Reubey S. Tomlinson Ferris, from Baldwinsville, New York, was the niece of Mrs. William Haldane and came to live with the Haldanes. The Haldanes had no living children of their own; Reubey was taken into the family as a daughter. She married J.W. Ferris, and later moved to Wisconsin to live with a daughter in 1936. In that year she wrote these recollections of life with the Haldanes, for the Grand Rapids Centennial (1937). The version in this collection was edited by W.J. Etten.

William Haldane (1807-1898) was born in Delhi, Delaware County, New York, the eldest of four children born to James and Elizabeth (nee Preston) Haldane, both native of Edinburgh, Scotland. At age 14 William Haldane became an apprentice carpenter and joiner, becoming a journeyman six years later. In 1832 he opened a furniture making shop, having married Sarah Tomlinson the previous year.

In 1836 the Haldanes moved to Grand Rapids, where Haldane opened a cabinet-making shop in his house at the southeast corner of Pearl Street and Ottawa Avenue. [See Baxter illustration, included in collection.] Initially he made furniture by hand and a foot-powered lathe. In 1847 he added water-power machinery in a new ship along the East Canal at Bridge Street. He converted to steam power in 1853.

A skilled furniture maker, generally viewed as the first in Grand Rapids, Haldane also made excellent cutters whose quality was such that customers bid to make purchases. Haldane also made coffins and for a brief time added undertaking to his endeavors.

A long time member of the Congregational Church, Haldane was active in First (Park) Congregational Church in Grand Rapids for 50 continuous years, during which time he came to be known as “Deacon” Haldane. The Haldanes had two children, both died in infancy. At his death, Haldane left his estate to Reubey Tomlinson.