Henry Leland was born in Middlefield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts on 17 January 1835. He is the fourth child and son of David Hamilton and Abigail Meacham Hamilton, who were residence of Middlefield. He had five brothers and no sisters.
Middlefield, Hampshire, Massachusetts
The township of Middlefield is situated at the extreme western end of Hampshire County, Massachusetts. It comprises an area of over twenty square miles of territory, which is a lush beautiful region of mountain ranges and river valleys. The major portion of the Middlefield township lies upon a high plateau, whose elevation above sea level is about 1,600 feet.
In 1770, Middlefield had only two families. By 1790, nearly a hundred families, representing six hundred individuals, lived there.
Families from the near by towns of Becket, Washington, Peru and Worthington found their way to Middlefield. It was officially founded in 1783. The first order of business was to build good roads. Thirteen roads were constructed so folks could get from one side of town to the other. A central meeting house for community gatherings and religious worship was one of the first community structures erected. Today, the same site, the Middlefield Church stands today.
The residents were “Whig” in their politics and favored independence from Britain. Many residents fought in the Revolutionary War. Middlefield was also a supporter of the growing anti-slavery movement.
Sheep and cattle were brought to Middlefield after forests were cleared and lush grazing fields were established. In 1840, the human population reached 686 while the sheep numbered 9,840.
Middlefield has remained a small community. As of 2000, there were 542 people and 213 households.
Young Man
Military Service
About two years after Henry Leland arrived in Georgia, the Civil War broke out. In May of 1862, at the age of 27, he enlisted to serve the Confederacy. He belonged to the 11th Battalion, Georgia Artillery. An older gentleman and plantation owner, William Kennedy, age 45 was also in the same battalion. Henry Leland and William Kennedy became friends.
Marriage
Henry Leland and Cynthia Kennedy Hamilton were married on 13 February 1867 in Pembroke, Bryan County, Georgia. Cynthia was 21 and Henry Leland was 32 years old.
Children
Henry Leland and Cynthia Kennedy Hamilton had ten children: Ada 1869 – Anna 1871 – Charles Henry 1872 – John Hartridge 1874 – Clark T 1876 – Parsons 1878 – Beulah 1880 – William 1882 – Clarence 1883 – Virgil Cutler 1887 – The 10th child, Virgil Cutler 1887, was left off this list of children for some reason.
The article information came from “The History Of Bryan County.”
Occupation
Henry Leland was an ordained Baptist minister, a large land owner and a man of considerable influence in his community of Bryan County, Georgia.
Church
In the year of 1880 the people in the community located close to Pembroke felt the need for a place of worship. The people got together and built a brush arbor on a country road. The arbor was used as a church for one and half to tow years was was served by a circuit riding preacher. The arbor was very near to the location of the present day church known as Beulah Baptist Church.
The families, which owned parcels of land near the brush arbor, donated a portion of their parcel for the building of the church. The families whose land contained trees donated the timber.
The logs were sawed into boards and the men of the community hand planed them for the building. These original boards can be seen in the church today. On July 25, 1880, the church was finished and constituted into the service for the Lords’s Day by Rev. James Speir.
The eleven charter members of the church were: Thomas J. Osteen, Nancy Osteen, M.W. Patrick, Glenn Hall, Jesse Benton, Sarah Benton, William, Andrew Thompson, Emma Thompson, Henry W. Canady, Francis Canady, and W.W. Geiger.
Immediately following the constitution of the church, conference convened and a motion was made to call Rev. H.L. Hamilton of the Hopeful Baptist Church to be ordained as minister. The church was named for Beulah Hamilton, Rev. Hamilton’s daughter.From the “History of Beulah Baptist Church” Pembroke, Georgia
Death
Henry Leland Hamilton passed away 19 October 1904. He was 69 years old. He is buried next to his wife and several children (Charles Henry, John Hartridge, Clark T., Beulah, Clarence E. and Virgil Cutler ) in the Lower Black Creek Cemetery, just a few miles north of Ellabell. Two stones mark his grave.
