Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center

Rawson Family

LH 114

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Introduction

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content

Inventory

Introduction

This collection was donated to the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center by Theodore Rawson Crane, PhD., Mrs. W. W. Shaw, and Margaret Griffith between the years 1959 and 1987. For further information on the Rawson family and collateral relatives see: Rawson, L. Q.; Rawson Family; Stevenson Family; Gelpin Family; and Dickinson Family Biographical Files.

Biographical Sketch

Dr. LaQuinio Rawson (1804-1888), son of Lemuel and Sarah (Barnes) Rawson, was born in Irving, Franklin County, Massachusetts. At the age of 16, he entered the academy at New Salem. In 1824, he came to Ohio and studied medicine, teaching school to cover his expenses. He began the practice of medicine in Crawford County, Ohio.in 1826 after receiving a license from the Ohio Medical Association. He received his degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1834. In 1827, Rawson moved with Sardis Birchard to Lower Sandusky (Fremont, Ohio), where he continued to practice medicine until his retirement in 1855. Rawson remained a lifelong friend of Sardis Birchard, uncle of President Rutherford B. Hayes. In addition to his medical practice, LaQuinio was an active supporter and investor in local transportation businesses including the first plank road; the Cleveland Toledo and Norwalk Railroad; the Fremont and Indiana Railroad; and the Lake Erie and Western. In 1852, he spearheaded the organization of the Sandusky County Agricultural Society. In 1829, LaQuinio married Sophia Beaugrand, daughter of John Baptiste Beaugrand of Bordeaux, France, and Marguerite Chabert de Joncaire. John Beaugrand was a merchant at Maumee, Ohio from 1802 to 1812. LaQuinio and Sophia had seven children: Joseph, Eugene, Estelle, Milton, and three who died before adulthood. 

Milton E. Rawson, (1831-1880), eldest son of LaQuinio and Sophia Rawson was a physician. He married Julia Kridler

Joseph Rawson(1835-1906), second son of LaQuinio and Sophia Rawson, was a civil engineer and surveyor as well as operator of a local grain elevator. He married Margaret Gelpin, daughter of Lyman and Martha Elizabeth (Stevenson) Gelpin. They raised three children: Sophia, Jennie, and LaQuinio G. Rawson

Sophia Elizabeth Rawson (1860-1949), daughter of Joseph and Margaret Rawson, married Theodore Harris. They were the parents of Jane Harris who married Verner Winslow Crane at Tecumseh, Michigan. Jane and Verner Winslow Crane were the parents of one son: Theodore Rawson Crane, PhD. Dr. Crane was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1929.

Jennie Amelia Rawson (1863-1960), daughter of Joseph and Margaret Rawson, married Orange H. Thomas who was Sandusky County’s first health commissioner. They had no children. Jennie was an active member of the D.A.R. and the Society of Mayflower Descendants

LaQuinio Gelpin Rawson (1871-1926), son of Joseph and Margaret Rawson, was an attorney in Cleveland, Ohio and served in the state legislature. He married Beatrice Floyd and they had one daughter, Beatrice Anne Rawson, who married James Hubbell. Beatrice and James had one daughter, Beatrice Rawson Hubbell, who married John H. Brown.

Eugene Rawson (1840-1864), third son of LaQuinio and Sophia Rawson, entered the Union Army after graduating from Cortland Academy in New York. A major in the 72^nd O.V.I. and former assistant adjutant general on Brigadier General Ralph Buckland’s staff, Eugene was mortally wounded at the Battle of Old Town Creek, Mississippi July 15, 1864. He married Jennie Snyder and they had no children. 

Estelle (Rawson) Russell (1849-1929) was the youngest surviving child of LaQuinio and Sophia Rawson. She married Lemuel Arthur Russell. They were the parents of two children: Miriam Agnes and Eugene Rawson. Estelle died at the age of 82 in Rocky River, Ohio.

Scope and Content

The Rawson family, with ancestry dating to Edward Rawson of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, played a varied and prominent role in the history of Fremont, Ohio and Sandusky County. This collection, dating from 1790 to 1960, contains family correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, documents, and genealogical material for the Rawson and related families: Barnum, Stevenson, Beaugrand, Gelpin, Thomas, Russell, Harris, and Crane. This collection primarily follows the lineage of LaQuinio Rawson through his son Joseph and Joseph’s children; Sophia, Jennie, and LaQuinio G.; and their descendants.

Inventory

Ac. 1237, 1317

3 3/4 linear ft.

Box 1

Carte de visite of Marguerite Chabert Beaugrand (1782-1859) with inscription on verso by granddaughter, Estelle Rawson Russell, dated April 30, 1882

Tin type image of Marguerite Chabert Beaugrand in case.

Journal of the firm Godfroy & Beaugrand (Gabriel Godfroy and Jean Baptiste Beaugrand), an early trading company in Detroit, 1797-1808.

1. Beaugrand family documents & correspondence, 1797-1829

     Marriage contract between Jean Baptiste Beaugrand and Marguerite Chabert

     Funeral notice of Marguerite Beaugrand

Nerwspaper clipping, marriage of Marguerite Dickinson and Dr. Merton O. Phillips

2. Jean Baptiste Beaugrand to Gabriel Godfroy

3. Jean Baptiste Beaugrand (1768-1826) biographical material, military records

    Service in War of 1812

4. Beaugrand – Rawson genealogy notes and research

5. Beaugrand – Chabert genealogy notes

6. Peter Beaugrand Ohio land purchases 1857-1894, estate 1914

7. Father Gabriel Richard – St. Anne’s church, Detroit 1798-1832

Box 2

List of photographs transferred to the Portrait File

Small cased, tin type of Joseph L. Rawson

1. Joseph L. Rawson (1835-1906, son of LaQuinio Rawson) biographical material, correspondence, financial records

2. Margaret Amelia Rawson (1839-1908, wife of Joseph L. Rawson) correspondence, biographical material, financial records

3. Reuben Rawson (descendant of Edward Rawson of Massachusetts Bay Colony) correspondence, including genealogical correspondence with Joseph L. Rawson

4. Allen Abel Rawson, Adams County, Iowa (1831-1900, son of Abel Rawson who was a brother of LaQuinio Rawson) biographical material

5. Genealogy – vital records, 1654-1844

6. Mrs. Witt Adams correspondence with Theodore Crane

Box 3

1. Eugene Allen Rawson (1840-1864, son of LaQuinio and Sophia Rawson) correspondence, funeral notice, obituary & tributes, misc. Civil War items

2. Mrs. William (Charlotte) W. Shaw (daughter of Jennie Snyder Rawson Young, widow of Eugene Rawson) correspondence with Jennie Rawson Thomas and Theodore Crane

3. Post Civil War material re Eugene A. Rawson – Eugene Rawson GAR Post, Fremont, Ohio

Box 4

1. Fremont, Ohio Flood of 1913; articles and photos including post cards from Jennie Rawson Thomas to her sister Sophia ‘Libbie’ Harris

2. Fremont, Ohio entertainment & church programs, song sheets, 1858-1957

3. Fremont, Ohio newspaper articles, 1889 - 1950

Box 5

1. Maps – Fremont, Sandusky County, and Ohio, 1910-1927

2. Oakwood Cemetery

3. Soldiers Aid Society, Fremont, Ohio – Spanish American War, 1899 – Mrs. Joseph L. (Amelia) Rawson, president of local chapter

Box 6

Image (tin type?) of Sarah (Barnes) Rawson, Mrs. Lemuel Rawson, mother of LaQuinio Rawson; LaQuinio Rawson prayer book

1 Correspondence from Rutherford B. Hayes

     2/27/1889 gift to Elizabeth ‘Libby’ Rawson

     12/8/1885 letter of recommendation for Joseph Rawson

2. Correspondence from James A. Garfield

2/14/1880 re Garfield’s ancestry to S. I. Rawson, Esq.

3. LaQuinio Rawson (1804-1888) biographical material, will

4. LaQuinio Rawson federal land grants, deeds, bonds

5. LaQuinio Rawson correspondence

Box 7

Jennie Rawson Thomas Account & Receipt Book, 1934-1937, Jennie Rawson Thomas (daughter of Joseph and Margaret Rawson) diaries

2. Jennie Rawson Thomas marriage and wedding records

3. Jennie Rawson Thomas – papers, poems, programs

4. Jennie Rawson Thomas – Fremont High School class of 1881 memorabilia

5. Jennie Rawson Thomas incoming correspondence

6. Jennie Rawson Thomas birthday celebrations, 1958-1960

7. Jennie Rawson Thomas memorabilia

Box 8

Jennie Rawson Thomas - D.A.R. papers, Society of Mayflower Descendants

D.A.R. membership Certificate

1. Society of Mayflower Descendants Publications

      Quarterly Magazines

Ohio Membership Rolls

2 Memberships

       D.A.R. Membership cards & Correspondence

       Society of Mayflower Descendants correspondence & membership cards

       American Red Cross certificate

Box 9

Orange H. Thomas (husband of Jennie Rawson Thomas)

Medical College of Ohio, Cincinnati diploma, 1896

Autograph album

Convention Badges – Health Commissioner

1. Map of part of farm in Riley Township, Sandusky County, Ohio

2. Legal papers

      Deeds

      Property tax receipts

      Cattle registries, American Shorthorn Breeders Association

3. Health Commissioner & Medical items

4. Ribbons

      Currency

5. Photographs of Dr. O. H. Thomas

6. Newspaper Clippings; Miscellaneous

7. Jennie Rawson Thomas photographs

Box 10

Estelle Sophia (Rawson) Russell (daughter of LaQuinio & Sophia Beaugrand Rawson, sister of Eugene & Joseph Rawson)

Russell-Alburn families – descendants of L.Q. Rawson & Sophia Beaugrand

1. Estelle S. Rawson papers

San Francisco earthquake letters from Eugene Rawson Russell (Estelle’s son)

     Christmas letters

2. Alburn family

Box 11

Sophia Elizabeth Rawson Harris (daughter of Joseph & Margaret Rawson, wife of Theodore Harris)

Miscellaneous writings, clippings, membership cards, Wedding Book & Certificate

1. Harris family obituary notices

2. Harris family photographs

3. A.J. Harris (father of Theodore Harris) broadside – candy factory

4. May Harris Dorr (sister of Theodore Harris)

5. Elizabeth Harris miscellaneous correspondence & papers

Box 12

1. Perne family

2. Beaugrand descendants, photographs

3. Milton and Julia (Kridler) Rawson descendants (Milton was eldest son of LaQuinio & Sophia Rawson)

4. LaQuinio Gelpin Rawson (1871-1926, son of Joseph & Margaret Rawson, grandson of LaQuinio & Sophia Rawson) and descendants

5. Barnum family (cousins of Margaret Gelpin Rawson)

6. Beatrice Rawson Hubbell (daughter of LaQuinio G. and Beatrice Floyd Rawson, granddaughter of Joseph and Margaret Rawson)

7. Gelpin-Stevenson families (ancestors of LaQuinio G., Elizabeth, and Jennie Rawson on their mother’s side)

Box 13

Daguerreotypes & photographs of Gelpin, Stevenson, and Rawson families

Box 14

Rawson family photographs

Box 15

Crane family

1. Jane Harris Crane (daughter of S. Elizabeth Rawson & Theodore Harris, granddaughter of Joseph & Margaret Rawson) photographs

2. Jane Harris Crane - photographs

3. Jane Harris Crane - clippings & miscellaneous

4. Jane Harris Crane - newspapers & clippings

5. Jane Harris Crane - letters from England 1927

6. Jane Harris Crane - letters from England 1938

7. Jane Harris Crane – correspondence

8. Verner Winslow Crane (husband of Jane Harris Crane)

9. Theodore Rawson Crane (son of Verner & Jane Harris Crane)

Box 16

Jane Harris Crane – University of Michigan scrapbook 1907-1912

Transferred to the Museum Field glasses and case belonging to Major Eugene A. Rawson

Butter knife

Candlestick

Box

Musket ball

Minie bullet

Civil War belt plate belonging to Major Eugene A. Rawson

Suveryor’s ruler and tools belonging to Joseph L. Rawson

Civil War vest buttons (6) belonging to Major Eugene A. Rawson