I found this theme, which may also be considered a meme, over on Facebook, and decided participating was a good idea.
This Friday’s card is from the funeral of Charles E. Tinker. Charlie or sometimes, Charley, Tinker was the second husband of Belle Lamunion; she was one of Papa’s great-grandmothers. The grandchildren, at least all that I ever met, called the couple, “Grandma and Charlie”.
The actual cemetery where Charlie is buried is Hillside, it is just south-east of Grant.
I recently outlined the land transactions of Belle Lamunion and Henry Fellows, Belle Lamunion and Charlie Tinker, and some of their descendents in Wexford County, Michigan. Belle and Henry, and later Belle and Charlie, lived a large portion of their lives in Wexford County, Michigan, but had previously lived in other locations.
In genealogical research, the best practice is to search from what is know to what is unknown, from the present into the past in successive steps. If this method is not used, it is possible to spend many years researching the wrong ancestor; I have heard painful accounts of researchers who inadvertently jumped to conclusions which lead them down the wrong path. With common names like John Johnston and (believe it or not) Henry and Erastus Fellows in our families, I make every attempt to avoid doing so.
Henry and Belle were Papa’s great grandparents, and had previously lived in Newaygo County, Michigan. In 2003, I traveled to Newaygo County to survey the records available there for the family. I have previously published a transcription of a deed which was central in settling the estate of Erastus G. Fellows, Henry’s father. Erastus G. Fellows died of disease at Lookout Mountain on 15 March 1865; he was a Union soldier. I wrote a little about Erastus and about our visit to his grave some time ago.
Reviewing that transcription provides information on a suspected relationship between these individuals:
A biography of Henry H. Fellows which is printed in an old county history gives his parents names as Erastus Fellows and Ruth Smith.1
I have since discovered a biography for Peter J. Fellows of Lake Odessa, Ionia County, Michigan which lists his parents as Erastus and Ruth, and also states that Peter first came to Newaygo County, Michigan from Ohio, and then moved on to Ionia County. It also names other children in the family of Ruth and Erastus, but only the living ones. My Erastus is not named, darn it.2
These old biographies are not completely accurate, they tend to, “Put the best face on bad facts”, to quote Papa. More to the point, I have found inaccuracies and errors of omission, but have never found one with outright lies. So, with the biographies indicating that Peter J. and Henry H. Fellows had the same parents, one of which names Henry H. as Peter J.’s brother, and with both Henry H. and Peter involved in the affairs of the estate of Erastus G. Fellows, my search for the family of Erastus G. Fellows has a little more life. I also have Ohio census records which add the census locations of several Fellows siblings in Seneca County, Ohio in various homes, the cemetery clue, and other evidence which is beginning to stack up.
The older Henry H. Fellows, who I suspect is a brother of our ancestor’s father, was a well known, and perhaps a little better off than our more average ancestors. He was heavily involved in land transactions in Newaygo County, Michigan. There were actually so many deeds with the surname Fellows, that I gave up before I had abstracted the information from all of them.
However, I will examine and post those which I have over the next weeks, as I look for more clues about the Fellows family. I am following my instincts, and searching from what I know, into the unknown.
I am posting information gleaned from land records in the areas where our family’s ancestors resided. You can read more about this project in the overview. You may also check my deed record listing, which I will update frequently, but probably not every day. This group pertain to Papa’s Fellows ancestors who resided in Wexford County, Michigan.
| Date: | 16 January 1947 |
| Liber: | 139 |
| Page: | 479 |
| Location: | Wexford Co., MI |
| Grantor: | Mrs. Belle Tinker, widow of Colfax, Wexford, MI |
| Grantee: | Frank Fellows and Lila Fellows his wife of Colfax, Wexford, MI |
| Witnesses: | Gerald Bostick, William Paulson |
| Type of deed: | Warranty |
| Rec’d and recording: | 21 January 1947 |
| Clerk/registrar: | Thomas Brown |
| Location of land: | Colfax |
| Consideration: | $1 |
| Notes: | |
| Description: | E 1/2 of the NW 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of Sec 9 T23N R10W |
As far as I know, this is the last of the property owned by Belle in Wexford County. She deeded it to her youngest child and only surviving son, Frank A. Fellows with this instrument. Here it is, marked on a segment of the old 1914 atlas.1
I am posting information gleaned from land records in the areas where our family’s ancestors resided. You can read more about this project in the overview. You may also check my deed record listing, which I will update frequently, but probably not every day. This group pertain to Papa’s Fellows ancestors who resided in Wexford County, Michigan.
| Date: | 7 May 1945 |
| Liber: | 139 |
| Page: | 509 |
| Location: | Wexford Co., MI |
| Grantor: | Charles E. Tinker AKA Charles Tinker and Belle Tinker his wife |
| Grantee: | Earl T. Colbert & Marie Colbert husband & wife of Manton, Wexford, MI |
| Witnesses: | Jno A. Muche, Harriet Muche |
| Type of deed: | Warranty |
| Rec’d and recording: | 29 June 1947 |
| Clerk/registrar: | Brown |
| Location of land: | Colfax |
| Consideration: | $800.00 |
| Notes: | Belle signed with an X, although she has signed her name on previous deeds. |
| Description: | NW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 and the N 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of the NW 1/4 and the NE 1/4 of the NW 1/4 all in Section 16, T23N R10W |
Under this deed, Belle and Charlie disposed of their remaining land in Section 16. I am not clear on where Belle and Charlie lived after they sold this land. Charlie died on 5 January 1946, and Belle on 27 Aug 1948. Unlike the deed I described yesterday, this one was filed in a more timely fashion. Here is the location of the land in Section 16 of Colfax township, using a page the old 1914 atlas 1 to illustrate.
I am posting information gleaned from land records in the areas where our family’s ancestors resided. You can read more about this project in the overview. You may also check my deed record listing, which I will update frequently, but probably not every day. This group pertain to Papa’s Fellows ancestors who resided in Wexford County, Michigan.
| Date: | 13 December 1919 |
| Liber: | 97 |
| Page: | 98 |
| Location: | Wexford County, MI |
| Grantor: | Ross Fenton & Edna Fenton his wife of Colfax, Wexford, MI |
| Grantee: | Charles E. inker & Belle Tinker of the same place |
| Witnesses: | N.A. Reynolds & Linda K. Reynolds |
| Type of deed: | Warranty |
| Rec’d and recording: | 19 Dec 1919 |
| Clerk/registrar: | Slack |
| Location of land: | Colfax |
| Consideration: | $225.00 |
| Notes: | N.A. Reynolds was a 1st cousin once removed of Ross Fenton [1C1R] |
| Description: | NW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 Sect 17 T23N R10W |
This is another little piece of the section 16 puzzle I am working my way through. When I started going through these deeds, I supposed that dividing they by family made the most sense. Now I see that the land was passed around between families. I should probably have divided it my location of land, ordered by the dates of the transactions.
I am going to keep plodding away, and one day it will all make sense. Why? Because I am making a new spreadsheet which I will be able to sort by section, description, grantor, grantee, or whatever else I think of between now and then. When that is done I will have the whole ball of was. [Do not hold your breath.] I also have a group of transactions for which I am going to clarify information when I make a trip up to Wexford County soon. All of this will hopefully provide a more complete picture of the land transactions and relationships of Papa’s Wexford County ancestors in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the meantime, from the Colfax township page of the old 1914 Atlas1 of Wexford County, here is a visual of the land in question.
I am posting information gleaned from land records in the areas where our family’s ancestors resided. You can read more about this project in the overview. You may also check my deed record listing, which I will update frequently, but probably not every day. This group pertain to Papa’s Fellows ancestors who resided in Wexford County, Michigan.
| Date: | 27 August 1913 |
| Liber: | 86 |
| Page: | 212 |
| Location: | Wexford County, MI |
| Grantor: | Mrs. Belle Fellows of Cedar Creek, Wexford Co., MI |
| Grantee: | Herbert Doolittle of Ann Arbor, MI |
| Witnesses: | Charley Tinker, Isaac C. Wheeler, Notary Public |
| Type of deed: | Warranty |
| Rec’d and recording: | 28 August 1913 |
| Clerk/registrar: | Slack |
| Location of land: | Cedar Creek, Wexford, MI |
| Consideration: | $1,300 |
| Notes: | |
| Description: | NE 1/4 of the NW 1/4 Sect 5 T23N R10W |
Belle’s tenure on this property in Cedar Creek was short-lived. She purchased on 21 March 1907 and sold on 27 Aug 1913. Comparing amounts on the deeds shows that she “earned” $200 for that period. It does not seem like a lot of money, until you think of it as 18.18 % of the beginning sale price of the property. I made a calculation at my favorite site for figuring value, Measuring Worth. According to the site, $1,100 in 1907 is equivalent to the following values in 1913:
| $1,159.17 | using the Consumer Price Index |
| $1,171.18 | using the GDP deflator |
| $1,262.96 | using the value of consumer bundle |
| $1,144.77 | using the unskilled wage |
| $1,138.20 | using the nominal GDP per capita |
| $1,271.86 | using the relative share of GDP |
We don’t know what improvements may have been made to the property between 1907 and 1913, so we can not really tell if Belle profited from the sale, or lost money after making considerable improvement.
The property didn’t move, but apparently Belle moved on. If you want to see the location of this land, you may view the map with the description of the purchase transaction.
I am posting information gleaned from land records in the areas where our family’s ancestors resided. You can read more about this project in the overview. You may also check my deed record listing, which I will update frequently, but probably not every day. This group pertain to Papa’s Fenton ancestors who resided in Wexford County, Michigan.
| Date: | 4 November 1925 |
| Liber: | 105 |
| Page: | 305 |
| Location: | Wexford County, MI |
| Grantor: | Harmon H. Longstreet & Susie Longstreet his wife of Colfax, Wexford, MI |
| Grantee: | Charles Tinker & Belle Tinker of Colfax, Wexford, MI |
| Witnesses: | Jno A. Muche, Ethel Hulbert |
| Type of deed: | Warranty |
| Rec’d and recording: | 10 December 1925 |
| Clerk/registrar: | Johnson |
| Location of land: | Colfax |
| Consideration: | $80 |
| Notes: | |
| Description: | SW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 Sec 16 T23N R10W |
The latest on-line atlas, from 19141 shows that this land was in possession of “Williams Bros”, perhaps a lumber company. I am not familiar with the name. Among my transcriptions, I do not have a record of Harmon and Susie purchasing this land. I probably missed quite a few “Longstreet” deeds, since I was concentrating on the Fenton name. This thumbnail is from that 1914 atlas, you can enlarge the map if you wish. You can see the two twenty acre pieces that Longstreet owned, the one on the west side of the road backs up to this forty acre piece.
These photos were posted on my old site, and I am adding them here. They are thumbnails, which you may enlarge.
Belle (Lamunion) and Charlie Tinker. Belle and Charlie married in 1914. Her grandchildren say, “Grandma and Charlie”. I’ll have to ask M-in-L the dog’s name. I forgot it.
Belle, and all her grandchildren who lived nearby at the time. One uncle told us that Bill Burgess would not sit down unless Uncle Hi was in the photo, so there is Hi. Hi was the husband of Eunice Fellows.
From the back left:L Laura Fenton (later married Pratt), daughter of Edna Fellows; Grandma (Belle Lamunion Fellows Tinker); standing: George Fenton, son of Edna Fellows; seated: Hiram Smith, husband of Eunice Fellows.
Front: Rachel Burgess, daughter of Hazel Fellows; Loren Fellows on Grandma’s lap, son of Frank Fellows; Frank Fenton in front of his brother George, son of Edna Fellows. Hiram is holding: Left: Bill Burgess, son of Hazel Fellows, right: Henry Smith, his son with Eunice Fellows.
Read about this series of posts, regarding items in a box originally owned by Belle (Lamunion) Fellows Tinker here. The cast of characters is located here. And, there is an accounting of people about whom I have little information here.
The numbering of these posts had been modified to signify that I am posting items from my archival book three, a three precedes the item number.
This is the last post of the items from Belle’s Box. At times I didn’t think I would make it, but I have. For the record, there have been 348 posts displaying and describing the items in these treasure trove. A few of the items were kept private, because the depict living people. This has been a great journey for me, and I hope all my readers and especially the family of Belle Lamunion have enjoyed seeing each of the posts.
I will be celebrating the completion of this series at the reunion of the descendents of Belle Lamunion and Henry Fellows near Cadillac, Michigan on August 2, 2009. If you are a member of this family, please join us. If you are a neighbor, or a descendent of a neighbor and know family members, come on over, too, we will be happy to see you. Click on the link to find out about the reunion
These remaining photos show Belle herself. Although they aren’t the only ones in the collection that are of her, they didn’t seem to fit into another post. I’m honoring her by posting them today, to thank her for saving the mementoes in the box for her descendants. The books containing the items will be on display at the reunion. These are thumbnails, click to enlarge.
Here’s to a remarkable lady, Belle Lamunion, 15 July 1864 – 27 Aug 1948!
Read about this series of posts, regarding items in a box originally owned by Belle (Lamunion) Fellows Tinker here. The cast of characters is located here. And, there is an accounting of people about whom I have little information here.
The numbering of these posts had been modified to signify that I am posting items from my archival book three, a three precedes the item number.
Even though there is some identification written on the back of this photo, it has not helped me identify the subject of the photo.
I can see it was taken March 8, 1—. But no amount of manipulation helps me decipher the text that precedes the date. Can you help?
