Hubbell Pioneers - Rhode Island
A Rough Rider and His Sister
William Chaplin Hubbell & Muriel Hubbell
William Chapin Hubbell was the uncle and Muriel Hubbell the mother of A. Wilson Whitman the author of this chapter. William was born in Oswego, New York, in 1817, the third son of Captain Charles J. Hubbell, whose story is told in the New York chapter. As a young man he went to Texas where, living on a ranch, he built up his body.
When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, Willliam joined the Rough Riders. He participated in the heavy fighting at San Juan Hill. After the War he became a railway postal clerk on the Boston-New York-Washington run.
In 1903 he married Alice Rachel Peckham of Middletown, Rhode Island, whose ancestry could be traced to the founders of Newport and Portsmouth and the earliest English settlers in New England. They bought a house in Middletown.
The raid by Pancho Villa on Columbus, New Mexico, in March 1916 drew Will back into the Army under General John H. Pershing. When America became involved in World War I he took officer training at Plattsburgh, New York, and was assigned to Kelly Field, San Antonio, as an instructor with the rank of first lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. He was then over 45 years old.
In 1919 he and Alice moved to Amarillo, Texas. For 15 years he sold trucks. He died in 1941 at age 70 in Amarillo. Alice, a highly respected civic leader, survived him by 22 years.
Will’s sister, Muriel Hubbell, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1883. She inherited aristocratic instincts and manners from her father, Captain Charles J. Hubbell. She derived both talent and artistic temperament as well as brunette beauty from her mother, Ada Himes.
From earliest childhood she traveled frequently because her father lectured in city after city in the promotion of the new source of power -- electricity. Consequently, she learned geography, history and a great deal about people.
Her mother died when she was 14 years old and her father married Augusta Braun of Scranton. Muriel liked her new stepmother and Augusta's daughter by a previous marriage, Eva.
After the family went to England on business and for pleasure in 1898, she finished high school in Brooklyn and went on to get teacher training. On a visit to her brother Will in Texas she met Alfred Whitman in June 1904. They fell in love at first sight and were married May 14, 1905. Throughout their marriage their love was deep, honest, ever devoted, unselfish and everlasting.
Muriel and Alfred had three children: Wilson, Sylvia and Cedric. The family lived at various times in Newport, Boston and Providence. In 1927 they moved to Easton’s Point and Muriel started a day school in her home. She had great skills as a teacher even with those pupils with special learning problems.
Muriel and Alfred were interested in the arts. They attended plays and concerts. Their children were raised to appreciate music and literature and to use correct English.
In 1953, when Muriel was 70, she could look back on many achievements. The mortgage was paid for, the school had closed after 20 successful years, Alfred had retired after 46 years in the grocery business and her children were married and had homes of their own.
Sylvia managed a group of dancing schools in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Cedric was a professor of Latin and Greek at Harvard. Wilson taught Latin and ancient history at a high school in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Alfred was proud of Muriel’s abilities and achievements. She was an excellent teacher. She could do many things including painting, paperhanging, upholstering, sewing, and fixing electrical wiring in the house and car. Her house was open to all and she was a good cook.
She died at 96 and was preceded in death by Alfred, Sylvia and Cedric. Gifted people like Muriel cannot live without leaving lasting influences upon those about them.