, which position he held until his death, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Charles M. Phillips, in Morristown, New Jersey, August 6, 1891, at the age of 71 years, 9 months, 22 days.3085
• [excerpts] In 1851 he went from Richfield [Ohio] to California, and his wife followed and joined him there in 1856. In California, he was a practical miner and laborer, working with all his might at whatever his hand found to do, and continuing the study of law, which he had commenced before leaving Ohio. He was admitted, upon examination, to the Supreme Court of the State of California in 1854, and commenced the practice of law in Jackson, Amador Co., in that State. He was three times elected District Attorney. Removing to San Francisco, he was elected, in 1867, to represent that city and district in the Fortieth Congress, and was re-elected to the Forty-first Congress.
In January, 1875, he was appointed by Gen. Grant Governor of Utah Territory, and in the summer of that year was transferred to New Mexico, where he acted as Governor for three years and a half, assisting during two Territorial Legislatures to obtain much needed and progressive legislation.3165, p 997
• After President Grant appointed him governor of Utah Territory, one of Axtell’s first acts was to deliver a certificate of election to George Q. Cannon, newly elected territorial congressional delegate. It was something Gov. Woods [his predecessor] refused to do. Axtell was immediately branded as a tool of the Mormons, and editors of The Salt Lake City Tribune referred to him as “Bishop” Axtell. He tried to ease the situation by touring the larger counties in the territory, but his opponents would have none of it and increased their attacks on him. In the end, Grant was asked to intervene, but instead he appointed Axtell governor of New Mexico Territory.3169
• The President and Secretary of the Interior have decided to dismiss the charges against Gov. Axtell, of New-Mexico, as vague and unsupported by proof. The Secretary, in the presence of the President and others, this morning expressed his intention of putting this decision on record as the result of a careful investigation made under his supervision by Assistant Attorney-General Marble. The charges, it is declared, were preferred by irresponsible persons who do not sustain them under oath. On the other hand, Gov. Axtell denied the charges promptly under oath and furnished official documents fully refuting them. In addition to this, an unqualified endorsement of his administration has been forwarded to the department from the best citizens of all parts of New-Mexico.3170
• Axtell was appointed Governor by President Grant in 1875. Axtell’s administration ended in 1878 when he was suspended by Secretary of the Interior Carl Schulz following an investigation into his activities as governor. He later became Chief Justice of the New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court.3171
• b. Oct. 14, 1819, married Adaline S. Williams of Summit Co., Ohio, Sept. 20, 1840. In 1843 he moved to Mt. Clemens, Mich. We have from the pen of Ralph Emerson Twitchell the following:
Samuel Beach Axtell was born in Franklin County, Ohio, October 14, 1819. An ancestor was an officer in the Revolutionary army and his grandfather was a Colonel of a New Jersey regiment during the war of 1812. His father was a farmer. Governor Axtell was a graduate of the Western Reserve College at Oberlin and was admitted to the bar in Ohio. In 1851 he went to California and engaged in gold mining and upon the organization of counties of the state was elected district attorney of Amador County. He removed to San Francisco in 1860, was elected to congress in 1866 and 1868 as a democrat. He changed his political faith at this time and allied himself with the Republican Party of which he was a staunch supporter to the time of his death. In 1874 he was appointed governor of Utah by President Grant and in the following year was transferred to New Mexico, being inaugurated governor July 30, 1875. He was superseded in this position by General Lew Wallace [author of Ben-Hur], appointed by President Hayes in 1878. In 1882 he was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court of New Mexico, assuming the duties of the office in August of that year. In 1885, Grover Cleveland having been elected president, he resigned the office in May of that year. He was a man of high principles, absolutely without fear. On the bench he endeavored at all times to secure what he saw fit to designate as “substantial justice” for all litigants, and judicial precedents which interfered with the main object of trials in his court, or with equity from his standpoint, were ruthlessly cast aside. In 1890 he was elected chairman of the territorial republican committee. He died August 7, 1891, at Morristown, New Jersey. Conditions, methods, and practices obtaining in the courts of New Mexico during Judge Axtell’s incumbency, and the fearless character of this jurist are well exemplified in the relation of incidents occurring in one or two cases tried before him. In a celebrated criminal trial at Las Vegas, although Judge Axtell had been warned that his life would be forfeited if he dared to sit in the case, promptly on time he opened court. On this occasion he compelled the sheriff to search all of the court attendants and the spectators before he allowed the case to proceed. As a result forty-two revolvers were piled on the table, some having been taken from the attorneys in the case. Each man carrying a weapon into the courtroom was fined ten dollars for contempt of court, and no show of resistance was made when the fine was collected. In another case before him the defendant, a poor young man, whose farm was in jeopardy, had no attorney. Seeing that the case was going against the man unless he could obtain legal counsel, Judge Axtell descended from the bench and began conducting the cross-examination with the remark: “It takes thirteen men to steal a poor boy’s farm in New Mexico.” Upon the conclusion of the submission of evidence, he instructed the jury to find a verdict in behalf of the defendant. When the foreman announced a disagreement, the judge discharged the jury, announced a verdict in behalf of the defendant, and told the sheriff never to allow any one of the discharged jurymen to serve again in Miguel County. His wife died in July 1893.3167
• AXTELL, Samuel Beach, a Representative from California; born near Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, October 14, 1819; attended the local schools and Oberlin College; was graduated from Western Reserve College, Hudson, Ohio; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1843 and commenced practice in Mount Clemens, Mich.; went to California in 1851 and engaged in mining in Amador County; prosecuting attorney of Amador County 1854-1860; moved to San Francisco in 1860 and practiced law; elected as a Democrat to the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses (March 4, 1867-March 3, 1871); was not a candidate for renomination in 1870; affiliated with the Republican Party during the administration of President Grant; appointed Governor of Utah Territory in 1874 and subsequently, in 1875, transferred to the office of Governor of the Territory; chief justice of the supreme court of the Territory of New Mexico from August 1882 until his resignation May 25, 1885; engaged in the practice of law in Santa Fe, N. Mex.; at the time of his death was counsel of the Southern Pacific Railroad Co. and chairman of the Republican Territorial committee; died while on a visit to Morristown, Morris County, N.J., August 6, 1891; interment in First Presbyterian Church Cemetery.3166
• US Congressman. Elected to represent California’s 1st District in the United States House of Representatives, he served from 1867 to 1871. He also served as Governor of Utah Territory in 1875, Governor of New Mexico Territory from 1875 to 1878, and as Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court from 1882 to 1885.3172
• Mrs. Adeline Axtell, widow of the late Hon. Samuel B. Axtell, who died about a year ago, departed this life at Richfield, Ohio, July 19th. Samuel B. Axtell was an old-time attorney of Amador county and was elected to the office of District Attorney in 1854, at the first election after the county of Amador was set off from Calaveras. He was re-elected to the office again in 1856. He lived in Jackson till 1864, when he went to San Francisco. Being a natural leader and a politician, in 1867 he received the nomination for Congress from the First District and was elected, defeating T. G. Phelps. In 1868 he was agin elected to Congress, this time defeating Frank M. Pixley.3173
June 13th, 1864
J. P. Pownell, Esq.
Dear Sir
Your letter in relation to some money now in your hands as Administrator of Sanford Williams Estate, due to his daughter Adaline now my wife, has been duly Exd by us. We desire this money to be paid to my wife’s sister Emeline Williams.1540, p 1
• Hon. Samuel B. Axtell, one of Richfield's early adopted sons, and whose family and property interests are still in that township, represented the San Francisco (Cal)., district in the fortieth and forty-first sessions of Congress. Returning to Richfield, on the expiration of his second term, he was in January, 1875, appointed governor of the territory of Utah, by President Grant, but a few months later was transferred to New Mexico, of which territory he was governor between three and four years. Still later, in May, 1882, by appointment of President Arthur, he became chief justice of that territory, which position he filled with acknowledged ability for three years, tendering his resignation to President Cleveland, May 1st, 1885, to take effect on the 25th of the same month. On June 1, 1885, Judge Axtell accepted from the Southern Pacific railroad, the position of solicitor of that road for New Mexico, with headquarters at Santa Fe, which position he held until his death, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Charles M. Phillips, in Morristown, New Jersey, August 6, 1891, at the age of 71 years, 9 months, 22 days.3085
• [excerpts] In 1851 he went from Richfield [Ohio] to California, and his wife followed and joined him there in 1856. In California, he was a practical miner and laborer, working with all his might at whatever his hand found to do, and continuing the study of law, which he had commenced before leaving Ohio. He was admitted, upon examination, to the Supreme Court of the State of California in 1854, and commenced the practice of law in Jackson, Amador Co., in that State. He was three times elected District Attorney. Removing to San Francisco, he was elected, in 1867, to represent that city and district in the Fortieth Congress, and was re-elected to the Forty-first Congress.
In January, 1875, he was appointed by Gen. Grant Governor of Utah Territory, and in the summer of that year was transferred to New Mexico, where he acted as Governor for three years and a half, assisting during two Territorial Legislatures to obtain much needed and progressive legislation.3165, p 997
• After President Grant appointed him governor of Utah Territory, one of Axtell’s first acts was to deliver a certificate of election to George Q. Cannon, newly elected territorial congressional delegate. It was something Gov. Woods [his predecessor] refused to do. Axtell was immediately branded as a tool of the Mormons, and editors of The Salt Lake City Tribune referred to him as “Bishop” Axtell. He tried to ease the situation by touring the larger counties in the territory, but his opponents would have none of it and increased their attacks on him. In the end, Grant was asked to intervene, but instead he appointed Axtell governor of New Mexico Territory.3169
• The President and Secretary of the Interior have decided to dismiss the charges against Gov. Axtell, of New-Mexico, as vague and unsupported by proof. The Secretary, in the presence of the President and others, this morning expressed his intention of putting this decision on record as the result of a careful investigation made under his supervision by Assistant Attorney-General Marble. The charges, it is declared, were preferred by irresponsible persons who do not sustain them under oath. On the other hand, Gov. Axtell denied the charges promptly under oath and furnished official documents fully refuting them. In addition to this, an unqualified endorsement of his administration has been forwarded to the department from the best citizens of all parts of New-Mexico.3170
• Axtell was appointed Governor by President Grant in 1875. Axtell’s administration ended in 1878 when he was suspended by Secretary of the Interior Carl Schulz following an investigation into his activities as governor. He later became Chief Justice of the New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court.3171
• b. Oct. 14, 1819, married Adaline S. Williams of Summit Co., Ohio, Sept. 20, 1840. In 1843 he moved to Mt. Clemens, Mich. We have from the pen of Ralph Emerson Twitchell the following:
Samuel Beach Axtell was born in Franklin County, Ohio, October 14, 1819. An ancestor was an officer in the Revolutionary army and his grandfather was a Colonel of a New Jersey regiment during the war of 1812. His father was a farmer. Governor Axtell was a graduate of the Western Reserve College at Oberlin and was admitted to the bar in Ohio. In 1851 he went to California and engaged in gold mining and upon the organization of counties of the state was elected district attorney of Amador County. He removed to San Francisco in 1860, was elected to congress in 1866 and 1868 as a democrat. He changed his political faith at this time and allied himself with the Republican Party of which he was a staunch supporter to the time of his death. In 1874 he was appointed governor of Utah by President Grant and in the following year was transferred to New Mexico, being inaugurated governor July 30, 1875. He was superseded in this position by General Lew Wallace [author of Ben-Hur], appointed by President Hayes in 1878. In 1882 he was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court of New Mexico, assuming the duties of the office in August of that year. In 1885, Grover Cleveland having been elected president, he resigned the office in May of that year. He was a man of high principles, absolutely without fear. On the bench he endeavored at all times to secure what he saw fit to designate as “substantial justice” for all litigants, and judicial precedents which interfered with the main object of trials in his court, or with equity from his standpoint, were ruthlessly cast aside. In 1890 he was elected chairman of the territorial republican committee. He died August 7, 1891, at Morristown, New Jersey. Conditions, methods, and practices obtaining in the courts of New Mexico during Judge Axtell’s incumbency, and the fearless character of this jurist are well exemplified in the relation of incidents occurring in one or two cases tried before him. In a celebrated criminal trial at Las Vegas, although Judge Axtell had been warned that his life would be forfeited if he dared to sit in the case, promptly on time he opened court. On this occasion he compelled the sheriff to search all of the court attendants and the spectators before he allowed the case to proceed. As a result forty-two revolvers were piled on the table, some having been taken from the attorneys in the case. Each man carrying a weapon into the courtroom was fined ten dollars for contempt of court, and no show of resistance was made when the fine was collected. In another case before him the defendant, a poor young man, whose farm was in jeopardy, had no attorney. Seeing that the case was going against the man unless he could obtain legal counsel, Judge Axtell descended from the bench and began conducting the cross-examination with the remark: “It takes thirteen men to steal a poor boy’s farm in New Mexico.” Upon the conclusion of the submission of evidence, he instructed the jury to find a verdict in behalf of the defendant. When the foreman announced a disagreement, the judge discharged the jury, announced a verdict in behalf of the defendant, and told the sheriff never to allow any one of the discharged jurymen to serve again in Miguel County. His wife died in July 1893.3167
• AXTELL, Samuel Beach, a Representative from California; born near Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, October 14, 1819; attended the local schools and Oberlin College; was graduated from Western Reserve College, Hudson, Ohio; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1843 and commenced practice in Mount Clemens, Mich.; went to California in 1851 and engaged in mining in Amador County; prosecuting attorney of Amador County 1854-1860; moved to San Francisco in 1860 and practiced law; elected as a Democrat to the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses (March 4, 1867-March 3, 1871); was not a candidate for renomination in 1870; affiliated with the Republican Party during the administration of President Grant; appointed Governor of Utah Territory in 1874 and subsequently, in 1875, transferred to the office of Governor of the Territory; chief justice of the supreme court of the Territory of New Mexico from August 1882 until his resignation May 25, 1885; engaged in the practice of law in Santa Fe, N. Mex.; at the time of his death was counsel of the Southern Pacific Railroad Co. and chairman of the Republican Territorial committee; died while on a visit to Morristown, Morris County, N.J., August 6, 1891; interment in First Presbyterian Church Cemetery.3166
• US Congressman. Elected to represent California’s 1st District in the United States House of Representatives, he served from 1867 to 1871. He also served as Governor of Utah Territory in 1875, Governor of New Mexico Territory from 1875 to 1878, and as Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court from 1882 to 1885.3172
• Mrs. Adeline Axtell, widow of the late Hon. Samuel B. Axtell, who died about a year ago, departed this life at Richfield, Ohio, July 19th. Samuel B. Axtell was an old-time attorney of Amador county and was elected to the office of District Attorney in 1854, at the first election after the county of Amador was set off from Calaveras. He was re-elected to the office again in 1856. He lived in Jackson till 1864, when he went to San Francisco. Being a natural leader and a politician, in 1867 he received the nomination for Congress from the First District and was elected, defeating T. G. Phelps. In 1868 he was agin elected to Congress, this time defeating Frank M. Pixley.3173
Census
• 1860 Census: Jackson, Amador, California. Age 40, lawyer, $2,000; $1,500, b OH.3174
• 1880 Census: West Richfield, Summit, Ohio. Age 60, b OH. Lawyer. Parents b NJ.3175
• 1885 New Mexico Census: Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Age 64, b OH. Lawyer. Widower. Parents b NJ.3176
• 1880 Census: West Richfield, Summit, Ohio. Age 60, b OH. Lawyer. Parents b NJ.3175
• 1885 New Mexico Census: Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Age 64, b OH. Lawyer. Widower. Parents b NJ.3176
Research
• I was able to trace the line back to Thomas Axtell who was born in England in 1618 and died in Massachusetts in 1646 on that [www.ancestry.com] web site.3177
Marriage20 Sep 1840, Summit County, Ohio3164, date only,3177, place only,3182, date only,3183
Separationbef 18853179, no date given,3176
ChildrenMyron Williams (1842-)
Charles Clifford (1844-1913)
Alice E. Anna (1852-1938)
Wallace (Died as Infant) (1860-1860)