You can read about Belle Lamunion, 1864-1848, and her amazing box of family memories here. Belle married Henry H Fellows, 1858-1905 in 1879 in Ashland Township, Newaygo County, Michigan. The cast of characters is located here. There is an accounting of people about whom I have little information here.
When I took Belle’s Box to a reunion, several people took cards that were connected to their direct ancestors, and I am glad. I did take photos of as many of them as I could before they disappeared. This group of posts are those that I was able to photograph. There were duplicate photos so when I renumbered the photos to titles I could use, I deleted the dupes. Missing numbers do not mean missing items!
Belle and her second husband, Charlie Tinker, were members of the Silver Creek Grange, Colfax Township, Michigan. I searched and got this AI result, which I find interesting. Interesting because my husband’s grandfather Ross Pressley Fenton, is mentioned. Online information about Ross, including this blog, is linked in the search result.
- Historical Context: The Grange (Patrons of Husbandry) served as a vital social and political organization for farmers in Wexford County, often mentioned in regional historical records.
- Location: Records place the Grange in Colfax Township, near Manton, MI.
- Information Availability: Details about the specific, active grange hall building are limited, but it is part of the rural heritage documentation for Wexford County.
Here is a copy of a photo a cousin sent me.
Ross Fenton is written on his chest in this photo. two rows in front and slightly to the left is Hazel Fenton. She is most probably the wife of Alfred Thurston Fenton, Ross’s brother. In the second row the lady who is second from the left is Laura Fenton. She was my husband’s aunt, his mother’s sister. She is also the aunt our second daughter was named for.
A publication called The Grange Visitor is archived in the Michigan State Libraries digital Collections. The article below was printed in Vol. 7, No 18 (1881 September 15). Bill’s family was not in the area that early, but the article is still interesting.
