Marshall Willis Stedman

• Sex: M

  William H. Stedman

  ---

  • Born: 8 NOV 1859 in Tyringham, Berkshire Co., MA¹
  • Died: 19 JUN 1935 in Tyringham, Berkshire Co., MA¹
  • Buried: 21 JUN 1935 in Tyringham, Berkshire Co., MA¹
  • Notes:

    Note by Byron Stedman:
    
    "Marshall W. Stedman, fourth generation from father to son of hand rake manufacturers in the Tyringham valley of Massachusetts, is to ship one next week to President Calvin Coolidge for use on the White House lawn and another for raking hay on the old farm in Plymouth, Vt. Still a third is to be shipped to the President's father, John C. Coolidge. If the President's two boys want to "hay it" next summer they also will have a chance to use the Stedman rakes. The handle of the rake for the White House lawn is to be encircled with a silver ferrule with the initials "C. C." engraved upon it.
    
    "It has become sort of a custom for Mr. Stedman to furnish the Presidential rake. He shipped a dozen to President Roosevelt and received an autographed letter on White House stationary in reply. For President Taft, now chief justice of the supreme court, he made a special rake with 36-inch spread of teeth, the standard being 27. Mr. Taft still uses it on his lawn in Washington.
    
    "The Stedman industry is the oldest rake business in the United States. It was established in Tyringham by Marsh Stedman's great grandfather, Captain Thomas Stedman, in 1827. His son William, invented the first machine ever used in making rake teeth. William's son, Martin Van Buren Stedman, ran the business from 1870 to 1887, when Marshall took charge and has conducted it since then. "The demand for the old time hay rake has decreased 50 per cent in the last 25 years, " said Mr. Stedman, "but the increased demand for the hand lawn rake has more than made up."
    
    Obituary of Marshall Willis Stedman of Tyringham, MA, 1935:
    
    Tyringham, June 19 - Marshall Willis Stedman, 75, prominent here as the former holder of a number of political offices and the fourth generation in a family of noted rake manufacturers, died in his home suddenly this morning. He had been recuperating from an operation last December in the House of Mercy hospital in Pittsfield and his chances for recovery had been thought good. He had held a number of public offices here, most prominent among them, that of selectman, assessor, tax collector, and town treasurer. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, and of the Union Church. He had obtained his greatest fame throughout New England, however, as a maker of wooden rakes. He had inherited the business from his father, Martin Van Buren Stedman. His mother was Mrs. Marion Baker Stedman.
    
    He was born in this town on November 8, 1859. He was educated in the local public schools. He was married to Miss Libby Miner in September 1887. Besides his widow he is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Charles R. Myers, of this town, and a sister, Mrs. Delos Sweet, of Waterbury, CT. The funeral will be held from the home Friday afternoon at 2:30. Burial will be in the Tyringham cemetery.
    
    Obituary of Marshall W. Stedman from the New York Times:
    
    "Pittsfield, Mass., June 19 (1935) -- Marshall W. Stedman, fourth in descent to manufacture rakes at Tyringham, died at his home there today. He was in his seventy-sixth year. He personally presented wooden rakes which he had made in his little New England shop on Hop Brook to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover. The business was established in 1827. Mr. Stedman's home was built in 1793. He was born in Tyringham and had held all the important town offices. His widow, a daughter, Mrs. Charles Myers of Tyringham, survive. Mr. Myers directs the business."
    

  
  Father: Martin Van Buren Stedman, b. 22 FEB 1832 in Tyringham, Berkshire Co., MA
  Mother: Maria Remember Baker, b. 26 AUG 1833 in East Lee, Berkshire Co., MA
  
  Family 1: Libbie Maida Miner, b. 24 APR 1863 in Monterey, Berkshire Co., MA
  • Married: 8 SEP 1887 in Tyringham, Berkshire Co., MA
  1. Eloise Lucinda Stedman, b. 23 AUG 1889 in Tyringham, Berkshire Co., MA
  
  Sources:
  
  1. Title: Cemetery Records
     REPO
     CALN
     Media: Official Document
     Page: Tyringham, MA, Cemetery