Erastus Corning Hawkins, ^^{[1, 2, 3, 4]}

1860 - 1912  (51 years)

• Name	Erastus Corning Hawkins
  Suffix	^
  Born	8 Sep 1860	South Haven, Brookhaven, Suffolk, NY   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Baptism	24 Apr 1862	South Haven (Presbyterian Church), Brookhaven, Suffolk, NY   [5]
  Census	1870	South Haven, Brookhaven, Suffolk, NY   [6]
  	He was living with his parents.
  Confirmation	1876	South Haven (Presbyterian Church), Brookhaven, Suffolk, NY   [7]
  	He remained a member of the church throughout his life, even though he labored far removed from the community.
  Census	1880	South Haven, Brookhaven, Suffolk, NY   [8]
  	He was living with his mother and siblings.
  Occupation	1880  [8]
  	farmer
  Census	1900	Skagway, AK   [9]
  	Alaska had a special census schedule in 1900. C. E. Hawkins was recorded as being in the Head Office, White Pass and Yukon Railroad. His date of locating in Alaska was April 1898. His "Post Office Address at Home" was Denver, Colorado; however, his family could not be located in the 1900 census schedules in Denver, or elsewhere in ther United States. [While some have interpreted the birth place notation ("N NS" with the original "U.S." crossed out) as meaning Nova Scotia, I believe the notation likely had another meaning special to the census. There is no doubt of his birth place being South Haven, Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, NY]
  Census	1910	Valdez, AK   [10]
  	In 1910, Erastus C. Hawkins was a lodger at Jasper W. Coovert's residence at Copper River, along with five others (all males, suggesting a rooming house). His occupation was not readable.
  Occupation	civil engineer  [3, 4, 11, 12, 13]
  	He was an internationally known engineer. In 1884 he was in charge of construction of an extensive network of irrigation canals (aka ditches) in mountainous Colorado. There were many such projects in the late 1800s  which took the spring snow melt from the Rocky Mountains to storage reservoirs and then to distribution canals (a.k.a.ditches) which irrigated the plains of northern Colorado east of the mountains.  The canals were known as"high-line" ditches since they followed the natural contours of the mountains to gradually descend to intermediate reservoirs, then to irrigation ditches feeding the farms of the plains. They were designed to follow routes which required no pumping or aqueducts, with a gradual descent, minimizing waterway maintenance.  His success with these undertakings brought him many engagements throughout the U.S., on large engineering problems, and led to his selection as the chief engineer to build the White Pass and Yukon Railroad. In 1898 he was Vice President-Chief Engineer and General Manager of the White Pass and Yukon Railroad between Skagway, Alaska and the Yukon, Canada. The White Pass and Yukon Railroad has been designated a National Historic Engineering Site by the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers and the American Civil Engineering Society. In 1907 he became Vice President-Chief Engineer and General Manager of the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad in Alaska which ran from Cordova to the Kennecott Copper Mines.
  Reference Number	HG 743  [14]
  	[A mistake in the 1939 Book gives him No. 742, p 137. See No. 333, p. 78 of 1939 Book.]
  Died	9 Apr 1912	New York, New York, NY   [7, 12, 14, 15, 16]
  	Cause: of post operative shock, resulting from attempt to correct "ureteral calculus"
  	"Ureteral calculus" is a complete ureteral obstruction. No autopsy was performed. His Death Notice in the Patchogue Advance, 12 April 1912: "Erastus C. Hawkins, a prominent engineer in charge of the Morgan-Guggenheim interests in Alaska, died at the New York Hospital in Manhattan Tuesday, aged 52 years. Mr. Hawkins was a native of Brookhaven and a member of one of the old and well known families there, was on his annual visit to the East from Seattle, Wash., when he was taken ill in New York and sent to the hospital for an operation Saturday. Funeral services were held yesterday afternoon at 1 o'clock in the South Haven church in charge of the Rev. Mr. Allen, and interment was made at the family cemetery in Brookhaven. Mr. Hawkins has been one of the most active men in the development of Alaska, having built the White Pass and Yukon railroads, the first in the territory, and also the Copper River and Northern lines. He received his education in the Brookhaven schools and the Rennsaelaer-Polytechnic Institute of Troy, and worked in various parts of the West before going to Alaska, He leaves a wife and five children.
  Buried	11 Apr 1912	Brookhaven (David Hawkins Cemetery), Brookhaven, NY   [7, 15, 16, 17]
  	There is no doubt that he was interred in the Hawkins Family Cemetery in South Haven. While no monument marks his grave site, it is said to be located between his brothers Irving and Emmett Hawkins; archeological investigation has determined that there is disturbed soil at this location. This cemetery is No. 16 on the Town of Brookhaven Historian's Cemetery Listing, and has Historic Sites ID SH01A.1-S.
  Person ID	I1353	Brookhaven & South Haven Hamlets
  Last Modified	16 Feb 2014

  
  

  Father	Capt. Bartlett Tuthill Hawkins, ^,   b. 26 Sep 1810, South Haven, Brookhaven, Suffolk, NY ,   d. 26 Sep 1879, {South Haven, Brookhaven, Suffolk, NY}  (Age 69 years)
  Mother	Clarissa Haff, ^,   b. 6 Mar 1828, Patchogue, Brookhaven, Suffolk, NY ,   d. 3 Sep 1907, Hauppauge, Smithtown, Suffolk, NY  (Age 79 years)
  Married	14 Apr 1858  [1]
  Family ID	F98	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Emma Augusta Sullivan,   b. Abt 1859, NY ,   d. 13 Jan 1925, Seattle, King, WA  (Age ~ 66 years)
  Married	9 Jun 1887  [1, 18]
  Residence	1896	First Hill, Seattle, King, WA   [13]
  	Address: 1310 Minor Av.
  	Later they resided at 1120 Jefferson St.
  Children	1. Gilberta Dallas Hawkins, <,   b. 18 Oct 1886, Cheyenne, Laramie, WY ,   d. 3 Feb 1984, {Mercer Island, King, WA}  (Age 97 years)   2. Mason Irving Hawkins, <,   b. 25 Jan 1889, CO ,   d. 15 Jun 1968, Seattle, King, WA  (Age 79 years)   3. Clarissa Hawkins, <,   b. 8 Sep 1890, Denver, Denver, CO ,   d. 23 Mar 1927, Seattle, King, WA  (Age 36 years)   4. Rufus Bartlett Hawkins, <,   b. 10 May 1892,   d. 1957, Seattle, King, WA  (Age 64 years)   5. Howard Haviland Hawkins, <,   b. 28 Nov 1894, CO ,   d. Apr 1979, {Vashon, King, WA}  (Age 84 years)
  Photos		Erastus Corning Hawkins & Emma A. Sullivan .. photo on ceramic tile.
  Family ID	F400	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Erastus Corning Hawkins

  
  

  Documents » Slide Show		Erastus Corning Hawkins death certificate
  		Erastus Corning Hawkins Memorial Reference .. from the Session Minutes, South Haven, NY, Presbyterian Church. Interment was in the Hawkins family cemetery in South Haven.
  		The Cremation of Sam McGee .. this reading of the poem by Robert W. Service (Jan. 16, 1874 - Sept. 11, 1958) somehow seems appropriate.
  		Obituary in the Seattle Daily Times, Tuesday Evening, April 9, 1912 ..ENGINEER WHO BUILT RAILWAYS IN ALASKA DIES IN NEW YORK. Erastus C. Hawkins Passes Away Following Second Operation—Wife and Family at His Bedside. Remarkable Work Done in Wild Country. Bridged Glaciers Where Experts Declared He Would Meet Failure—Funeral Will Be Held in East
  		Wikipedia: White Pass & Yukon Route .. Erastus Corning Hawkins was the chief engineer on the narrow gauge rail route completed in 1900. It is one of the engineering marvels of the 19th century.
  		Official Site of the White Pass & Yukon Route .. Includes videos, images, history & travel information. Some features require Apple, Inc QuickTime® to function.
  		Memorial Monument Provided for Erastus C. Hawkins ..on April 11, 204, a dedication ceremony was held for a memorial monument for Erastus C. Hawkins on the 102nd anniversary of his interment in the David Hawkins Cemetery. His descendants now living in Washington state and Virginia attended.
  		Brookhaven Village Association article: Erastus Corning Hawkins .. The following article appeared in the Brookhaven Village Association (Brookhaven, NY) Newsletter, Spring 2014, and is posted with the permission of the author, Marty Van Lith, BVA Historian.

  
  

  Headstones		#016.21 Erastus Corning Hawkins .. it is recorded that he was buried in the David Hawkins cemetery, in an unmarked grave, probably located between his brothers Irving and Emmett Hawkins. Plot: 01a
  		#016.21: Erastus Corning Hawkins gravestone .. in March, 2014, a new memorial monument was installed made possible by community donations made to the Brookhaven Village Association. Pictured are Marty Van Lith (left), BVA historian and chairman of the Fire Place History Club, and the stone mason of Peconic Monument Works, Riverhead, NY. Plot: 01a

  
  

• Sources

  [S71] Hawkins Genealogy: R. C. Hawkins, LI REF 929.2097 HAWKINS HAW., p. 78. [S355] Biography: Erastus Corning Hawkins, 625.1092 QUI . [S356] History: The White Pass. [S1041] Book: The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway, http://www.wolfcreek.ca. [S355] Biography: Erastus Corning Hawkins, 625.1092 QUI ., p. 11. [S62] 1870 Census, Roll: M593_1100; Page: 377; Image: 136. [S402] Records: South Haven Presbyterian Church 1903-1941, p. 32. [S42] 1880 Census, Roll: T9_935; Family History Film: 1254935; Page: 147.2000; Enumeration District: 315; Image: 0023. [S191] 1900 Census, Roll: T623 1831; Page: 141A; Enumeration District: 7. [S104] 1910 Census, Roll: 1750; Page: 215A; Enumeration District: 7; Part: 1; Line: 20. [S72] Hawkins Supplement vol II, LI REF 929.2097 HAWKINS HAW., p. 108. [S1040] Erastus C. Hawkins obituary, Seattle Daily Times., http://brookhavensouthhaven.org/HamletPeople/tng/showmedia.php?mediaID=1793. [S1035] Seattle Daily Times, 11 Feb 1951, p. 47. Seattle Centennial 1851-1951 Notes to Newcomers on Seattle History: When Miss Nancy Hawkins, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mason Hawkins, was elected president of the Seattle Historical Cociety's Junior Historians, some long-time residents of Seattle remember their friendship with her grandfather, the late Erastus Corning Hawkins. In 1896 Mr. Hawkins brought his wife, two daughters and three sons to Seattle and established a home on First Hill. The Home at 1310 Minor Av. and later at 1120 Jefferson St., became noted as the setting for much hospitality. In addition to Mr. Mason Hawkins, a daughter, Miss Gilberta Hawkins, and two other sons, Rufus and Howard, are residents of Seattle. Mr. and Mrs. Howard Howard Hawkins have a daughter, Maralyn, and Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Hawkins a son, Mason. Mr. E. C. Hawkins also was a prime factor in building up the territory of Alaska, by guiding the construction of railroads (he was an engineer). He was vice president, chief engineer and general manager of the "White Pass & Yukon," first railroad to be built in Alaska, involving what is still said to be one of the great engineering feats in the world. [S71] Hawkins Genealogy: R. C. Hawkins, LI REF 929.2097 HAWKINS HAW., p. 78, 137. [S352] Death Notice: Erastus Corning Hawkins. [S353] Death Certificate: Erastus Corning Hawkins. [S88] Cemetery: David Hawkins, Location 1a. [S355] Biography: Erastus Corning Hawkins, 625.1092 QUI ., p. 15.