Benoni Wing

DAR ancestor A128554

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• The "Old Northwest" genealogical quarterly (1898)
• https://archive.org/details/oldnorthwestgen00socigoog
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• LUCIUS BLISS WING.
• By Samuel Carroll Derby, A. M.
• Professor of Latin, Ohio State University ; Historian of The " Old Northwest " Genealogical Society.
• Lucius Bliss Wing, a member of the "Old Northwest" Genealogical Society, was born at Wilmington, Vermont, November 15th, 1822, and died at Newark, Ohio, February 1st, 1902. He was a descendant, in the sixth generation, from John1 Wing, whose arrival in America, June 5, 1632, is thus noted by Governor Winthrop in his journal: "Arrived, the William Francis, Mr. Thomas, master ; which left London on the 9th of March, and reached this port [Boston] after a voyage of eighty-eight days, with about sixty passengers, whereof were Mr. Welde and old Mr. Batchelder, being aged 71, with their families, and many other honest men."
• John1 Wing, with his mother, Deborah Wing, and his three brothers appear to have been considered as a part of the family of "old Mr. Batchelder," his grandfather, and a non-conforming clergyman, whose religious opinions, it was more than intimated not long after his arrival in New England, were " very much tainted with Antinomian and Familistical errors." This accusation came from a theological opponent, but it may be admitted that a disposition to think for themselves in matters of religion is readily discoverable in the descendants of Mr. Batchelder's daughter, Deborah Wing ; several of these soon became Quakers. Recent genealogical researches have made it clear that Deborah (Batchelder) Wing was the widow of the Rev. John Wing, third son of Matthew Wing, and grandson of Godfried Wing (Wynge), a well-kown Protestant refugee from Belgium, who after a life spent at various places in England and on the continent, became, in 1563, minister of the Dutch Church in London, where he died September 30, 1599. His grandson, John Wing, admitted B. A. at Oxford, February 16, 1603, became pastor of the church at Sandwich in England, to which his grandfather, also, had preached. Later, the Rev. John Wing served as pastor of various
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• churches in Holland, but died at St. Mary Aldermary, London, about 1630. He was married in 1610 to Deborah Batchelder, born 1592, and had at least five children ; Deborah born 1611, and married previous to her father's death, Daniel, Matthew, Stephen, born 1621, and John1 who was born 1613.
• June 22, 1624, a license "to pass beyond seas" was granted to "Debora Wynge, 32 years old, wife of Mr. John Wynge preacher resident of Flushing." This town is in the province of Zealand, Holland.
• Mr. Batchelder, the father of Deborah Wing, became a prominent and sharply criticised personage in the early history of the colony of New Hampshire and, after a troublous life, died in his 100th year. The date of the death of Deborah Wing has not been ascertained. After a short sojourn at Saugus (Lynn, Mass.), she, with her sons, John, Daniel, Matthew and Stephen, removed to Sandwich, Mass. In this town, probably named for the English seaport where the Wings, Godfried and John had been pastors — or in its vicinity — the first three generations of their American descendants lived and died. Their chief occupation was that of tilling the soil, and such, also, was the employment of the grandfather and father of the subject of this sketch, who thus inherited his interest in agriculture from five consecutive generations of New England farmers.
• John1 Wing, the emigrant ancestor, married about 1646, Elizabeth ___ , and had seven or eight children. His second wife was Miriam Deane. John1 died in Harwich, Mass., in his 84th year.
• Ananias2 Wing, born 1651, married Hannah Freeman, was a soldier under Capt. John Gorham in the "Narragansett War," and died in 1718, fifteen years before Massachusetts made a tardy grant of lands in its border settlements to the survivors of "King Philip's War," or to their legal representatives.
• John3 Wing, born in 1702, married, 1728, Mary Knowles ; served against the French, probably in the siege of Louisburg, and died about 1773.
• John4 Wing, born May 8, 1732 ; removed about 1767 to Conway, Berkshire Co., Mass., where he died, 1822, aged 98 years. He was thrice married and had eighteen children born to him. His unusual physical strength and health continued to the end of his life.
• John4 Wing's fifth son, Bani5, born August 10, 1763, married, first, 1788, Lucy Clary, and, second, 1821,Thirza (Flint) Upton, widow of Joseph Upton. Lucius6 B. Wing was the only child of the second marriage. The household of John4 Wing was patriotic ; three of the sons were already in the American army and one of them had been at Bunker Hill, when Bani5 enlisted at the age of 16. His service was on the Hudson near West Point. He was attached to the body of troops by whom Andre was captured, and witnessed the execution of that
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• unfortunate officer, October 8, 1780. In his last years Bani Wing drew a small pension, under tne federal law of 1832. After his return from the army he remained in Conway until 1795 when, with his young family, he went northward to Wilmington, Vermont, and there established a home in the wilderness. Of the life and farm at Wilmington his son has left a brief sketch : "It was on the banks of the Deerfield river ; the hills stretched away for miles ; on the summit of one stood the Congregational church, a large and substantial edifice to which the entire family for many years made at least weekly pilgrimages. Month by month and year by year the home made progress ; gradually the timber was cut away, the wild choke-cherry thickets disappeared, and sweet mountain grasses yielded their abundance. In winter this family foddered their cattle on the snow and in the sheltered glades, and diligently cultivated the three R's. In springtime they made maple sugar and famous Vermont butter, built stone walls and cleared a patch or two for rye, getting ready in that way to send the oldest boy to college, and failing to do this for all, to send the others to western New York or the far-off regions of Ohio and Michigan, where they could put in practice the lessons they had learned in thrift, frugality and self-reliance."
• In 1837 the aged parents returned to Charlemont. Mass., and spent there the remnant of their days. Bani Wing and his wife were for fifty years members of the same church, and after his name and age on the headstone in the old graveyard at Charlemont are added these words : "He was a soldier of the Revolution, and a soldier of the Cross." He had been an early and steadfast opponent of intemperance and slavery. Of his ten children five sons have died in Ohio, and four of them at death were more than eighty years of age. The mother of the subject of this sketch died at the age of 96. To the end of her long life "she was blessed with the continued use of her sight, hearing and judgment — all her mental faculties"; "her presence was a continual benediction."
• Such were the forbears of Mr. Wing, and in them he felt a genuine satisfaction, and on one occasion thus expressed his affection for the sturdy father and mother: "Inasmuch as man does not choose his parents, or the place of his nativity, I do not consider that either is the subject of glory or shame. Still if I could have chosen mine, I am sure I would not have selected any other."
• He felt especial gratitude, also, to his oldest brother, to whom he was closely drawn in his early years. Mr. Wing's education, in the broader sense of the word, was derived chiefly from the circumstances and duties of the simple, hardy life in which he was reared. The backwoods farm at Wilmington, and later the hill farm in Charlemont, taught the country boy industry, thrift and foresight, made health and wholesome pleasures the rule of life, and gave their nurseling a strong body, an open
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• mind, a hopeful and cheerful temper. To this excellent outfit he added "a little learning," gained from the district schools of Wilmington and Charlemont, and supplemented by a few months' study first in the neighboring academy at Ashfield and, in 1844, at Williston Seminary, Easthampton, Mass., where he was enrolled in the English course. For a time he taught school in Franklin Co., Mass., at Heath and Charlemont ; the last year in which he taught was 1849. At least two years previous to that he had followed his older brothers west. Two of them had spent some years at the New England colony of Marietta; another, Stalham Wing, had become a forwarding and commission merchant in Toledo, Ohio, and in Michigan towns near Toledo. For him Mr. Wing, as clerk and manager, took charge of the steamboat DeWitt Clinton, which made weekly trips between Buffalo and Toledo, carrying both freight and passengers. This business was followed in summer, from 1847 to 1853. By that date the railway system had become so fully developed that for rapid communication it had superseded the steamboat line between Buffalo and Toledo. In winter Mr Wing taught school or was a clerk in some business.
• In December, 1853, Mr. Wing removed to Newark, Ohio, where his brother Rufus had resided since 1825, and began to buy and ship live stock and flour to the cities of Pittsburg, Baltimore and New York. Two or three years later he purchased about 1,500 acres of government land in Piatt Co., Ill., "when land there was plenty and almost as cheap as water, and it seemed problematical whether it would ever be worth any more." This tract, improved and beautified until it became valuable, he kept as stock farms for many years. Upon a part of it now stands the village of Bement, whose well-shaded streets are largely due to Mr. Wing's advice and example, which in various ways were helpful in making the village more healthful and attractive.
• In 1860 he became a member of the firm of Robbins, Wing & Warner, bankers, at Newark, Ohio, and remained such through his life. In the early days of the Civil War Mr. Wing was urged to take the position of quartermaster, but decided not to accept it. He went South as a, buyer of cotton and was captured, December 20, 1862, at Holly Springs, Miss., by Gen. Van Dorn, but through his shrewd sense and good humor was released without much loss of time or property. His account of his experience as a prisoner was published in the St. Louis Globe, For the next decade and more, Mr. Wing was busy extending his various enterprises in Newark and Illinois, becoming known to the citizens of his neighborhood and state as a man of sound judgment, high principle and helpful aims.
• Since his political faith was at variance with that of a majority of the voters of the county in which he resided, his civic services were seldom made use of. In 1885 he lacked a few votes of being elected state senator. In 1875 he was
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• elected a member of the State Board of Agriculture and held this position for five years, and was once chosen president of that body. The origin and success of the Ohio system of Farmers' Institutes are due in great measure to his support and foresight. A large landowner in Illinois, Kansas and Iowa, Mr. Wing's interest in agriculture and in the many problems of the country life was intense. His appointment as trustee of the Ohio State University, in 1881, was a natural result of his service upon the State Board of Agriculture and success as a man of affairs, who was closely connected with the agricultural interests of Ohio, and, at the same time, was known to be a cordial co-worker in various movements for the benefit of his fellows, Mr. Wing's official relation to the university was fortunate to it and very gratifying to him. He was enabled by two reappointments to give to an institution peculiarly dear to him unstinted service for almost twenty-one years ; for more than fourteen years he was chairman of its executive committee, a member of the farm committee for the entire period of his trusteeship, and was twice elected to the presidency of the Board of Trustees. The following passage from one of his addresses before the university reveals much of his desire to further the rural life and farming interests of Ohio, and gives a glimpse of the sentiment which, known only to his intimate friends, was really a characteristic feature of his inner life :
• "I know a rugged New England farm [in Reading, Mass.],. which for 240 years has been in the continuous ownership and possession of one family. It is to-day owned and occupied by a lineal descendant of the old patriarch who took the first deed to it in 1654. Eight generations lie buried in the village grave-yard, an hour's ride or so from old Andover, their life-duties so well discharged that it matters little whether the new theology of Andover is true or false. For eight generations the old hive has regularly swarmed and the colonies it has sent out are established in every state from Maine to Oregon. But a stalwart and dutiful son has always been found in each generation to remain and hold the homestead. One hundred years after this farm was first settled, the fourth in descent was killed in the French and Indian war in a fight on the waters of the upper Connecticut (1754). Twenty-four years after that his son and successor was in the war of the Revolution, in the service of him whose birth and memory we commemorate today (February 22, 1887). This old homestead is the Mecca toward which, in later years, the steps of many a wanderer is annually turned. People from distant states, whose names appear in the genealogical register, whether of near or distant kinship, meet there and make new friendships or renew old ones. They provoke each other to good works, one by planting a memorial tree, another by placing a stone watering place upon the public road, into which the spring is turned ; another by some repairs upon the old gambrel-roof house, which, like
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• a grandfather in his corner, still occupies a place upon the lawn, and still another by some bit of farm improvement. So they pass the summer days, and renew their allegiance to their Pilgrim ancestors and the faith of their fathers. When at length they separate, and each takes his departure, one to his farm and another to his merchandise, the old elm, planted nobody knows in what generation, lifts up its arms and seems to say, 'Bless you, my children.' "
• In the same address Mr. Wing made an earnest appeal "that the wooded hills, the fertile valleys, the springs and water courses of our good state might be more fully occupied, improved and appreciated as homesteads." Such passages clearly reveal his love of the country life, with its memories and associations, and that vein of tender sentiment, hidden from most but always cherished, which prompted and sustained his increasing efforts to lift and strengthen the rural interests of his adopted state.
• As trustee Mr. Wing "took an active and appreciative interest in everything connected with the university. He sought to know personally every member of the faculty and every employee." His attention extended to all the forms and features of university life, its societies and clubs, its sports, publications and amusements ; to the crops of the farm and its live stock, to the trees and shrubs of the campus. He watched with intelligent interest the erection of the various buildings, and to no one more than to him was due the costly and successful effort to restore the copious spring which adds so attractive a feature to the university grounds. Not a ready speaker, Mr. Wing was an excellent listener, and with a humorous illustration or an apt anecdote not infrequently closed a discussion in the Board of Trustees. While he stood strongly for the up-building of the branches which form the foundation of agriculture and the mechanic arts, he was broad enough to see that other subjects had a legitimate place in the university, and favored the establishment there of the School of Law. To the service of the university he brought strong common sense, shrewd judgment, tact, a kindly spirit and the crowning grace of unselfishness. In the words of one who knew him intimately while a trustee : "It is the deliberate judgment of his associates, and of others having opportunity to form a correct opinion, that no trustee of the university has rendered more faithful or valuable service than Lucius B. Wing."
• Neither approaching old age nor the insidious working of an incurable malady prevented him from performing his duty as trustee with patient fortitude. It was a characteristic act that one of the last letters he wrote was to serve the institution which he had loved so deeply and so long. He counted it one of the great privileges of his life that he had been able to render effective aid in creating a potent and perpetual instrumentality for the promotion of human welfare.
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• In the memorial resolutions passed by his colleagues occur these words : "In the deliberations of the Board he was never unduly aggressive, and while firm in his own opinions, he always respected the opinions of others, He was fair and impartial in his judgments, and at all times open to new facts or arguments. He was a model trustee. In his personal relations towards his associates he was always cordial and friendly. He inspired a respect and confidence which deepened into warm personal attachment. Our sense of the loss that the university sustains in his death is mingled with a keen sense of personal bereavement."
• The members of the faculty of the university felt no less regret, and nearly all attended the funeral services at Newark.
• In politics Mr. Wing was a Republican of positive convictions and enjoyed the confidence of his fellow-citizens of the same political faith, without losing the respect of his political opponents. In 1896 he was one of the presidential electors of Ohio.
• A few years after his removal to Newark, Mr. Wing began to attend the services of the Episcopal Church there, and, though never a member, served for many years as one of its vestrymen. He was a member of the Masonic order and of the Sons of the American Revolution.
• Mr. Wing was married, May 31, 1855, to Mary M., daughter of Capt. George and Armenia (Lazelle) Mayhew, of Charlemont, Mass., a lineal descendant from Thomas Mayhew, a merchant, born at Southampton, Eng., 1592, who emigrated in 1631 to New England, and after taking a prominent part in the public life of Watertown, Mass., became in 1641 the patentee and first governor of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and the Elizabeth Isles, There his conduct, uniting wisdom, kindness and firmness, enabled both English and Indians to enjoy through King Philip's War "a perfect calm of peace." Later generations of this family were noted for missionary zeal and philanthropic service. Mrs. Wing survives her husband, as do also their two children, Charles Mayhew Wing and Mrs. Mary LaSalle Shield, both of Columbus, Ohio ; another daughter, Julia Mayhew, died in infancy.
• In his family life and relations Mr. Wing was exceptionally fortunate and happy. He was a devoted husband, a most tender and affectionate father, and his home life was almost ideal in its cheerful, gracious conditions. Those who knew him lament in his death the loss of a genial companion, an excellent citizen, a sincere friend, an upright and noble man ; integer vitae scelerisque purus. __________________________