Pioneer history of Ingham County, compiled and arranged by Mrs. Franc L. Adams, secretary of the Ingham County pioneer and historical society.

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PIONEER HISTORY OF INGHAMI COUNTY

Ira Rolfe the first night, then moved into an empty log house
next to their farm.
They had just got in and built a fire when the top logs slid off
and the roof fell in, and Charlotte had a narrow escape from
death. The neighbors rallied and helped repair the house and
had a new roof on in two days.
Several old letters are in possession of the family, and in one
mention is made of a new house to be built. This became a veritable fact the coming summer, and the family moved into it that
fall. The same building is now a part of the house where the succeeding generations of the Chapin family have since lived.
Mr. Chapin was never a strong robust man, and was entirely
unused to manual labor, but his perseverance behind tie pioneer
spirit with which he was endowed enabled him to become a successful home builder.
He loved trees and flowers, and made home a pleasant and comfortable place for his children. IIe was distinguished for his
mental endowments and culture. Was a wide reader, had taught
at times and instructed his children in language and mathematics. He held various offices in the township, also in the Ingham County Pioneer Society, the Ingham County Agricultural
Society, the Farmers' Club, and was for some time secretary of the
Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company of Ingham county. To
Mr. and Mrs. Chapin were born eleven children. He was a
member of the Universalist church, and when he died in 1878
Rev. Stocking, of Lansing, conducted the funeral services.
Charlotte, of whom mention has been made, first married
Carlos Rolfe, and after his death became the second wife of
Henry Hawley, one of Ingham county's most prominent pioneers.
Augusta M. Chapin, mentioned in the pioneer letters given,
gained a name of renown both in this country and in Europe.
She came from New York to Michigan with her parents when a
child, and her recollections of her life in the wilderness are told in
an address she gave before the Ingham County Pioneer Society
and which appears in full in the reports of the annual meetings.
She grew to womanhood in the little hamlet of Eden, Vevay
Township, on the Chapin homestead.
Her death occurred in New York city in 1905, just a few hours
before the time she was to sail for Europe as a conductor for a