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Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ========================================================================= Formatted by U.S. Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== Portrait and biographical record of Muskegon and Ottawa Counties Biographical Publishing Co., Chicago - 1893 Page 120-122 HON. HIRAM E. STAPLES, to whose enterprise and executive business ability the present prosperity of Whitehall, Muskegon County, Mich., is mainly due, is not only the head of one of the largest lumber-mills of the State, but is also associated with other interests of magnitude and is justly entitled to the appellation of a lumber king. Mr. STAPLES was born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., June 1, 1836, and was the son of Henry and Mary (CONNOR) STAPLES, the parents of six children, of whom our subject was the second in order of birth. One brother and one sister only survive. Joshua, who enlisted in the Fifth Wisconsin Infantry at the breaking out of the Civil War, died in a hospital in Washington, D.C. One after another three sisters have passed away. Jennie is a resident of Whitehall. The father, a native of the Empire State, was born in or near Poughkeepsie, N.Y., in 1811, the paternal grandparents making Poughkeepsie their lifetime home. Grandfather JOSHUA STAPLES was the son of NOAH STAPLES, an Englishman by birth, but a very early resident of America and a patriotic soldier of the Revolutionary War. The STAPLESES, originally settling in New York, were small farmers, men of moderate tastes and means, but were possessed of strength of character, energy and resolution which, bequeathed to our subject, formed his main capital in life during his early manhood. The mother, MARY (CONNOR) STAPLES, was the daughter of THOMAS CONNOR, a native of the United States but of direct English descent. His wife, the maternal grandmother of our subject, was the sister of WILLIAM M. DAYTON, candidate for Vice-President on the ticket with FREMONT. THOMAS CONNOR combined the dual occupations of farmer and contractor, and was a successful and highly respected man. In 1848, the STAPLES family emigrated from New York to Ravenna, Ohio, and in 1851 came to Michigan, locating in Hillsdale, and in 1857 came to Whitehall, then White Lake. Here the father followed farming on a small scale. Both parents are yet living, the father aged eighty- two, and the mother also at an advanced age. The honorable Mr. STAPLES, in common with other farmer lads, assisted upon the home- stead in boyhood and attended the district school. He had entered upon his collegiate course in Albion (Mich.) College when the Civil War broke out, and promptly answering to the call of the Government for "three hundred thousand more," left his books and in the early summer of 1861 enlisted as a private in the Fifth Wisconsin Infantry, he and his brother JOSHUA both offering their service in behalf of national existence. JOSHUA, as before stated, died in the hospital, and our subject also fell a victim to exposures and privations, and was likewise conveyed to the army hospital, from which he was finally sent to his home, being discharged from the army for disability. As soon as he had somewhat recuperated, Mr. STAPLES engaged in the handling of timber lands and lumber. His available means were small, but with his characteristic energy he soon began to accumulate a capital and was ere long enabled to enlarge the scope of his enter- prises. In 1868, he had prospered to such an extent that in company with his brother-in-law, LYMAN COVELL, he bought the present site of their now extensive mills, which, then limited in size, have become the largest manufactories of lumber in the world. Aside from these mills our subject has invested in numerous paying enterprises, own- ing a line of boats, and also being for many years the President of the Log and Boom Company, which does an immense business, one of the largest in the State. Mr. STAPLES assisted in the organization of the First National Bank of Whitehall and was its Vice-President until that financial institution was merged into the State Savings Bank of Whitehall, of which he is Vice-President and a heavy stock- holder. Our subject is also engaged extensively in the manufacture of shingles and is likewise a partner in a large mercantile house. He is a very busy man, and without seeking political honors has had them thrust upon him. For two terms he served ably as Supervisor, was for many years President of the Council, and in 1884 and 1885 was a member of the State Legislature and, associated with important committees, served with rare efficiency and to the great satisfaction of his constituents. In 1864 were united in marriage HIRAM E. STAPLES and Miss REBECCA COVELL, a sister of his business partner and MARK B. and CHARLES E. COVELL, prominent lumbermen of Muskegon County. Four children blessed the union, two of whom died in infancy. The eldest son, DUDLEY E., a graduate of Orchard Lake Military School, is now connected with his father in business. H. EARL, a recent graduate from the Whitehall High School, is a young man of promise and unusual ability. Mr. and Mrs. STAPLES are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which our subject is a liberal supporter. Prominently connected with the Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, Mr. STAPLES assisted in the organi- zation of the lodge at Montague, and also aided to establish the lodge at Whitehall. He was the first master of each lodge, and has held that position in the Whitehall Lodge for the past seven years. He has taken the thirty-second degree of Masonry and is also a member of the shrine. Politically, he is and has been a life-long Republican and is a descen- dant of an old-line and loyal Whig family. Essentially the architect of his own fortune, the Hon. HIRAM E. STAPLES will leave as a most valuable inheritance to his sons the untarnished record of life successful from every point of view, his daily walk being dominated by the sterling integrity and steadfastness of purpose which have over- come obstacles and won him a position of honor and influence among the leading men of Michigan. ==========================================================================