My Genealogy Hound

Darwin D. Hadley, who is one of the best known residents of Rose township, Oakland County, is engaged in general agricultural pursuits on his farm of 120 acres located in section 10. He was born in Groveland township, Oakland County, Michigan, February 23, 1848, and is a son of Thomas and Martha A. (Stone) Hadley, and grandson of John Hadley.

John Hadley, who was a native of Northumberland, England, came to America with his family about 1818, and first settled in the State of New York. He afterward removed to Groveland township, Oakland County, Michigan, where he was engaged in farming for many years, finally retiring and moving to Holly village, where he died. He had 11 children, all of whom are now deceased, with the exception of the two daughters; the names are as follows: John; Joseph; Thomas; James; William; Charles; Mary Jane (Stone), of Chase, Michigan; Marjorie (McFarlane), of Grand Blanc, Genesee County, Michigan; David; and two sons that died when infants.

Thomas Hadley was born in Northumberland, England, March 12, 1815, and accompanied his parents to this country when a boy of three years. He lived with his parents in New York State until they removed to Michigan, and after he came here he was married to Martha A. Stone, who was born in Massachusetts, later removed to New York, and then settled in Michigan. Thomas Hadley owned the farm in Groveland township where the subject of this sketch was born. In 1857 he moved to Holly village and there engaged in mercantile business for several years. Later, he was president for several years of the Merchant’s National Bank of Holly, which is now known as the First State & Savings Bank. He had one son, Darwin D., the subject of this sketch, and two daughters: Celia M., deceased, who was the wife of James B. Starker, of Holly; and Jessie M. (Dickinson), who formerly lived in Detroit but is now a resident of San Diego, California. Thomas Hadley died December 7, 1891, in Greeley, Colorado, and was interred in Lakeside Cemetery, Holly. His wife resides at San Diego, California, with her daughter, Mrs. Dickinson.

Darwin D. Hadley was reared in Groveland and Holly townships, where he secured the groundwork of an education in the district schools, later pursuing a business course in a college that was then located at Flint, Michigan. From the time he was 15 years of age for some 10 or 12 years he assisted his father in the latter’ s store in Holly. Our subject then turned his attention to farming, and purchased his present farm in Rose township in March, 1877. He has made all the fine improvements on the farm, has a large house, commodious barns, and numerous well planned outbuildings. In the pursuit of his calling he has made a decided success, and is looked upon as a shrewd and careful business man.

Mr. Hadley was married to Sara Elizabeth Joslin, who was born in Holly township, Oakland County, Michigan, and is a daughter of Americ and Margaret Jane (Van Allen) Joslin. Mr. and Mrs. Hadley have three children: Clyde Erie; Zaidee Madge; and Thomas Roy. Clyde Erie, who was born February 28, 1872, is a railway mail clerk and now resides in Pontiac. He was married to Emma Honor Lamb, and has two children: Darwin Lambert and Thomas Erie. Zaidee Madge, who was born October 25, 1875, in Holly village, lives in Flint, Michigan, where she is employed as a stenographer. Thomas Roy, who was born in Rose township, Oakland County, September 7, 1878, is in the jewelry business and lives in Clinton, Indiana.

Mr. Hadley has always uniformly voted and acted with the Republican party, although not a seeker for nor a holder of office. The family are members of the Presbyterian Church. In Masonic circles, Mr. Hadley stands very high. He is a member of Holly Lodge, F. & A. M.; Chapter, R. A. M.; Council, R. & S. M.: Genesee Valley Commandery, No. 15, K. T.; Moslem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Detroit; and is a 32nd degree Mason of Michigan Sovereign Consistory of Detroit. He is also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, as are Mrs. Hadley and all the children. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hadley are members of the Grange and the Washington Club.