My Genealogy Hound

JOEL LAYMAN, a prominent citizen and enterprising general agriculturist, residing upon section 12, Berrien Township, Berrien County, Mich., has made his upward way in life entirely through his energetic efforts and self-reliant industry, and is an example of the success attainable by a man of good habits and good judgment, who, with earnest resolution, meets difficulties courageously and patiently overcomes obstacles. Our subject was born September 4, 1824, in Franklin County, Va., in a little log cabin about ten feet square. His father, Daniel Layman, also a native of the same State and county, and born in 1797, was by trade a blacksmith and also tilled the soil of the Old Dominion. The paternal grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and fought with courage. The mother, Rhoda (Lumsden) Layman, also a native of Franklin County, Va., born in 1803, was the daughter of Dudley and Sarah (Chitwood) Lumsden, her parents being of English descent. The Laymans were of German ancestry, hard-working and honest people. The father and mother, reared and married in their native place, spent some time after in Virginia, and in 1837 journeyed to Cass County, Mich., settling in Pokagon, where they remained upon a rented farm until 1841, at which time they settled in Berrien Township upon section 11.

The eighty-acre tract upon which the parents made their home was heavily timbered and in the wilderness. Living in a little log house, the mother and children did what they could to assist the father, who cleared the land with steady swinging blows of his sturdy axe, and meantime engaged in his trade, thus supplying his wife and little ones with the necessaries of life. Gradually, from poverty the father made his way upward. He took an active part in all matters of mutual welfare, and politically he was a Democrat. Their home was blessed with the presence of eleven children, of whom the eldest was our subject, Joel; then followed Giles, Esau, Martha, Susan Dickson, Elizabeth Strong and John, all surviving. Four died in early youth. The father died in 1880, and the mother in 1882.

Joel Layman received only five terms of schooling, and is, mainly through habits of observation and reading, self-educated. At twenty-one years of age, having previously worked upon his father’s farm, our subject began life for himself by clearing land, and through the closest economy managed to finally buy eighty acres of wild land upon section 10, where A. J. Easton now resides, and to which purchase Mr. Layman added another forty acres.

In 1849, our subject was united in marriage with Miss Ellen Jenkins, a daughter of James and Letitia (Mars) Jenkins, both natives of Fayette County, Va., where the father was born in 1800, the mother in 1802. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins were wedded in Virginia, and remained in their early home until 1832, when they settled upon section 23, Berrien Township, Berrien County, Mich., making a permanent home far from the scenes of their youth. The mother died in 1869; the father survived until 1875. Of their nine children, four are living: Mrs. Layman, John, Lewis and William. Early a Whig, the father was later a Democrat. The estimable wife of our subject, born May 4, 1830, in Fayette County, W. Va., was an infant when she came to Michigan, and received her education m the little log house of the district. Mr. and Mrs. Layman have three children. Henry F., born in 1851, married Mary Flewallan, has four children and resides on section 23; Irene, born in 1850, and the wife of Edgar Blanchard, is the mother of one son and lives in Cass County; Lydia A., born in 1860, the wife of Albert S. Ricketts, makes her home on the old farm. After clearing and improving forty acres of the Easton farm, Mr. Layman, in March, 1854, removed to his present homestead, then all wild land, heavily timbered. He at once built a frame shanty, and gradually transformed the acres into the highly cultivated farm of to-day. He began life with an axe as his stock in trade; his wife owned little more than her thimble, but the two partners in joy and sorrow have made a success of their matrimonial venture, and are now enjoying a competence.

The homestead contains two hundred and forty-two acres of land, all under cultivation except thirty acres of timber. Possessing a natural gift in handling tools, Mr. Layman is an expert mechanic, and in 1856 built a commodious barn, and in 1860 erected a comfortable residence. The children received a good education, and the youngest has taught school. Our subject and his excellent wife have for many years been active members of the Christian Church. Mr. Layman, as an officer of the School Board for a long period, materially assisted in the advancement of the schools of the district. Politically, he is a Democrat and a prominent man of the local party, but has no desire for office. Elected Supervisor and Justice of the Peace, he in both instances resigned. He has, however, served with great acceptability as Constable. In 1871, Mr. Layman met with a terrible accident. His team ran away, and, throwing him out, he struck with great force against a fence and fractured his skull, broke his left jaw and injured his ear. It was a long time before he even partially recovered. Mr. Layman now rents his land, and, having retired from active labor, enjoys the fruits of a well-spent life and the pleasant society of his family and a large circle of old friends, tried and true.