1925 - John Porteous Dies in Garfield, Kansas

I've mentioned "gathering bits and pieces" in several of my posts. I never refuse information when it comes to me. I have found that accepting these morsels of information may turn out to be a missing puzzle piece. Take for instance a couple days ago, I got an email from someone in Kansas who was working on a project -- to add all Garfield Cemetery burials on FindAGrave.com of which I am also a contributor. He was reading obituaries on the local newspapers on various microfilm.

My great-great grandparents and family settled in Garfield. They are all buried in the Garfield Cemetery. My great grandfather died in Garfield, his body shipped back to Mundelein, Illinois and he is buried in Diamond Lake Cemetery. There were obituaries/death notices in Kansas and in Illinois.

THE PUZZLE PIECE
In the email message was an obituary for my great grandfather John PORTEOUS. I opened the obit image. The obituary was a lot longer than the one I had originally from a Larned, Kansas newspaper; this one was from a different newspaper, The Pawnee County News, July 23, 1925 issue (on microfilm).

 

There isn't much here I didn't know before, but as I read the obit, one bit stood out -- a puzzle piece -- like the cloudless sky piece of a jigsaw puzzle, it doesn't have a lot to go by, but its die-cut shape can yield the information necessary to attach more pieces. This small part of the obit does just that -- it gets me a little closer to figuring out when John's father William D. actually settled in Garfield, Kansas.

CLUES

John was "84 years old and had not seen his brother for 42 years." John's father came to America and landed at the Port of New York on 21 Apr 1875 aboard the ship SS Bothnia (found on the New York Passenger Lists on Ancestry.com). William D., wife Elizabeth, daughter Jane, grandson William M., and John's brother-in-law John Rouse Vamplew, were in Garfield at least by 1878 the date on an early deed I have. I haven't seen any deed prior to that. This is the "known" in the time line. 

THREE YEARS ARE UNACCOUNTED FOR

So where were they for the first three years? Some people wouldn't care, but I want to know. Did the W.D. Porteous family go straight to Garfield, Kansas, from the Port of New York? Unlikely. I would guess they came to John's house in Lake County first to visit with family and then any Lincolnshire friends. They probably took a train down to Garfield; by that time the Santa Fe railroad ran through and stopped at Garfield. So it is likely the W.D. Porteous family would have used that mode of transportation. Wouldn't it be neat if  the ticket stubs turned up and then were given to me? In my dreams...

"This was his [John's] third trip here to see his brother, the last being in 1878." Let's see: 1925 - third of three trips, 1878 - second of three trips, and the first trip is before 1878! With John living in Lake County, Illinois, and Garfield being almost 850 miles away in Kansas, I would think the second trip wasn't that soon after the first.This might be the closest I'll come to knowing when they were in Garfield prior to 1878. Maybe revisiting some deeds will help me. 

THE DEEDS

About forty-two months after he arrived in America, W.D. bought land in Kansas. (This 1878 deed below is the earliest known.) The deed for three lots bought in Oct. of that year is for "Sixteen Hundred Dollars." W.D. was a farmer in Lincolnshire, England, but not a land owner. How did W.D. get enough money to buy that land in Kansas? Could he have secured a loan and if so, who loaned it to him? There must be loan papers out there I haven't found yet. I'm not sure he could have worked and saved it up having a family to support and all. Sixteen hundred dollars is a lot of money to have laying around.

Over the years, W.D. accumulated quite a few acres both in town and outside. According to his 1902 obituary (found in the Larned newspaper): "Mr. Porteous was considered an exemplary citizen and by thrift and industry had accumulated a considerable estate." The obit also stated he had "resided at Garfield for the past twenty years." This would imply he came there in 1882. That can't be correct because he and the family were shown on the 1880 census. Can't believe all that is written in obituaries or death notices.

I have a deed with an 1879 date on it showing John Porteous bought land south of Garfield. Looks like the trip in 1878 could have been to look at land and then it was finalized in 1879, but we know John didn't come down next until 1925. There must be a record of the dealings between lawyers in both states. I have no knowledge of any as yet.

CENSUSES

The 1885 State census shows the Porteous family: WD 70 years old; E[lizabeth] 73 years; Will 22; Jennie 30. There is a column for where born - all said England. There is another column "Where from to Ks" and here they wrote Illinois. No where did it say how many years they were there. This is what made me believe they had stopped in Lake County before coming to Kansas. I can't find any mention of them coming to that area in the local newspapers either. 

By 1895 State census (no 1890 census), John R. Vamplew 22 has joined the household; WD is 74, Elizabeth had passed away (1886), Jenny is 40, Wm M is 35, and a Bertie Hand 8 from Indiana has joined the household. They were asked again "Where from to Kansas..." and again they said Illinois. Still nothing about how long in Kansas.

The last census W.D. was on is the 1900, and it shows William as a Naturalized citizen [1887], states he has been in the country 25 years as do the others except Bert. William is an 80-year-old widower and it shows he was born Jan 1820 even though I have his baptism record for 7 Dec 1817 Mareham Le Fen, Lincolnshire, England. Jennie is 42 single, William J. [should be M.] is 37 and single, Bert is now an "Ad Son" [adopted] and is 13 years old, John Vamplew is a boarder 49 years old and single. Jennie was born in 1843. That would make her 57 years old. Can't believe everything written on the censuses either.

As you can see, it's the little bits that can lead to hints cutting the shape of those family history puzzle pieces. Yep, there are many more pieces to fill in for the complete picture, but this is a start. This post does help put things into prospective and will help me sort things out later on. One of these days I'll get to the clouds on those sky pieces, then it will all come together. I have to keep gathering those bits and pieces!

+ + + + + +

NOTE: A surprise on the 1895 Kansas Federal Census in Garfield, there is a Bert Hand in the Porteous household. He is eight years old. That would make him born about 1887. Although this could be for another story, I wanted to mention it here. When Bert came to be in the household he had his surname Hand. By the 1900 census in the same household, he was adopted and after that he is known as Bert Porteous. I believe he has a link to the "Orphan Train" where, right about that time, orphaned or homeless children from crowded cities were being distributed on the farms. I followed Bert to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1920 and then lost his trail. I haven't been able to find out where in Indiana he is from or if he had parents. I had contacted the headquarters for the Orphan Train, but they didn't have a database of names set up. At the time they were building one by persons submitting names and stories. Bert is a curiosity to me and I have a bunch of scattered puzzle pieces on him. One day I will spend a little time to look for him again and maybe the pieces will come together, too.

Tombstone Tuesday: Norris Family Plot at Mount Greenwood, Chicago

Last week I posted a story about William D. ROSSER in the Spanish American War. The following day, Bob and I went to a couple cemeteries on the southwest side of Chicago. Our trip was unplanned because if you remember my mentioning if the weatherman knew ahead of time I was planning a cemetery adventure, we would have inclement weather for the visit. Spur of the moment decisions worked! I tricked him again and the day was beautiful! 

About an hour's drive, our first stop was Mount Greenwood which is on 111th Street just east of Kedzie (Norris & Rosser -- my mom's side of family) and the other is Fairmount-Willow Hills Memorial Park in Willow Springs at 9100 Archer Ave. (Van Plew -- my dad's side of family).


I love visiting cemeteries especially the old ones. They don't put up monuments and beautiful headstones now like they did back when. Mount Greenwood Cemetery is considered one of the oldest cemeteries in Chicago "designed to be places of peaceful recreation as well as burial." according to the Mount Greenwood Cemetery Tour book published by the Ridge Historical Society and Mount Greenwood Cemetery. It is a peaceful setting with many tall trees on small, rolling hills. There are some famous Chicagoans buried in there, but this post isn't about them. Click on the link above for a short tour of the headstones and monuments in this cemetery.

Mount Greenwood is where Samuel (Sr.) and my half-great aunt Catherine (Katie) Wilhelmine (Buschick) NORRIS are buried along with their daughter Elizabeth and her husband William D. Rosser. I knew they were buried in this cemetery, but never visited to take pictures even though the cemetery is less than an hour away. I was hoping (and surprised) to be informed by the office clerk of more family members also in this eight-grave plot. She gave us the cemetery map, marked with the location of the family plot; we set out to find it.

There are pictures of William D. and Elizabeth on the previous post (link at this post's beginning). I wish I had more Norris/Rosser family pictures, but no more I have are identified...yet. 

I don't know about you... I do not like flat-to-the-ground headstones! We found the section okay. We parked the car in the shade and started to walk the area looking for the headstones. It took few passes before we spotted them even though we were both walking the area marked with an X on the map, and as you can see in the headstone pictures I have taken, the grass and dirt has started to cover the stones. We were in our new car which was equipped with everything but a trowel and brush for cleaning the stones. We did our best with our hands and shoes to uncover and clean them. The office assured me they would raise the stones and clean them off. I will be back next time we are down in that area just to make sure.

NORRIS AND ROSSER PLOT - Section 31, Lot 451

 Bob had to pull the branches back -- one side at a time -- just so I could get a picture of each name. In Photoshop, I combined the two sides' images to get the one above. I enhanced the names, but they are still hard to read.

You can see how we missed the family plot. The main headstone is shrouded by evergreens. The eight flat headstones in front are sinking...we did our best to pull the grass away and to scrape some of the dirt off just to see the dates or names.

Samuel Norris Sr. and Catherine Norris are buried side-by-side middle of row just in front of the family stone. To the right is their son Samuel Jr. To the left is son-in-law Ferdinand Pedersen and inline with him in next row is his wife Grace, daughter of Samuel and Catherine. To the right of Grace is William D. Rosser and then Elizabeth his wife. Their son Roger is the last to the right. According to the cemetery office, a Carol Booth's ashes are buried in Grace's grave space also. I am sure Carol would be Grace and Ferdinand's daughter or possibly a granddaughter, but not having any information on her, I can only speculate.

Samuel Norris Sr. 1852-1923

Catherine Norris 1852-1926

Elizabeth Norris Rosser 1881-1960 (Eastern Star emblem)

William D. Rosser 1876-1931 (Masonic emblem).

I asked the clerk to check for any other people with the Norris or Rosser name. Here are the surprises. I have to limit myself to how deep into collateral families I want to go, but my practice is - if information comes to me, I take it. Here are the surprises:

Samuel Norris Jr. 1892-1916 (Masonic emblem)

Ferdinand Pederson 1895-1969 (not sure of the type emblem)

Grace Rosser Pedersen 1902-1963 (can't make out if any emblem)

Roger N[orris] Rosser 1923-1926 (no emblem)

All of these can be found on Find A Grave. These are the ones I could identify as part of my family. There were a few other Norris names, but I couldn't immediately recognize they being part of the family. Besides, I didn't want to get that far off my line; I need to stay focussed on my families.

The other cemetery we visited the same day was quite a ways west. Fairmount-Willow Hills Memorial Park cemetery is tucked into a huge forest preserve. I'd like to explore it sometime. Anyway, the two graves there are on my dad's side of the family -- Van Plews, James Wright and his wife Anna F. (Harms). James is the son of Henry and Sarah (Almond). You might remember the letters Henry wrote about coming to America. I will leave this cemetery story for another time.

Military Monday: William D. Rosser and the Spanish War

I am somewhat familiar with the surname ROSSER. My mom always talked about her cousin Roy, but I don't remember too much more. I found a picture of Roy with aunt Florence and mom, and I was going to put a little story together about him, but as it turns out, he isn't the subject of this post. Today's post is about William, Roy's father.

The Rossers are distant relatives; they are part of my mom's side of the family I know very little about -- my great grandfather August F. Buschick's first marriage. Because they are collaterals, I haven't researched them much at all. Recently I was looking at some scans of the Buschick family when I came across a picture I never really paid a lot of attention to. I was thrilled to see a young man in a military uniform...identified as "Will Rosser Spanish American War."  Ah! It's Military Monday! We don't see much on the Spanish American war...this would be a nice posting.

I did a quick bit of info gathering on Ancestry.com and Fold3.com just for this post otherwise I wouldn't have anything to say and it would have to wait until "Wordless Wednesday," I write that with a grin. As it turns out, I may have more questions than answers.

William David was born 27 Jul 1876 in Youngstown, Ohio to David and Ann (Samuels) Rosser who were both born in Wales. Of all the children cousin Roy Llewellyn is the only one with a noticeably Welch middle name. I wonder if that is a clue to where William's parents were from in Wales?

HANDSOME YOUNG MAN
On the left in the image below is the 1898 Record for Private William D. Rosser. I found it on Ancestry.com while searching the Military records, but didn't find much more to go with this. I checked the Illinois list of volunteers for the Company M, 1st Illinois Infantry but couldn't find his name. Yet the documents I have found online all indicate he was part of that company. Was it an error? Maybe he was out of the infantry so fast he wasn't listed. Maybe that is why I can't find any more military information on him. I wonder if there are discharge papers; haven't seen those either. Was he in active duty? If so, he had a whirlwind adventure; he possibly signed up at the start in April, out around September, and back home to marry his sweetheart by the December of 1898. Makes my head spin!

(Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S., Spanish American War Volunteers, 1898 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.  Original data: General Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers who Served During the War with Spain. Microfilm publication M871, 126 rolls. Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s–1917, Record Group 94. The National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.)

Doesn't William look proud in his uniform? I wonder, was he on his way to war or did he have the picture taken for his mother or sweetheart as something to remember him by... just in case? Or had he just come back? There is a medal on his chest. What is it for? Don't you wish sometimes the answers would be on the back of the photo? I was lucky my aunt Florence wrote his name under the picture in the family album.

Was his uniform actually for the Spanish American War? I wanted to make sure, so I checked a couple websites to compare uniforms. I concluded it was so similar to the others online, from the leggings to the canteen, they had to be of that war. 

Not being familiar with war medals, I can't make out or identify the medal pinned to his coat. I looked online for other medals from that war and found a ribbon with the cross, but the top "bling" didn't match to any. The medal might just signify which regiment he was associated with. Or, was the picture taken after the war and the medal was earned for some event during it?

I wonder if he knew what he was getting into when he volunteered? I heard many boys died from tainted food as well as malaria. Did he serve with Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders? Was he one of those who charged up San Juan Hill? Was there anything exciting for the 1st Illinois to be involved in?

The Spanish American War only lasted from April to August 1898 with the Treaty of Paris being signed in December of that year. Makes one wonder how much time was given to actual fighting when you think of the travel time to the battle grounds of Cuba and Puerto Rico. 

From The Spanish American War Centennial website, Joe Petritsch gives "A Brief History of the 1st Illinois Volunteer Infantry." This is an interesting site because it explains 1st Illinois went to Cuba, but by the time the 1st Illinois got to Cuba, it was well into July 1898. They participated in (or prior to) the siege of Santiago. The 1st Illinois received orders to leave Cuba on 24 August around noon. They boarded a transport ship heading for New York's Long Island. There were many men who contracted tropical diseases which some died from. Petritsch never mentioned anything about tainted food. In September many of the men took a 60-day furlough and went home to Chicago. Some of the men who were quarantined didn't get leave. The members of the 1st Illinois Infantry were released from service in November 1898. They still remained part of the Illinois National Guard after they got home.


WAR'S OVER, NOW WHAT?

On 24 December 1898, in Chicago, William David Rosser married Elizabeth Susan NORRIS who is my "half first cousin once removed" and the daughter of Catherine W. (BUSCHICK) and Samuel NORRIS. Catherine is the daughter of my g-grandfather August Ferdinand Buschick and his first wife Catherine (WYLIE). They lived in the West Pullman area in south side of Chicago on Eggleston Ave. They had 10 children. Their first child Roy was the cousin mom talked about most. 

Continuing to look on Ancestry.com and on Fold3.com, I found William had registered for WW I. It is hard to make out, but at the bottom you can see "wife is Elizabeth Rosser" and they lived at 11527 Eggleston Ave. This address matches all the entries in censuses from 1900 to 1940 and if we had access to the 1950 and 1960 censuses, I would think Elizabeth remained there until her death. I found Fold3 to have slim pickings for Spanish American War information. 

I haven't done military research, so I'm not sure if William actually served in this war or how to find out. He would have been about 42 years old. Was that too old to serve? Was there an "old man's" draft? I couldn't find any more information. Maybe a Rosser family historian can tell me and I can fill in the blanks. My contact information is on the right column.

Source Citation: Registration State: Illinois; Registration County: Cook; Roll: 1493571; Draft Board: 22.

Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

Original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.

William * was a mail clerk or carrier according to the 1910-1930 censuses. 

William David Rosser died in August 1931 and is buried in Mt. Greenwood Cemetery, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. Elizabeth applied for death benefits the following September. Here again it states he was in Co. M 1st Illinois Infantry and was an "Invalid" January 7, 1899. This doesn't tell me if he was injured in the Spanish American War or if on his job after serving. It left minor children blank, only his wife as a dependent. By 1931 all the children were out of the house with only one passing away in 1926. Elizabeth passed away Oct. 1961 at the age of 77.

This above card was also found on Ancestry.com. National Archives and Records Administration. U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.  Original data: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. T288, 546 rolls.

* The picture of Elizabeth has been removed. It was mis-identified. If I can identify another, I'll add it to this post.

CAN ANYONE FILL IN THE BLANKS OR ANSWER QUESTIONS FOR ME?

I would love to learn more about this family and if anyone connected to it is researching. There are so many blanks to fill in. Such as when and where Catherine (Wylie) Buschick died and is buried; when and where Catherine and August married. I know they were living in LaSalle County, Illinois in 1850 and by 1860 they can be found in Chicago.

To work up a time line of August's life, knowing more about Catherine could help me solve some mysteries like when and where August married his second wife, my great grandmother Susan FOWLER. Right now I can only guess and I don't like doing that.

* Corrections:
Originally I had written that William was a stone cutter and sculptor. He never was. The stone cutter and sculptor was his father-in-law's profession. (refer to the comment by Anonymous below.)

Tombstone Tuesday - I Spotted the Name on the Stone, But Not the Damage

Why would anyone want to damage a beautiful tombstone? Is it for fun? Or was it for the value of the metal? What ever the motive, it wasn't a pleasant feeling when I visited the gravesite of great great aunt Sarah A. (Fowler) KROESCHELL at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. I was so pleased with myself when I spotted the Kroeschell family plot. I was excited that it was in one of the best known cemeteries in Chicago if not the country. Many famous Chicagoans are interred here. Bob and I weren't expecting to find the plot to be in such condition. This is a very expensive and grand family plot marker.

Looks like the vandals stripped off a wreath and maybe a plaque or possibly an angel. Maybe below the wreath there was an urn. Who could tell. Will we ever know? I hope someone who has a picture of the stone -- before the vandalism -- reads this and shares it with me.

My great great aunt Sarah was born to Luther and Lydia FOWLER, 22 Oct 1845 in Mexico, New York State. Sarah died in Chicago, 12 Dec 1906. The 1870 Federal Census in Allegan, Michigan shows she "Sells Sewing Machines." I think I have one of those machines. It was handed down to me by my aunt Florence with the story "this was my mother's and all the girls learned how to sew on it." The sewing machine is a Singer treadle, and it should still work although it needs a good clean-up and oiling.

She married Charles Kroeschell in 1875, Allegan, Michigan. From there they moved to Chicago where Charles started a business.  

Charles was born 22 May 1848 in Nashville, Tennessee and died 29 Jan 1928 in Chicago. He was a "boilermaker" and was one of the Kroeschell Brothers boilermakers (gold circle below). He was in the same business as great grandfather August Ferdinand BUSCHICK (red circle below). Sarah's sister Susan was married to A.F. Buschick!

Chicago Tribune 1882 "Chicago Business Directory."

The Chair

My mom and dad retired sometime after March 1969; they moved from a large Victorian house in Mundelein, Illinois up to Pella, Wisconsin -- oh, maybe a population of 100. Of course the house they were moving into was a modest two-bedroom cottage overlooking the Embarrass River. It was a beautiful spot and a nice comfortable little house, but not quite big enough for all their furniture.

They gave away a goodly amount of their furniture to us children, then to relatives, then to friends who picked out what they would like. What was left, I guess, went onto a burning pile. My husband and I hauled my collection of family pieces out of the house as did my siblings with theirs. To me it didn't matter who got the "family" pieces as long as they were still in the family.

My half brother who moved to Montana (later on), received a beautiful chair as one of his pieces. It was one that mom had when Harvey was growing up. I remember the chair always sat next to a beautiful hand-carved table with a Tiffany-style lamp; mom called it her "butterfly" table because the top's grain looked like a butterfly stretching its wings. I really think it was because the slap of wood was cut and butterflied next to one another giving it the "mirror" image side-by-side. Anyway, Harvey has had the chair since the '70s.

(Left) The Pella house overlooking the Embarrass River in Wisconsin. (Right) Dad playing "horsey" with his three-year-old granddaughter. The butterfly table and the chair in background.

Recently Harvey and my sister-in-law were moving to a smaller place and it seemed to be time for them to give some up of their furniture. That's where the chair comes in. Since he knew I always loved the chair, Harvey thought I would like to have it. Brother John was out there to pick some stuff up to bring back to Illinois and Harvey asked him to take the chair to me.

I knew nothing about the chair coming back to Illinois, let alone to my house! When brother John got home from his trip, I got a phone call thinking he would just be telling me about his trip. What a surprise I had when he said Harvey wanted me to have the chair and when did I want to pick it up!

I have to admit, I was a little choked up to hear this. What a wonderful surprise. Sure made my day! I had always liked that chair. It is a cherished piece of furniture and it was one of Mom's favorites.

The chair is in my living room waiting for the perfect spot to reside. As you can see in this picture, it is hand carved and very beautiful. I wish the table were with it, but mom and dad took the table and lamp to Pella with them and a couple years after they settled in there, there was a house fire which totally destroyed the house and all that was in it. 

This chair has a particular maker, but I have no clue by who. I can't find a mark anywhere  The person who reupholstered it told my brother, but he can't recall what the guy said. 

I'm not sure when it will be my turn to give it to one of my children. I don't want to think about it, I just love looking at the chair. For as long as I have it in my care, I'll cherish it.

Searching For Luther in Allegan, Michigan

Last week, I started this story in great hopes the questions were answered. I was very curious what land g-g-grandfather Luther Fowler owned when living in Allegan, Michigan, but the more I looked at the latest "gatherings" (from a short trip the middle of June) the longer it took to write this posting. What I thought I saw, I didn't. What I thought I proved, I didn't. So for the last few days I've been doing more "looking" at –– studying –– the deeds and city map. I'm not there yet, but getting close.

DECIDING TO GO TO ALLEGAN
Call me superstitious, but if I plan too far ahead to go on a genealogical trip to a town or a cemetery, it's always surely to be either too hot, too cold, too windy, to stormy; the weatherman knows how to curtail my trips. This time I fooled him -- did it before the weatherman had a chance to blink! I pretended to want the trip a week later than I actually picked! This must have worked because the forcast was for perfect weather the next week -- my week -- and we only wanted the first three days of it! I'm sure the genealogical gods had something to do with it, too...

Before I told Bob, I checked the calendar and blocked out three days. I called the hotel in Plainwell and made reservations asking if they allowed dogs -- yes -- good. Then I got the idea of boarding Abby at a kennel up in that area. That worked out great, the price was the same per day as was the hotel's. So why not? Then both Bob and I would be free to do and go where we wanted and Abby could have some friends to play with. Quickly I put together a list of a few things I needed to get at the Allegan county courthouse, Allegan city hall, and library. A couple days later we were on the road with the doggie. We left our cats with enough food and water for four days and an extra kitty litter pan. We were in the car and out of town by nine in the morning! Weatherman had no clue we were gone!

I had less than three days to "hunt and gather" information on Luther. Not only will I verify previously gathered information with documentation, but I'll seek some new information, too. I want to get pictures of the town and land Luther owned, too.

I've written about Luther before in Proving a connection to Luther posted July 8, 2012 and then Finally! The Connection – Luther son of Abel Fowler posted May 6, 2013.


Little by little I have been putting his life in Allegan into context -- "fleshing out the bones." There are a few questions likely never to be answered like: when did his first wife Lydia die and where is she buried, when and where did he marry Hannah whose maiden name I'd also like to know, but that's not what I was up there for. I was looking for information mainly on the land he owned.

MONDAY - ON OUR WAY!
After an uneventful and rather pleasant drive up to Allegan, we dropped the doggie off at the kennel then stopped at City Hall. It's a beautiful building tucked into a row of older buildings on Locust St. -- the main drag. I asked a few questions and all led to the court house. I'd come back before we leave to look through the burials book for Oakwood cemetery (a city cemetery) when I had a little more time. The courthouse was about to close so we went back the next day. That worked out good since we had to check into the hotel and find a place to eat dinner.

City Hall tucked between two older buildings in
the middle of the block on Locust St.

Allegan is the county seat. It's a quaint town about in the middle of Allegan County on Highway 89 between Plainwell and Holland, Michigan; about an hour southwest of Grand Rapids. The downtown area had a major fire around 1884; the buildings were torn down and rebuilt on the intact foundations. One building on the block was dated -- 1884 -- on the front. The Kalamazoo River winds through the town and at 2nd St. there is a one-lane iron bridge. There's a section of buildings which were for manufacturing, milling, furniture, and various other company businesses; some are still in operation. Some of the empty buildings are now being used as an art gallery or lofts. There is redevelopment going on which is nice to see. Allegan is a beautiful place with a board walk winding with the river through the town.

Bob and I walked around the downtown area visiting stores, buildings I know my great grandmother must have entered at one time or another. One store we went into was an old-fashioned dime store with toys, fabric, lamp shades, cards and stationery with school supplies, small appliances and kitchen wares. They even had the rack of plastic table cloth sold by the inch! That was nice to see. We need more stores like that. I bought a plastic covered pitcher perfect size for my orange juice and to fit into my refrigerator's door shelve.

Main street - Locust St. - The City Hall is located on the right of the stop signs. We ate lunch at the Downtown Bakery & Deli a couple doors down from the city hall. At the end of the block you can see a gray round-roof turret...that has a nice restaurant where everyone knows everyone...we had a wonderful lunch there also -- $2 hamburger that was not a franchise one. Bob and I went for coffee or lunch at various places in the town. The people, food, and scenery are very nice.

The townspeople are friendly even though we were "strangers." As we were to our car, a man stopped us and started talking..."I'm so glad to see someone from Illinois!" he said, "Where ya from?" We told him and he got all excited. He used to live not too far south in Chicago and used to work a few blocks east of us. I guess he was homesick; he said his wife was the one who wanted to move up there.

Bob and I decided to stop at the grocery store for carry-out dinner so we could come back to our room to watch the third game of the Stanley Cup finals between the Chicago Blackhawks (my boys) and Boston Bruins. Hawks didn't have a good night. 

TUESDAY - DEEDS AND DIGITAL IMAGES

The courthouse is just another square, light colored brick building with security at the door checking bags, purses, pockets and asking questions about weapons and alcohol...and just like at the airport, I had to walk through a detector (not the body scanner!). I did pass quietly and thanked them. The only thing I carried that shoots was my camera.

I visited the Vital Records office and was able to go into the back room to look through the marriage and death indexes and record books. That was nice because I would be able to not only get digital images of the M & Ds to verify names and dates I already had, but I hoped I would find some I didn't know about, too. There was one marriage -- my g-g-aunt Sarah Fowler who lived in Chicago, but came back home to get married in Allegan, and I thought they were married in Chicago. That was nice surprise. I also got a certified copy of my great grandmother's death record. That was nice, too. I didn't find g-g-grandmother Lydia's death date or her burial information; nor did I find Luther's second marriage record. Maybe he and Hannah married in Chicago.

Across the hall was the land records office. I was thrilled when I got copies of some deeds. I was even more thrilled that I remembered to bring my list with the Libre numbers and pages of the ones I wanted! I have most of my genealogical information in the "cloud" but sometimes it is nice to have that paper. I'm still a little old fashioned that way...I'm not quite paperless, yet!

Other side of the street was the library. A very helpful genealogy savvy librarian brought out many items for me to look through. One item was a 1877 directory showing Luther was in residence at 9 Wilbur St. and was a cabinet maker. I took digital images of the directory and an old city plat map for home reference. 

1877 Allegan Village Directory, page 54

Partial of the Allegan city plat map. I don't know how old it is.

The table was stacked with reference books, history books, directories, and map books which we plowed through; we looked at the city map for particular pieces of property listed in those deeds; I wanted to go to the locations to take pictures. One of the first deeds I looked at was this one from 1869. Lots 43 and 44 were most visible.

Elizabeth Booth Et al, to Luther Fowler > Received for Record, May 5th A.D> 1869, at 1 o'clock....

This Indenture, Made this Fifth day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and Sisty Nine BETWEEN Elizabeth Booth Widow & Diane M Booth and Laura Broun Sisters all of Allegan Mich the Sole and only heirs at Law of the Late Henry H Booth Deceased of the firt part, and Luther Fowler of the same place of the second part....three hundred Dollars....Allegan Village Lots Numbered on the Recorded plat of said Village of Allegan forty three (43) & Forty four (44) Being on Section Twenty Eight [??] North Range & thirteen West.....

The librarian and I searched the plat map and deduced where the two parcels of land were at the corners of Pine and Cutler Streets. She made a paper copy for me and after more rummaging through a few more books and catalogs Bob and I set out to find the property called Lots 43 & 44. We met the owners of the brown house Karen and Doug, Bob and I had a nice talk about the house's history and the area. Karen made a copy of a picture she had of the house taken very early 1900s. I let her make copies of my deeds. I took pictures of the house. Karen is also into genealogy and understood why we stopped.

Houses located on Lots 43 & 44 at the corner of Pine and Cutler Streets. The brown house has several additions to it, but the owners told us the 

front part was the oldest being from about 1850. The out buildings aren't there, 

but we were told the barn and outhouse would have been on the back of the lots. 

The white house would have had the barn and probably the front 

could have been used as garden or pasture. 

This all seems so cut and dried. We have the deed and we have the plat map and we have images of the two lots, one with a house that was fairly new around 1850. Well, by the time I got home and started to look at all these again, I realized there were several sections of that Allegan map where 43 & 44 were located. ARRGGHH! You'd think the librarian and I jumped to conclusions...but did we? These lots pictured are correct. They are in the "Original Town" area written on the map. Yet, it's not conclusive Luther ever lived there. Just one more question I must ask in a letter to the county land records.

I knew from the directory, Luther was living at 9 Wilbur St. in 1877. Why I didn't see Wilbur St. (on the map above) while I was up there I will never know. I did notice it a few days ago as I revisited the deeds and maps for this post. But that's not all I saw a little while later when I was reading another deed dated 1883. 

This deed below is between Luther Fowler and A. F. [August Ferdinand] Buschick, both of Chicago in 1883. The transaction was for two hundred dollars. The description of the property is: Village Lot number Seventy eight (78) Davis Addition to the Village of Allegan according to the recorded plat of said... At first I thought the property was located near the courthouse on Hubbard St., but that parcel looks like it belongs to the Episcopal Church. I looked at the map again and that is when I found Wilbur St. and Lot 78 in DAVIS ADD.

I'm sure I have the correct lot 78 and the street location. I don't know if lot 78 is "9" Wilbur St. though. One of the people I had talked to over the three days mentioned street names had changed, but she couldn't tell me when; Wilbur St. did change and now is Park Dr. on a modern city map. So for now, I would say this is most probably where Luther lived in 1877 as a cabinet maker. Google Maps hasn't photographed it yet. I guess I will have to make another trip up there to get images of this piece of property and maybe some more questions answered...my wish list is growing! 

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at a roadside stand where fresh-picked strawberries were for sale! Oh, were they good!

WEDNESDAY - THE CEMETERY
I had images of the cemetery from a couple years ago. They were taken by someone else. Well, there's no better feeling to a family historian than to visit the gravesite to get a "feel" for the area and say a prayer for those buried there. I also wanted to take my own pictures in Oakwood Cemetery of the plot of 12 graves where my great grandmother Susan was buried. This I did succeed in doing, but I'm still at a loss for information on #1 (owner), 3, 7, 9, 10, and 11. How is N. Abrams connected to my family? I've never heard of him.

There are only four headstones in this plot of 12. Susan (Fowler) Buschick is #2. The cemetery card I have lists the occupants in all 12 graves, but only names for nine. There are three rows of four graves. The numbers showing above the circles gives you a visual of the plot map.

Susan A. Buschick, 

Mar. 25, 1841, 

Aug. 28 1915, 

MOTHER

Susan A. Buschick -- daughter of Luther Fowler

my great grandmother