Mar 20

Fellows Family Land Records, Wexford County, Michigan Liber 97 page 114

This entry is part 63 of 99 in the series Deeds in the Family

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: 31 December 1919
Liber: 97
Page: 114
Location: Wexford County, MI
Grantor: Harmon Longstreet & Susie Longstreet his wife of Colfax, Wexford, MI
Grantee: Charlie Tinker & Belle Tinker of the same place
Witnesses: Stephen Dassance, Ross Fenton
Type of deed: Warranty
Rec’d and recording: 5 Feb 1920
Clerk/registrar: Slack
Location of land: Colfax
Consideration: $225.00
Notes: Ross Fenton was Susie’s son, and Belle’s son-in-law.
Description: NW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 Sect 17 T23N R10W

More in Section 16. Papa’s families populated this area for much of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the names which appear in today’s atlas are cousins, or descendents of other landowners of that time.

Here is the location of the land, which I plotted on a portion of a page from an old 1914 Atlas1 of Wexford County, here is a visual of the land in question.

97-114

  1. Standard Map Company., Atlas of Wexford County, Michigan : containing complete maps of all townships, names of property owners, maps of the county, city of Cadillac, United States and State of Michigan., Standard Map Company., Cadillac Evening News (Firm) (Cadillac, Mich.: Cadillac Evening News, c1914), page 20, The University of Michigan. Michigan County Histories and Atlases. http://name.umdl.umich.edu/3928167.0001.001 : accessed 2 November 2009.

Mar 19

Fellows Family Land Records, Wexford County, Michigan Liber 97 page 98

This entry is part 62 of 99 in the series Deeds in the Family

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.

97-98

 

 

  1. Standard Map Company., Atlas of Wexford County, Michigan : containing complete maps of all townships, names of property owners, maps of the county, city of Cadillac, United States and State of Michigan., Standard Map Company., Cadillac Evening News (Firm) (Cadillac, Mich.: Cadillac Evening News, c1914), page 20, The University of Michigan. Michigan County Histories and Atlases. http://name.umdl.umich.edu/3928167.0001.001 : accessed 2 November 2009.

Mar 17

Progress

It is a little too early to post quarterly progress on my Genealogy Goals, or a little too late to post monthly progress for January and February. So, I will consider this an irregular report to myself.

I have been troubled by side trips, which makes marching straight toward a goal difficult. Some of you know what I mean, this is how it goes for me:

  1. Enter a marriage record for an individual
  2. Realize that there are probably birth and perhaps death records which will be easy to locate on-line
  3. Locate several new records for individual, including 4 census records, death, another marriage, photo of grave on Find-A-Grave.
  4. Correspond with several other researchers of the same name.
  5. Share information by e-mail
  6. End up with 20 new items to enter, for the individual, his family and so on.

So focus is an issue. A big issue.

My Goals:

DWTD (deal with the data)

Looking back, in January when I set my goals, I had 102 folders, 5474 files and 5.17 gb of data in my dumping ground/new information folder on my computer. The tally this morning is 1 folder with 827 files. How did this happen? I did do a little typing, but I also reorganized much of my data.

  • A lot of the information had already been entered into my database, and the images attached. I was just so disorganized that I didn’t know that.
    • To address this, I created a set of archive folders which follow the alphabet, and contain some folders for my major surnames. I put my older archived files into the file set, then I moved all the “already entered” data into that file set. Stats on my archive files: 187 folders, 5087 files, 4.796 GB. The best part is that they are organized to match my physical file system.
    • Next, I created a folder called research notes. The contents are mostly spreadsheets of data I have collected, but also included are some “fishing trip” data. An example is a census record for a surname that is interesting to me due to it’s similarity to my great-grandfather’s surname. There are 198 items in that folder, and I hope to turn those into “to do” times and file them also.
    • The folder of images currently attached to my database contains 2,828 flies, 1.37 gb.

I think I will give myself a “adequate” on progress here. A lot left, but much accomplished.

And my two other goals:

  • Find the surname used by my Yearnd/Yournd/Ewen/Euens ancestors before their arrival in Howell, Michigan from outer space, (or Germany, or wherever they came from).
    • I get a failing mark here, but I have done some investigation.
  • Find my cousins, descendants of my Mother’s half brother, Donald William Hill. Donald was born 17 March 1919 in Hoosick Falls, Rensselaer County, New York to George Gardner Hill (1896-1962) and Helen Lois Palmer (1891-1966). He was first called George Gardner Hill, Jr., on the 1920 census, but later known as Donald William. Donald died 4 April 1985 in Lake Elsinore, Riverside County, California, and is buried in the National Cemetery in Riverside California. An genealogical angel and volunteer in Lake Elsinore has provided me some leads which may help me find Donald’s children.
    • I admit I have done nothing on this.

Not a total wash, but not as much as I had hoped to accomplish before good weather arrives.

I am also preparing for a research trip to New York. I am going in May, and hope to find new information about my mother’s Herrington/Harrington ancestors in Washington County. I will also research her Winn line in Columbia County, visit some cousins in Hoosick Falls, and check out various locations in Massachusetts for information. It is a big trip for me, and one I have put off too long.

In the summer, I am busy with my yard and garden, and I want to visit my grandchildren, too. The next months should be challenging, but fun.

Mar 13

Fellows Family Land Records, Wexford County, Michigan Liber 87 page 383

This entry is part 61 of 99 in the series Deeds in the Family

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: 15 July 1914
Liber: 87
Page: 383
Location: 383
Grantor: Lester E. Stone and Sarah E. Stone of Manton, MI
Grantee: Charles E. Tinker & Belle Tinker of Manton, MI
Witnesses: Addie Campbell, Guy W. Slack
Type of deed: Warranty
Rec’d and recording: 15 July 1914
Clerk/registrar: Slack
Location of land: Colfax, Wexford, MI
Consideration: $1,800
Notes:
Description: N1/2 of SE1/4 of NW1/4 and NE1/4 of NW1/4 Sec 16 T23N R10W abt 60 ac

Belle and Charlie lived on this piece of of land when M-in-L was a child. This deed shows why I believe it is important to leave no STONE unturned while researching your family. If you look back at the post I wrote about Charlie Tinker, you can see that Charlie and Belle married on 15 July 1914. Interesting this deed was recorded the same day Charlie and Belle married, apparently in a judge’s chambers at the courthouse. A closer look shows that Lester and Sarah Stone were the witnesses. Oh. Although Charlie Tinker’s obituary gave an earlier year for their marriage, I am convinced that the actual date was 15 July 1914.

One little postcard shows how valuable various fragments of evidence can become. In the collection from Belle’s box, I wrote about a postcard from Mrs. Stone, which was postmarked 31 July 1914. Looks like Belle and Charlie got a dog with the house and property!

The location is marked in red from the 1914 atlas of Wexford County1 which is online on a University of Michigan site. The blue outlined property was owned at various times by people associated with Belle. The northern most property was owned by Alfred Fenton, a brother-in-law of Belle’s daughter, Edna. Edna’s mother-in-law, Susie M. Burdick Fenton Longstreet and her husband Harmon H. Longstreet owned the remaining property outlined in blue.

87-383

 

  1. Standard Map Company., Atlas of Wexford County, Michigan : containing complete maps of all townships, names of property owners, maps of the county, city of Cadillac, United States and State of Michigan., Standard Map Company., Cadillac Evening News (Firm) (Cadillac, Mich.: Cadillac Evening News, c1914), page 20, The University of Michigan. Michigan County Histories and Atlases. http://name.umdl.umich.edu/3928167.0001.001 : accessed 2 November 2009.

Mar 12

Fellows Family Land Records, Wexford County, Michigan Liber 86 page 212

This entry is part 60 of 99 in the series Deeds in the Family

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.

Mar 11

Fearless Females: Blogging Prompt for March 11

Lisa Alzo, the Accidental Genealogist, has posted some marvelous blogging prompts for Woman’s History Month. The March 11 prompt: Did you have any female ancestors who died young or from tragic or unexpected circumstances? Describe and how did this affect the family?

I have previously posted information about my great-grandmother, Jane “Jennie” Johnston. I wrote a biography of sorts, a post about her locket, and a post about her burial place and the record of her burial that I found. Jennie died at the age of 21 on or just before 29 January 1888. Although I have never found Jane’s death record, I am confident of her date of death. Why? I kept looking, and finally found a record of Jane’s burial in the original city cemetery logs.

The circumstances related to the many early deaths in the family of John Johnston are mind-numbing, at least for me. When you read about my great-grandmother, you read the tragic story of the orphans Jane and her brother James, traveling to Cadillac, Michigan within a few years of the death of everyone else in their family. Just a few years after the two arrived in Cadillac, Jane died, leaving a daughter only two years old. That daughter was Winnie Alice Kaiser, my grandmother.

James Johnston’s wife was Elizabeth Kaiser, a sibling of William Kaiser. James and Elizabeth’s first two children died young. One, a premature birth or still born is listed in the cemetery logs as: Johnston, James, infant of, born and died 3 August 1888. No sex is given. The Johnston’s daughter Katie, born in 1890, died in 1894. Their only child who survived was Rae E. Johnston, 1892-1978.

Between the ages of fifteen and twenty-nine, James Johnston experienced the deaths of his parents, his four sisters, a niece or nephew, and two of his three children. This much loss is hard for me to imagine, even more than 100 years later.

Several years ago, I got together with my cousins, James’ granddaughter and two great-grandchildren. We poured over photos, tried to figure out who they were, and I shared my research about the Johnstons. James’ granddaughter, Kay, said that Winnie Kaiser, my grandmother, spent a lot of her time with James Johnston and his wife after Jane, her mother, died. It makes sense that the young widower, William Kaiser would require help with his daughter so he could work. Families enjoyed the benefit of living in proximity, something I miss today.

Since I visited the graves of the John Johnston family in Ontario, and realized the enormity of the occurrences, I have thought about this often.

Mar 10

Fellows Family Land Records, Wexford County, Michigan Liber 63 page 22

This entry is part 59 of 99 in the series Deeds in the Family

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: 21 March 1907
Liber: 63
Page: 22
Location: Wexford County, Michigan
Grantor: Harry Taylor & Olive Taylor, his wife of Cedar Creek, Wexford, MI
Grantee: Mrs. Bell Fellows, widow, of Liberty, Wexford, MI
Witnesses: Lillian Kotts, Isaac Cw. Culer
Type of deed: Warranty
Rec’d and recording: 6 April 1907
Clerk/registrar: Elon A Losie
Location of land: Cedar Creek Twp, Wexford Co., MI
Consideration: $1,100
Notes:
Description: NE 1/4 of NW 1/4 Sec 5 T23N R9W 40 acres

Henry Fellows died on 19 Sept 1905. I am not sure where in Liberty Township Belle was living, but Cedar Creek Township lies just south of Liberty and the property Belle purchased is on the township line. This thumbnail illustrates the property’s location, and is taken from the old 1908 on-line atlas.1

63-22

  1. Geo. A. Ogle & Co., Standard atlas of Wexford County, Michigan : including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships of the county…patrons directory, reference business directory…/ assisted in record work and platting by E. A. Losie. Geo. A. Ogle & Co. (Chicago, IL : Geo. A. Ogle & Co., 1908), page 45, The University of Michigan. Michigan County Histories and Atlases. http://name.umdl.umich.edu/3928168.0001.001 : accessed 2 November 2009.

Mar 09

Fellows Family Land Records, Wexford County, Michigan Liber 54 page 359

This entry is part 58 of 99 in the series Deeds in the Family

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: 26 October 1903
Liber: 54
Page: 359
Location: Wexford County, MI
Grantor: Henry Fellows & wife Belle Fellows of Colfax, Wexford, Michigan
Grantee: Elizabeth McClain of the same place
Witnesses: Wm Jones, Isaac C. Wheeler
Type of deed: Warranty
Rec’d and recording: 30 Oct 1903
Clerk/registrar: Henry Hanson
Location of land: Antioch Twp, Wexford Co., MI
Consideration: $256
Notes:
Description: W 1/2 of the NE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 Sec 15 T23NR11 W 20 Acres

I do not know how Belle and Henry acquired this land. I obviously have some work to do at the Wexford County Court House. I am planning two genealogy trips this sprint, and one is up to Wexford County. My list is getting longer. I do see the name Jones on the deed as a witness, a surname associated with Belle’s family. Belle’s mother was Miranda Jones, daughter of Robert and Savilla. It remains to be see if William Jones of Antioch Township, Michigan was related, or the name is a coincidence.

This map is taken from the old 1908 atlas of Wexford County1. Elizabeth McClain is not listed as an owner in 1908. You can enlarge to see the detail, with the family of Geo Jones owning 40 acres which would encompass the 20 referred to in this deed.

54-359

 

  1. Geo. A. Ogle & Co., Standard atlas of Wexford County, Michigan : including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships of the county…patrons directory, reference business directory…/ assisted in record work and platting by E. A. Losie. Geo. A. Ogle & Co. (Chicago, IL : Geo. A. Ogle & Co., 1908), page 45, The University of Michigan. Michigan County Histories and Atlases. http://name.umdl.umich.edu/3928168.0001.001 : accessed 2 November 2009.

Mar 06

Fearless Females: Blogging Prompt for March 6

Lisa Alzo, the Accidental Genealogist, has posted some marvelous blogging prompts for Woman’s History Month. For March sixth, I see: Describe an heirloom you may have inherited from a female ancestor (wedding ring or other jewelry, china, clothing, etc.) If you don’t have any, then write about a specific object you remember from your mother or grandmother, or aunt (a scarf, a hat, cooking utensil, furniture, etc).

I am lucky enough to have some nice items I inherited from my female ancestors, but today I am describing one that I do not have, and sure wish I did.

I remember a little mesh purse, with a little chain for a handle. It was a brass color, and it resided in my mother’s jewelry box. The chain that served as a handle could be put through a larger chain and worn around the neck. The cute little purse was just large enough to hold a dime, and Mom said that it was for a subway ride home. I do not have a photo of it, but it was similar to this little item, but not so fancy.

As a small town girl from northern Michigan, riding a subway seemed so romantic to me, even at my advanced age the only subway I have ridden was in London (yes England) a few years ago.

When my mother died, I looked high and low, through everything in the house, trying to find the little purse, and I never did find it. I can not help but wonder what happened to it, and also wishing I had asked when my Mom was still well. But I did not want to appear to be asking for something.

Mar 04

Scipio Township Cemetery, Seneca County Ohio

This entry is part 59 of 60 in the series Cemeteries

Over the past few several 25 years, a mystery that has eluded me is the origin and parents of Erastus G. Fellows, who claimed Ohio birth, but for whom no document that I have found lists parents. In the course of my search, I have encountered other men named Fellows living in proximity to Erastus and his family, and have chased them (almost) to the ends of the earth. Two of those men surnamed Fellows claimed Ohio birth, and parents named Ruth Smith and Erastus Fellows (who died young). Census records for Seneca County, Ohio are promising, with minor children surnamed Fellows living in the County with other families in 1850.

sign

In the course of the search, a researcher of one Joseph Fellows, who we believe to be the son of Erastus, and a brother of our ancestor, dug around the handy-dandy internet and forwarded me a link to the transcription of a cemetery. Scipio Township Cemetery, Seneca County, Ohio, to be exact. Papa and I visited the cemetery about eighteen months ago, checked it all out, took photos, and came away disappointed. The cemetery has been damaged since the transcription had been made. The marker that we suspected to be our ancestor’s, one “Erasts Fellows”, was not anywhere to be found. There was no marker in the location for the Smith family, either; we suspect they are connected in some way. Unfortunately, there were broken markers piled at the edge the cemetery.

All views of the cemetery are thumbnails, click to enlarge.

These photos are from east to west, looking mostly south west, and capture the entire cemetery.

almost due southlooking more southlooking south west

I want to thank Kristina Kuhn Krumm, who generously gave permission for me to use the transcription posted on her cemetery site to help identify the photos of the graves for this post. I sorted the transcription from her site by grave number, then we walked through the cemetery to figure out how it had been read. The markers I could identify are linked. Those which I could not identify are posted as thumbnails at the end of this document. I noticed that number 23 was listed twice on the transcription, and that several numbers had no transcription listed.

1 Cornell Cynthia A 11 Feb 1861 43y 2m 10d
2 Leister Jonathan 19 Sep 1848 41y 2m 7d
3 Smith Cornelia d/o
Ethan & Elizabeth		 14 Sep 1850 2y 5m 11d
4 Cook Nelson W
s/o H & A		 29 Nov 1840 17y 3m
5 Cook Asenath w/o Hiram,
b in Stamford ?, d in Delaware O		 23 Mar 1863 62y 10m 3d
6 Fox Mary A d/o H & J 14 Jan 1848 12y 4m 14d
7 Hartsough Hannah 20 Jul 1842 89y
8 Green Mary 22 Sep 1841 66y
9 Ogden inf s/o G M & M A 27 Sep 1836 28d
10 Gray Mary d/o H & J 31? Dec 1841 1y 8m
11 Ogden Mary H d/o David D & Elgy M 1 Jun 1847
12 Ogden Amos c/o D D & E M 4 Apr 1839 2m 28d
12 Ogden Sarah c/o D D & E M 9 Jun 1845 1m 3d
13 Ogedn Elgy Mariah w/o David D 27 Jun 1845
14 Green Sarah A d/o Timothy & Mary A 25? Jun 1844 4y 7m 27d
15 Number not listed on transcription
16 Jones Mary A w/o Elisha 3? Feb 1839? 20y
17 Smith Josiah 4 July 1828 60y
18 Smith Mary w/o Josiah 5 July 183? 64y
19 Fellows Erasts 22 Aug 1843
20 Lester James 30 Apr 1785 27 Aug 1848?
21 Number not listed on transcription
22 Kellogg Amos c/o N & L Kellogg 8 Jun 1845 26y 6m 5d
22 Kellogg Pamelia c/o N & L Kellogg 11 Feb 1836 22y 5m 22d
23 Finch Jason 9 Jan 1850 26y 1m 19d
23 Ford Esther d. Attica (Seneca County History 1886 pg 687) 19 Mar 1829

Here are the markers that were standing that I could not read/identify/match up.

My number 54, taken just after the Amos and Sarah Ogden marker, looking almost due west, toward the neighboring property:
DSC04754

My number 55, a marker just north of that of #5 Asenath Cook, perhaps Nelson Cook #4.

DSC04755

My #61.

DSC04761

My #62.

DSC04762

On another trip to Ohio, we researched Fellows family records in Richland County and researched the Fellows family records at the Ohio Genealogy Society library. Although we did find information on families with the surname Fellows, even found an Erastus Fellows, the families that lived in Richland County did not appear to be our ancestors.