HUBBARD, Harriet Marie b. 12 Feb 1824 Middletown, Conneticut d. 30 Jul 1913 Buffalo, WY: Spangs in the United States

1824 - 1913 (89 years)

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Name	HUBBARD, Harriet Marie
Born	12 Feb 1824	Middletown, Conneticut
Gender	Female
Died	30 Jul 1913	Buffalo, WY
Buried	Willow Grove Cemetary, Buffalo, wy
Person ID	I371	Connecticut Spangs
Last Modified	23 Jun 2015

Father	HUBBARD, Abijah, b. 05 Feb 1780, Middletown, middlesex, Conneticut , d. 25 May 1854 (Age 74 years)
Relationship	Natural
Mother	BROWN, Hannah, b. 09 Feb 1791, d. 15 Mar 1825 (Age 34 years)
Relationship	Natural
Married	07 May 1815
Family ID	F161	Group Sheet

Family SPANG, Peter, b. 06 Nov 1826, Rheimlingen, Alsace, Lorraine, France , d. 30 Apr 1896, Buffalo, WY (Age 69 years)

Married 09 Jan 1847 Christs Church, New Haven, Conneticut [1]

Notes

January 20, 1847 - The Constitution

MARRIAGES
In New Haven on the 9th inst. Mr. Peter Spang to Miss Harriet Hubbard.

Children

	1. SPANG, Nicholas Winslow, b. 16 Oct 1847, New Haven, Connecticut, USA , d. 27 Aug 1848, New Haven, Connecticut, USA (Age 0 years)
	2. SPANG, Wilfred Frances, b. 20 Jan 1849, New Haven, Connecticut, USA , d. 19 Nov 1930, New Haven, Connecticut, USA (Age 81 years)
	3. SPANG, Regina Susanna, b. 08 Jan 1851, New Haven, Connecticut, USA , d. Dec 1942, New Haven, Connecticut, USA (Age 91 years)
	4. SPANG, Alban Dumont, b. 29 May 1855, San Francisco, CA , d. 07 Jan 1937, Lame Deer, Rosebud County, Montana (Age 81 years)
	5. SPANG, Harriet Rosetta, b. 03 Feb 1857, Colusa, California , d. 31 Jan 1949 (Age 91 years)
	6. SPANG, Maria Imogene, b. 28 Feb 1858, Colusa, California , d. 14 Oct 1937, Milford, UT (Age 79 years)
	7. SPANG, Bernadine Delmonica, b. 15 Feb 1861, Colusa, California , d. 28 Mar 1913 (Age 52 years)
	8. SPANG, Mary Jane, b. 04 Nov 1865, New Haven, Connecticut, USA , d. 08 Sep 1949, Duarte, California (Age 83 years)

Last Modified 23 Jun 2015

Family ID F95 Group Sheet

Notes

He sailed around the horn to California on a merchant ship between 1851/1855 , settled in Sonora Ca to mine for gold. Then, in 1852 he sent for her and their children and they crossed the Isthmus of Panama, when it was a journey on mule-back, where she contracted panama fever, and was shipwrecked before finally meeting him in Sonora.
She opened a boarding house and they lived there and made more money on the boarding house than the mining. They had 4 more children in California.

In 62/63 went back to New Haven, Conn richer and wiser, where they had one more child. From there, they lived in Iowa for five years before coming to Wyoming.

The Bulletin, Buffalo, Wyo, July 30, 1913 or August 7,1913:

DEATH OF MRS. HARRIET M. SPANG

In the event of the death of the above named lady, mention of which was made in last week's paper, Buffalo loses its oldest and best known inhabitant, as the passing of Grandma Spang marks an epoch in the history of this country from the standpoint of one who has been a citizen of this community for nearly thirty years, during which time she has administered to the wants of those whose services required her attention and counsel, and they were many. Harriet Maria Hubbard was born in Middletown, Conn., on the 12th day of February 1824, and was united to Peter Spang at New Haven in the same state on the 9th day of January 1847. Of this union eight children were born, six of whom are now living, viz., Wilfred Spang and Mrs. Chas. Dogue, of New Haven, Conn.; Alvin Spang of Lame Deer, Mont; Harriet Spang Spencer of Bemidji, Minn.; Mrs. O.H. Flagg, of Lander and Mrs. Mary J. Mead of Buffalo. She has one sister, Mrs. Hannah E. Stillson of New Haven, who is over ninety-three years of age, besides over one hundred grandchildren and great grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. Mr. and Mrs. Spang crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1852 when it was a journey on mule back, with two children, going to California, and returned thirteen years later with seven children, going to New Haven, where they lived for quite a long time, coming to Iowa and living there for five years, moving to Johnson county in 1883, living here ever since. Her husband died in Buffalo April 30, 1896 and since that time she had lived with her daughter Mrs. Mead, where she has passed her declining years in peace. She had a kindly feeling for all, and the children delighted to tell of their fondness for Grandma Spang as she was known to the majority of Buffalo and Johnson county citizens. Her spiritual belief was of the spiritualistic faith, and the services were conducted, according to her wishes and those of her relatives, in the ritual of that religion. Many beautiful floral offerings were placed upon the casket of the deceased in commemoration of the numerous acts of kindness which she had performed in smoothing out the roughness of life for those she loved. The body was borne to its last resting place. Willow Grove cemetery, from her residence Friday afternoon, followed by her many friends and relatives in this part of the country, all of whom mourn her demise.

SPANG HISTORY- Memories from friends and relatives.

"Listen my children and you will hear, the story of a courageous little
lady pioneer." This little lady was born in a town in Connecticut called
Middleton, She was born on February 12, 1824, and was named Harriet Mariah
Hubbard. Her father was Abijah Hubbard, the son of Captain Caleb Hubbard,
Jr. Caleb Hubbard, Sr. founded the town of Middleton through a land grant
from England. Captain CalebJr. served in the American Revolution to free
America frorn England's rule.
Harriet grew up in Middleton and New Haven, Connecticut. She was an only
child, and led a rather sheltered life. She had a good education and was a
modest, quiet, religious person. Like all New Englanders, she was a very
staunch and hardy person. She learned to sew and make all her own clothes,
and she learned to be self-sufficient. She could churn butter, bake bread and
do all the domestic things that a woman did i n those days. She only grew to
be five feet tall , but after she had married a man who was six feet tall , he
soon found out that'when it came to courage and fortitude, she was ten feet
tall.
When Harriet was twenty-three ymrs old, she met a Frenchman and the
following year she married him. His name was Pierre (Peter) Spang. Peter was
two years younger than Harriet, but because of his size he seemed older. He
was born and raised in Moselle (now Remeling), France. He was ral'sed to be a
farmer:aid .r;iigrateb to Canada and then eventually to New Haven','.-Cqpnecticut
where .hG'-wdnted to find a farm. Pierre found Harriet Instead and went Lo work
i n _ tng shipyards. After they were married they decided to go to the Florida
Everglades d i t h a group of Acadians from Canada. This group became known as
Cajuns when they rmrried the Indian natives of Florida. This venture did not
work out too well since they found the land they had expected to homestedd to
be nothing but s i m p land. Somehow, they managed to get back to New Haven,
but Peter could not find work and the dream of having a farm i n New England
seemed to fdde away. He went back to work at the shipyards.
Meanwhile gold had been discovered i n California. A t Harriet's urging,
Peter decided to seek h i s fortune i n California. He got a job on a' sailing
skip that was going to California, and sailed down around the Horn of South
knerica finally landing i n San Francisco. From there he went to Sonora where
the gold [nines were. He soon found out he was no miner, but he did stake a
clainl on a couple acres of Idnd. He decided he had better do what he knew how
t o do, so he started a l i t t l e farm on this land and sold his produce t m
miners.
idhen Peter left dew Haven, he and his wife had had two children, but one
of them had died when he was a year old. Also, when Peter left, they d i d n ' t
kriow that Harriet was pregnant. ' In 1851 they had a baby girl. The other.
child was a three year old boy.
Sy 1832 Peter had rnade enough money to send back to dew Haven for his wife
and cnildren to book passage on a ship for California. So Harriet boarded ti12
ship w i t h her two cnildren, but the s h i p only sailed to the Istimus of
Pandna. There was no canal on the Isthmus at that time, so the passengers had
to cross the Istnmus on a rtiule, Harriet carrying the baby, who was about a
year old by then. I t was a hot journey, and the area was infested with
mosquitoes. But Harriet was strong, and she and the children made it to the
West Coast i n pretty good shape. There she boarded another ship and sailed on
to San Francisco.
~l though she was of s ~ a l lst ature, and had led a rather she1 tered
childhood, she survived this ordeal and sailed into San Francisco Bay as happy
and excited as any hardy 01 d go1 d miner. Can you imagine how difficult that
would have been t o come all the bay from New Haven, alone w i t h her children.
San Francisco was a city of tents and not many houses. There MS one
hotel where they stayed overnight. The next day they got on a wagon and drove
on t o Sonora. Peter had built a small house for them. You would have thougilt
he hdd b u i l t a mansion for her, because when they arrived, Harriet stood up
and sirrveyed the nouse and farm dnd the countryside. She sdid, " ~ n , Pster,
t h i s is glorious! Do you know what I am going to do? I am going to start a
bodrdi ng house for t h e n~iners. You can take care of tne garden and the cow,
and we will get some chickens and 1'11 take care of thm. I' 11 cnurn our own
butter dnd bake bread."
I t a l l turned out to be a good venture for thew. k o i t a l l tlley hdd to
buy was flour for her to make bread and grain for the dni~nals and chickens.
They learned how to rob the nives of the wild bees for honey so they d i d n ' t
have to buy sugar. The miners didn't care too much for fancy desserts--they
would rati~erg o to the saloon and drink their dessert.
Harriet became a real pioneer. There were no schools so she began to
teach her children how to read and b i t e a t a very early age. By 18151 they
had six children, so you see they had been very busy!
14y grand~iother,~ ariah~moyenSep ang, was born i n Sonora, t h e 28th of
February i n 1858. When sne was born she was so tiny that Peter took one look
a t her and said, "Oh, look a t my l i t t l e fairy." So a l l her l i f e she was
called "Fairy." So this was my "Fairy grandmother."
Peter wis a tall', handsome, healthy wan. BuC he did not have the stamina
and driving ambition of tlarriet. In 1862 he told Harriet that he was tired of
this 1 ife and wanted t o go back East. He had hetird that h i s father had died
i n France, and he hoped that his father had left him the fam. When he got
there, he learned that his mother had sold the farm and remarried, so he lost
his inheritance. If it had been up t o Harriet, they would have lived i n
Cal ifornia for the rest of their 1i ves. But she urged -him to yo, saying she
was not ready yet. Besides, they did not have enough money for passage on the
ship for the entire family. She urged him to go and get a job on tne ship and
work his way back home. She safd she would stay and sell the farm and
boarding house, and sdve up unti 1 they could dl 1 afford to go back East.
How could he have gone and l e f t that sweet l i t t l e courageous wonan with
six children? The oldest was a boy of 13, and the youngest was a one-ymr-old
boy. But go he did!
Again, Harriet survived. I t took two years for iier to get everything
settled and enough money t o get them all back East. I t never occurred to her
to yet a divorce. She was a devout Cathol ic, and no r~latter what happened, you .
endured. In 1864 she and the children boarded a ship and sailed around South
America for dew Haven. .There was an epidemic of yellow fever on the ship, and
poor HarPiet got the fever. People were being buried a t sea all around her.
t4y yrancbiiother, Fairy, was six years old a t the tine. She told ue how
frightened she and all the other children were.. They thought they would lose
their mother. But again, Harriet was not ready to go yet, so she survived
this ordeal, too. She was determined to get her family all back together once
again. I am sure that God was watcning over her and her family.
I don't remember how long it took for thsis trip, but they must have
arrived before the yedr ms over, because in November of 1865 Harr-iet had
another child, a girl named Mary Jane Spang, born i n New Haven, Connecticut.
T h i s was her l a s t child.
Jennie Lee Gibby (Granddaughter) (about 1985)

Aug 25. 1979 - I remember Grandma Spang (Harriet Maria Hubbard Spang) very well, a dear kind person. She always raised a beautiful garden and no weeds. She always wore her little black lace cap. She pieced many quilts and I have one of them. Never threw away anything an inch square.

Helena Cash McMeese (granddaughter)

May 2, 1981 - I have the correct history of great grandfather Peter Spangs gold rush trip, It was give to me by great-grandma Spang personally and I wrote it down as she related the story. He came to California by way of the Horn and had a very rough voyage, then later grandma followed him with three children, Nicholas, Winslow, and Regina. She took grandpas advice and came by way of the Panama, first half of trip by train and second half by mule back. She contracted Panama fever and was very ill when she boarded the ship to come to San Francisco. The ship she was on became wrecked and all passengers were transferred to another ship. In spite of all the hazards she and all her children arrived safely. There lives were not easy, grandpa worked all the daylight hours panning for gold. She cooked and washed clothes for miners. He mined at China Town in Sonara, Calif. And other areas where gold was being discovered. You will note from your record that Wilford, Nicholas and Regina all born before 1852, where grandpa came to California and grandma followed in 1853. You will see the vacacharnt dates between 1951 and 1955 when Alban was born. (Editor Note: Should be 1851 and 1855.)

I do have a copy of great grandma with a cat on her shoulder taken within the year she passed away. I adored her, she was my friend, counciled and talked to me whenever I visited her. I was heart broken when she passed away. I cried even more when my mother died as I was ill with pneumonia at the time and on the verge of death mhself so all the grief hit me after I recovered. That December was one of the coldest in history in Wyoming.

Mamie Allen (Pope) Udnas (great grandaughter)

Sources
[S265] Vital Records of New Haven, p. 104.
Marriage Records 1835-1853
book located in Bangor Pulic Library