William H Callin (abt. 1813 - 1881)

Ancestors Descendants

Biography

William H. Callin (John-2, James "1st"-1) was born on 10 May 1813 in Pennsylvania. (His birth date has also been calculated from his gravestone as 14 Jul 1813.) His son, George, published the original Callin Family History in 1911, and said of William:^[1]

“William Callin was 3 years old when his father moved from Penn. to Ashland, Ohio. He grew to manhood on the old farm. Married and lived there till 1849 when he moved to Huron Co., Ohio; bought and cleared up a new farm. In 1861 he bought and moved his family on to a farm in Wood Co., near Bowling Green.
“He was a perfect specimen of physical manhood, six feet tall, weight 200 pounds; all bone and muscle. Few men equaled him in strength. He followed clearing timber land and was badly crippled with rheumatism in old age.”

William H. Callin and Elizabeth Berlin were married on 29 Sep 1836 in Richland County, Ohio. Elizabeth Berlin, daughter of John Berlin and Anna (or Mary Ann) Baughman, was born on 14 Nov 1817 in Pennsylvania. Her parents relocated to Ohio from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, around 1830; they were living in Vermilion, Ashland County, in 1870, but their full story is not yet known.^[2][3][4]

William was also described in the Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record of Wood County, Ohio published by J.H. Beers in 1895^[5]:

“He was an industrious, hardy, persevering man, possessing great physical strength, but had only a limited knowledge of books. He had a mind of keen perception and sound judgment, and was well fitted for pioneer life.”

Census records seem to confirm the general sequence of events. William was in Richland County, Ohio in 1840; as was related earlier, he traveled to Iowa after his cousin, James, died there, and retrieved his sister, Margaret, and her two boys. William moved his family to Peru Township, Huron County, where he lived near his older brother, George, in 1850 and in Ridgefield, Huron County, in 1860. As mentioned before, these brothers apparently used their farms as stations on the Underground Railroad.^[6][7][8]

In a brief 1973 memoir written by Rosemary Callin, the daughter of George W. Callin who compiled The Callin Family History, she recalled a story told to her by her father. According to Rosemary:

"Father said they were warned not to say nothing at school about it, but their cabin was a station on the Underground Railway. I don't know whether it was William or Elizabeth, probably the latter, who awakened them softly in the middle of the night and led them to the window. The moon flashed out and they saw a white man, maybe William, leading a string of blacks through the clearing around their cabin and into the woods. They were on their way to Great Uncle George's barn. From there he would take them onto the next stop."

After the war, William retired to Plain City, Wood County, Ohio. He died on 9 Dec 1881 at the age of 68 in Bowling Green, Wood, Ohio, and he was buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Bowling Green, Wood County, Ohio.^[9][10][11]

Sources

1. ↑ Callin, George W., The Callin Family History, E.M Hubbard, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1911, pg. 8, 10
2. ↑ 1870 United States Federal Census, Place: Vermillion, Ashland, Ohio; Roll: M593_1169; Page: 849A; FHL Film: 552668.
3. ↑ Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993.
4. ↑ Dallas, George Albert, History of the county of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, L. H. Everts & co., 1882.
5. ↑ Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record of Wood County, Ohio , J.H. Beers, Chicago, 1897, pg 923-924.
6. ↑ 1840 United States Federal Census, Place: Milton, Richland, Ohio; Page: 97.
7. ↑ 1850 United States Federal Census, Place: Peru, Huron, Ohio; Roll: M432_697; Page: 133B; Image: 473.
8. ↑ 1860 United States Federal Census, Place: Ridgefield, Huron, Ohio; Roll: M653_990; Page: 155; FHL Film: 803990.
9. ↑ 1870 United States Federal Census, Place: Plain, Wood, Ohio; Roll: M593_1283; Page: 516A; FHL Film: 552782.
10. ↑ 1880 United States Federal Census, Place: Plain, Wood, Ohio; Roll: 1078; Page: 211D; Enumeration Dist: 098.
11. ↑ U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, Memorial #30710019.