from Ball, T.H., editor. Encyclopedia of Genealogy and Biography of Lake County, Indiana with a Compendium of History 1834-1904. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1904. pp. 560-563.
Melvin A. Halsted, who is living a retired life in Lowell, was born in Rensselaer county, New York, March 29, 1821. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to William the Conqueror, and three brothers of the name came to America in early colonial days, settling in New York. The great-grandfather of Melvin A. Halsted was a minister of the Baptist church and was one of a party of six that owned an entire township in Rensselaer county, New York. One representative of the family, Thomas Halsted, remained loyal to the British crown, but Joseph Halsted, the grandfather of our subject, espoused the cause of the colonists and valiantly did battle for their rights. He was born in the Empire state on the bank of the Hudson river, became a farmer and followed that occupation throughout his entire life. William Halsted, the father of Melvin A., was also a native of Rensselaer county, New York, and after arriving at years of maturity he was united in marriage to Miss Patty Haskin, who was born in Pittstown, New York, and was a descendant of Enoch Haskin, who was of Scotch birth, coming from the land of the heather to America in the year 1700. Mr and Mrs. William Halsted were the parents of two sons, but the younger,
Edson, is now deceased.
The only surviving member of the family is Melvin A. Halsted, who was reared in the place of his nativity until fourteen years of age and attended the public schools there. He was also a student
in the high school at Bennington, Vermont, and in 1837 he removed to Montgomery county, Ohio, locating in Dayton. He was there married in May, 1842, to Miss Martha C. Foster, and for three years they continued their residence in Dayton, at the end of which time they came to Lake county, Indiana, locating in West Creek township, where Mr. Halsted carried on farming until 1848. He then came to what is now the town of Lowell and built and operated a sawmill. The following year he burned four hundred thousand
brick, and erected the house in which he still lives. It is yet a substantial structure and is a monument to his life of thrift and energy. Attracted by the discovery of gold in California, Mr. Halsted crossed the plains in 1850, accomplishing a part of the journey with ox teams and the remainder of the trip with mule teams.
He was one hundred days upon the way, and after spending about a year on the Pacific coast he returned to the Mississippi valley by way of Salt Lake city, being eighty days upon the return trip. In 1852 he built the flour mill at Lowell, hauling all of the machinery from Chicago in wagons. In 1853 he began the operation of this mill and it became one of the most important industries of this part of the state, receiving a patronage from a large district. About 1857, however, he sold the property and removed to southern
Illinois, but in the meantime he had entered the land upon which the town of Lowell now stands. In southern Illinois he built and operated a grist and saw mill at Kinmundy, twenty miles north of Centralia, on
the Chicago branch of the Illinois Central Railroad. There he remained until 1859, when he sold his property and again went to California, where he owned real estate. After four months, however, he again went to California, by way of New York and the isthmus route, arriving eventually at San Francisco. He then made his way to Virginia City and was engaged in mining at Gold Hill for about three years, when he returned by way of Panama and New York to Lowell, Indiana. His family had joined him at Gold Hill in 1862, and in 1863 he made a trip among the giant trees of the state. At Gold Hill he built four houses which he rented, and this he contributed to the improvement and development of the town. On the 4th of January, 1864, he started for Indiana by the water route, leaving his family, however, in California. On reaching Lake county he found that his original property at Lowell was for sale, and purchased it, together
with other property, including a flour mill three miles from Lowell, in addition to the one at Lowell. On his return to Lowell he put the mills in excellent condition and carried on the business of manufacturing flour for some time. He then sent word for his wife to sell his property in California and Nevada and join him in Lowell. He met his family at New York city and went to Washington, where they visited Mount Vernon and many places of interest in and about the city. While there Mr. Halsted obtained the assistance of Mr. Colfax in getting the first daily mail for Lowell.
Mr. Halsted continued in the milling business at Lowell until 1869, when he sold out and spent the succeeding winter in San Francisco, again making the trip to the Pacific coast by water. He erected
fourteen houses for renting purposes at Valejo, California, twenty-two miles from San Francisco, and continued to own that property until 1872, when he sold out to one of the owners of the Northern Pacific
Railroad Company. In that year his family returned to Indiana, while Mr. Halsted made a hunting tour off the Island of St. Barbara. He captured four sea lions on the expedition, which he sold to John Robinson, the showman, for twelve hundred dollars. Later Mr. Halsted visited Kinmundy, Illinois, before returning to Lowell. He has also visited New England, viewing many points of interest in that country, including Plymouth Rock, on which the early settlers first stepped as they landed from the Mayflower on American soil. Going to Utah territory, he sent for his family to join him there, and became superintendent of a mine, which he conducted until the demonetization of silver in 1873. After his return from Utah he was
instrumental in securing the building of the Monon Railroad through Lake county. He did grading to the value of eighty-five thousand dollars, but only received sixty-five thousand dollars, thus suffering a loss of twenty thousand dollars. He is now engaged in the real estate business in Lowell.
Mr. and Mrs. Halsted have two sons, William M., who is a resident of Topeka, Kansas, and Theron H., who is residing in Lowell. Mr. Halsted gave his early political support to the Whig party, and heard William Henry Harrison deliver a political speech on the 10th of September, 1840. On the dissolution of that party he joined the ranks of the new Republican party, of which he has since been a stalwart advocate. He is now the oldest Mason of Lowell and a charter member of the lodge in this place. He has passed the eighty-third milestone on life's journey, and his has been a very eventful career,
in which he has largely witnessed the growth and upbuilding of the country and has taken an active and helpful part in the work of progress in many sections of the United States. From actual experience he has intimate knowledge concerning the history of pioneer days in California as well as in Indiana and Illinois, and his life record, if written in detail, would present many chapters of intense and thilling interest. He is very widely acknowledged.
