Dec 15

Fenton Family Land Records, Wexford County, Michigan Liber 7 page 26

This entry is part 28 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 Fenton ancestors who resided in Wexford County, Michigan.

Date: 1 July 1877
Liber: 7
Page: 26
Location: Wexford Co, MI
Grantor: John Fenton & Susie Fenton his wife
Grantee: Samuel Carpenter of Deerfield, Lenawee Co., MI
Witnesses: William Beach, Ezra Hager
Type of deed: Warranty
Rec’d and recording: 11 July 1877 11 a.m.
Clerk/registrar: Manktelow
Location of land: Wexford Co., MI
Consideration: $175
Notes:
Description: SW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of Sec 12 T23N R9W

On this deed, John P. Fenton is selling the 40 next to the the one I described yesterday. The old atlas printed in 1889 shows Sarah Abbott as the owner of this 40, perhaps she purchased it from Carpenter. You can enlarge this thumbnail, which is from the 1889 Atlas1 by clicking on it. The blue outline represents the land sold on 7-25, and the red represents that sold on the deed recorded in 7-26.

7-26

  1. E.L. Hayes & Co., Atlas of Wexford County, Michigan / compiled by Eli L. Hayes from government surveys, county and township records, and personal investigations and observations , Eli L. Hayes, (Chicago, Ill.: E.L. Hayes & Co., 1889), page 19; digital images, The University of Michigan. Michigan County Histories and Atlases. http://name.umdl.umich.edu/3928170.0001.001 : accessed 2 November 2009.

Dec 14

Fenton Family Land Records, Wexford County, Michigan Liber 7 page 25

This entry is part 27 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 Fenton ancestors who resided in Wexford County, Michigan.

Date: 9 July 1877
Liber: 7
Page: 25
Location: Wexford Co, MI
Grantor: John Fenton & Susie Fenton his wife
Grantee: Samuel Carpenter of Deerfield, Lenawee Co., MI
Witnesses: William Beach, Ezra Hager
Type of deed: Warranty
Rec’d and recording: 11 July 1877 11 a.m.
Clerk/registrar: Manktelow
Location of land: Wexford Co., MI
Consideration: $175
Notes:
Description: SE 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of Sec 12 T23N R9W

Once again, John P. Fenton is selling land. John P was the son of John and Eliza.  I must have missed the deed which showed his purchase of this land. This particular 40 acre piece is in Cedar Creek Township, south and west of Manton. You can enlarge this thumbnail, which is from the 1889 Atlas1 by clicking on it.

7-25

I can’t help noticing the name Sarah Abbott on the SW 1/4 of the NE 1/4. More investigation would be necessary to find out if this is Erastmus’ wife. When I copied the information from the deeds in Wexford County, I was not interested in the name “Abbott” as I am now.

  1. E.L. Hayes & Co., Atlas of Wexford County, Michigan / compiled by Eli L. Hayes from government surveys, county and township records, and personal investigations and observations , Eli L. Hayes, (Chicago, Ill.: E.L. Hayes & Co., 1889), page 19; digital images, The University of Michigan. Michigan County Histories and Atlases. http://name.umdl.umich.edu/3928170.0001.001 : accessed 2 November 2009.

Dec 13

Fenton Family Land Records, Wexford County, Michigan Liber 6 page 404

This entry is part 29 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 Fenton ancestors who resided in Wexford County, Michigan.

John Fenton, who family tradition indicates was a native of Greenbrier County, VA/WV, arrived in Wexford County in June 1868, according to records in his homestead entry file. I have found records for John Fenton in Ohio, where he married both of his wives, and in Elkhart and Noble Counties, Indiana. He and first wife Lydia Jones raised a large family in Indiana, before Lydia died and he married Eliza John. Eliza and John had five children, two of whom died young and are buried in Wolf Lake Cemetery, Noble County, Indiana near Lydia Jones Fenton and other members of her family.

When he claimed his homestead in Wexford County, Michigan in 1868, John Fenton was 66 years of age, and his wife Eliza 43. Their children who accompanied them were: John P., age 17; Salina “Lina” 13; and George Lane, 11.

I was surprised to find all the land grant deeds locally. If your family appears in the Bureau of Land Management Patent search, you may want to check the local deed records for information on their grants. There were separate books in Wexford County, since the printed form for the deeds is quite different.

Date: 2 Jan 1875
Liber: 6
Page: 404
Location: Wexford Co., MI
Grantor: United States of America by President U.S. Grant
Grantee: Eliza Fenton, Widow of John Fenton, deceased
Witnesses:
Type of deed: US Land Grant application 3132, certificate 1843
Rec’d and recording: 3 March 1876
Clerk/registrar: Sturtevant
Location of land: Colfax Township, Wexford Co., MI
Consideration: None listed
Notes:
Description: S 1/2 of the NE 1/4 of Section 12 T23N R10W, 80 acres more or less.

You can see a copy of the actual patent on the Bureau of Land Management site. The land is the same as described in the payment deed recorded in Liber 3 Page 219 of Wexford County Deeds. It lies on 37 Mile Road, which is the line between Colfax and Cedar Creek Townships.

3-219

Dec 12

Fenton Family Land Records, Wexford County, Michigan Liber 4 page 428

This entry is part 26 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 Fenton ancestors who resided in Wexford County, Michigan.

John Fenton, who family tradition indicates was a native of Greenbrier County, VA/WV, arrived in Wexford County in June 1868, according to records in his homestead entry file. I have found records for John Fenton in Ohio, where he married both of his wives, and in Elkhart and Noble Counties, Indiana. He and first wife Lydia Jones raised a large family in Indiana, before Lydia died and he married Eliza John. Eliza and John had five children, two of whom died young and are buried in Wolf Lake Cemetery, Noble County, Indiana near Lydia Jones Fenton and other members of her family.

When he claimed his homestead in Wexford County, Michigan in 1868, John Fenton was 66 years of age, and his wife Eliza 43. Their children who accompanied them were: John Pressely, age 17; Salina “Lina” 13; and George Lane, 11.

Date: 17 July 1875
Liber: 4
Page: 428
Location: Wexford County, MI
Grantor: John P. Fenton of Cedar Creek Township, Wexford, MI
Grantee: William Doyle of the same place
Witnesses: Ezra Harper, Willis S Glullching(?)
Type of deed: Warranty
Rec’d and recording: 8 Aug 1876
Clerk/registrar: Sturtevant
Location of land: Wexford Co, MI
Consideration: $300
Notes:
Description: Lot 4, Block 1 of Huffs Addition to the village of Cedar Creek, according to survey plot on file…

The current address of Lot 4, Block 1 of Huffs Addition is 401 W. Main Street, Manton, Michigan. The lot is 7239.99 square feet, .17 acres. I have not located the record of Fenton’s purchase of this lot, it is another thing on my to do list.

The lot is in Section 4, on the line between Sections 4 and 9, which is also 19 mile road, old west M-42, AKA Main Street.

4-428

Dec 11

Wexford County, Michigan Liber 3 Page 219

This entry is part 25 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 with each post.

This is the first record I found in the early Wexford County land records for a Fenton ancestor of Papa’s. It is also unique among those I found; it is simply a recording of a payment for a homestead filing.

Date: 3 Aug 1974
Liber: 3
Page: 219
Location: Wexford Co MI
Grantor: The USA
Grantee: Eliza Fenton, widow of John Fenton Deceased
Witnesses:
Type of deed: Homestead receipt, final
Rec’d and recording: 3 Nov 1874
Clerk/registrar: Perry Hannah
Location of land: Colfax Wexford
Consideration: $4.00
Notes:
Description: S1/2 of the NE 1/4 of Sec 12 T23N R10W

There is no record of John Fenton’s death in the early Wexford records. His tombstone marks the year of his death as 1872. I searched, but found no probate record for John in the Wexford County records. This 80 acre section of land may have been the most valuable thing he had when he passed to a better place.

3-219

Eliza paid $4 for the second payment to complete the claim and get the land patent.  I ordered the land patent records from the national archives, and they revealed interesting information about the family. The exact date of John’s death was recorded on Eliza’s final proof for the patent. It says, in part:

That the said John Fenton entered upon and made settlement on said land on the 20th day of June 1868, and had built a house thereon of Logs story & a half board floor & Shingle roof, one door & two windows. and has lived in the said house and made it his exclusive home from the 18th day of ???, 1868, to the time of his death, the 2th day of March 1872 & his widow has continued to reside on the land to this present time, and that he has since said settlement plowed, fenced, and cultivated about 15 acres of said land, and has made the following improvements thereon, to wit: 8 acres more chopped, Log barn, 35 fruit trees, 15 Currant bushes, 200 Strawberry plants.

This document was signed by Warren Seaman and Alfred Thurston. Interestingly, Eliza married Alfred Thurston on 10 August 1873, and this document was signed in August 1874.

Dec 10

Wexford County Michigan Deeds Liber 69 page 437

This entry is part 4 of 9 in the series Deeds from other families

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 with each post.

This deed contains the record of another purchase of land in Section 1 of Colfax for a Burdick family. I have not connected these purchasers to either our Burdick family, or the other Burdick family I described here.

Date: 9 Nov 1908
Liber: 69
Page: 437
Location: Wexford Co., MI
Grantor: Nellie Wolfe
Grantee: Lafayette Burdick & Laura J. Burdick of Jamestown NY
Witnesses: F. G. Bullock; W.W. Gasser
Type of deed: Warranty
Rec’d and recording: 30 Nov 1908
Clerk/registrar: Elou Lossie
Location of land: Sherman Village
Consideration: $750
Notes:
Description: Start 1023 feet S of the NE corner of Section 1, T23N R12W then 165 ft S, then 330 Ft W, the 165 Ft N, then 330 Ft east to the start

I haven’t researched these Burdicks. This land is in in the portion of the plat of the village of Sherman that is in Springville Township. Wexford, Hanover, Springville and Antioch townships meet on what was the “Newaygo & Northport State Road”. It is difficult to find the exact location of the property described. Adding up the measurements listed on this plat, it looks like the property was either in block 2 or block 3. Today’s descriptions are for entire blocks, since Sherman is thinly populated. Crippen’s Addition is not listed in the State wide subdivision maps.

65-137

Dec 08

Wexford County Alms House

AKA Wexford county farm, and the Wexford County poor house was located first in Colfax Township, and later in Haring Township.
I am interested in this poorhouse because several of Bill’s ancestors worked there at at different times.

On April 16, 1885 the following notice appeared in the Grand Traverse Herald on page 6 under Wexford County News:

“A county house is being erected on the poor farm in Colfax Township. The main building is 20 x 46 with a front extention (sic) of 14 x 16, all two stories, with a one story wing 18 x 20 in the rear. Rooms for the overseer’s family will be separate from the pauper’s apartments. Twelve dormitories for the later are provided and will furnish ample accommodations for all of Wexford count’s unfortunates. The building is being done my county superintendents under the supervision of A.E. Tilyou, one of their number.”

1910 census of the Wexford County Alms House–name, sex and age only. This is subject to transcription errors. Please consult the census yourself if you find a person of interest.

On this census, a cousin of Papa’s, Maud B. Lamunion, is listed. She was working at the county farm, and possibly boarding there, also.

Film 624_666
Colfax Township, Wexford County, Michigan
Sheet 8A
Printed page 217
Beginning on line 1, ending on line 29

LAST FIRST SEX AGE RELATIONSHIP OCCUPATION
Hillard Charles W M 40 Head Farm Manager county farm
Hillard Ella M. F 32 Wife Matron, County Farm
Hillard Gladys M. F 13 Daughter None
Hillard Clara R. M 8 Daughter None
Hillard Frida V. F 6 Daughter None
Gill??by Roy C. M 20 boarder Farm Labour, working out
Lamunion Maud B. F 21

No relationship
given

 Domestic Housework
Butterfield Frank G. M 55 Inmate none
Pallok John M 78 Inmate none
Eagan Edward M 72 Inmate none
Armstrong Frank C. M 80 Inmate none
Moore James M 60 Inmate none
Barney Michael M 68 Inmate none
Haight William C. M 62 Inmate none
Man?ke William M 67 Inmate none
Wick?vi?e Lebbeus M 76 Inmate none
Tri?key Elias V. M 66 Inmate none
She??? Albert M 69 Inmate none
Burns Florence E. F 54 Inmate none
Nelson Izzleborg F 34 Inmate none
Wright Ida F 24 Inmate none
Wright Cylde F 1 mo Inmate none
Brobeck Lyda F 32 Inmate none
Brobeck Johnson? J. ? 8 Inmate none
Brobeck Lona B. F 6 Inmate none
Brobeck John H. M 5 Inmate none
Stri?n Evaline F 49 Inmate none
Patch John M 75 Inmate none
Patch Ida F 27 Inmate none

Dec 07

The H.R. Burdick Deeds in Section 10, Colfax Township

This entry is part 3 of 9 in the series Deeds from other families

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 with each post.

This group of deeds is for a family with the surname of BURDICK, who lived in Colfax Township, Wexford County, Michigan. Although these Burdicks may be distantly related to our Burdick ancestors, we have not documented any relationship. You can find out more about the family members here. In this group of deeds, there are no principals such as grantor, grantee, or witness who are also principals in the group of deeds executed by our family. This evidence, along with some vital records helped me conclude that this branch of Burdicks were not closely related to our branch, and did not consider themselves as such.

I found seven deeds under which Harrison and Martha Burdick granted portions of their original purchase to family members. All descriptions are in Section 10, T23N R10W, which is Colfax, Wexford, Michigan.

Date recorded Liber Page Grantee
22 Sept 1866 25 613 Cassius
23 Feb 1900 46 569 Cena
13 June 1902 50 434 John Saulsbury (sic)
5 Sept 1904 57 356 Cassius
8 Oct 1906 64 177 George B.
8 Oct 1906 64 178 Cassius
6 April 1906 60 376 Maryetta Potts

On 3 October 1877, in St Joseph County, Michigan, a son named Clarence was born to Maryette Potts and her husband Daniel. On 13 January 1909, Clarence Potts, age 21 married in Wexford County Michigan. He was the son of Daniel Potts and Mary Burdick according to the marriage record. Harrison Burdick listed St. Joseph County, Michigan as his home when he purchased this land. Although this is not proof that Maryetta Potts another Burdick daughter, it comes close enough for a non-relative like me.

The lesson I learned from this exercise was that I did not have to pay too much attention to this family as I research our Burdick family in Wexford County. Here is a view from the 1908 Atlas1, showing the land in Section 10. Since John Salisbury’s wife was Almira Burdick, and Maryetta Potts was Maryetta Burdick Potts, the land was still all in the family.

end burdicks

  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 (Chicago, Ill.: Geo A. Ogle & Co., 1908), page 45; digital images, The University of Michigan. Michigan County Histories and Atlases. http://name.umdl.umich.edu/3928168.0001.001 : accessed 2 November 2009.

Dec 06

Wexford County Michigan Deeds Liber 16 Page 553

This entry is part 1 of 9 in the series Deeds from other families

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 with each post.

This group of deeds is for a family with the surname of BURDICK, who lived in Colfax Township, Wexford County, Michigan. Although these Burdicks may be distantly related to our Burdick ancestors, we have not documented any relationship. You can find out more about the family members here. In this group of deeds, there are no principals such as grantor, grantee, or witness who are also principals in the group of deeds executed by our family. This evidence, along with some vital records helped me conclude that this branch of Burdicks were not closely related to our branch, and did not consider themselves family.

Date: 4 Oct 1883
Liber: 16
Page: 553
Location: Territory of Decota (sic)
Grantor: Matthew P. Gilbert and Elvira Gilbert his wife of Bismark, Decota (sic) Territory
Grantee: H.R. Burdick of Cass County, Michigan
Witnesses: E.A. Corey
Type of deed: Warranty
Rec’d and recording: 17 April 1884
Clerk/registrar: J.J. Thorp
Location of land: Section 10 Colfax, Wexford, MI
Consideration: $800
Notes:
Description: SE 1/4 and the E 1/2 of the SW 1/4 of Section 10 T23N R10W.

This appears to the the first transaction for Harrison R. Burdick and his family in Wexford County. The deed was executed in the territory of Decota (sic), on 4 October 1883, and recorded in Wexford County on 17 April 1884, the next spring. Apparently the Gilberts headed west to find their fortunes, and H.R. Burdick took up where they left off in Wexford.

This land is in the same township that our Burdick ancestors owned land in, but in section 10 instead of section 4. The red outline represents the land owned by our ancestors, and the blue outline is the land described in this transaction. You may click on the outline to enlarge this map.

16-553

The remainder of the transactions for this family slice and dice this original purchase of 240 acres.

Dec 04

The “Other” Burdick Family

This entry is part 2 of 9 in the series Deeds from other families

When I began my search for Papa’s Burdick ancestors, It only took a couple of census searches to find some unfamiliar names. How were the unfamiliar, and why did I wonder how they fit into our family puzzle? I had a family history which was written by a cousin of Papa’s. I guess the document I had could be best described as interview results, recorded in family groups, typed, copied and distributed. There are no sources, but there were stories of the cousin visiting everyone and recording what they had to offer. I never met that particular cousin, but I wish I had, since I would have been interested in the sources of the information. Included were transcriptions of a group of letters, and it would be nice to know if there were more letters, and if they were in a public or private archive.

In any event, I began to find information on people with the surname Burdick who did not appear to belong to our family. I started collecting information on these individuals in an effort to prove and document their relationship to our family. Or, to prove and document that a relationship does not exist. While the family members mostly claimed New York births, as did our ancestors the similarity ended there. I documented the family and it’s members, but have yet to connect them in any way to our ancestors.

I noticed that land transactions seemed to parallel family lines, in other words, families bought and sold among families. I carefully searched all the deeds I located for the two Burdick families that lived side by side in Colfax Township, Wexford County, Michigan. I found no land transaction between the two groups, not even a member of one group witnessing a deed transacted by the other group. This finding added to my growing pile of evidence that the families shared a surname, but did not have a relationship with the other group, and did not think of themselves as related.

For the record, I am listing the names of the two Burdick groups in Colfax, Wexford County, Michigan here.

Papa’s Burdick ancestors:

George Washington Burdick, b. 1827, Berlin, Rensselaer, New York, head of the family.
Mary Jane Abbott Burdick, b 1836, New York, George’s wife.
Susie Melissa Burdick, b. 1856, Andover, Allegany, New York, daughter.
Fink Clement Burdick, b. 1860, Andover, Allegany, New York, son.
Mable Genevieve Burdick, b 1868, Eleven Mile, Potter County, Pennsylvania, daughter.

Other surnames associated with this family:

Abbott, Erasmus, brother of Mary Jane Abbott.
Fenton, John P., husband of Susie M. Burdick.
Hall, Cora, wife of Fink Burdick.
Jones, Milo, husband of Mable Burdick.

The “Other” Burdick names I have found in Wexford County records:

Harrison H. “H.R.” Burdick, b. 1824, New York.
Martha A. Martin Burdick, b 1828, Ohio, his wife.
Cassius A. Burdick, b 1853, Indiana, son of H.H. and Martha
Cena Osborne Burdick, b. 1861, Indiana, wife of Cassius.
Charles A. Burdick b. 1880, Michigan, son of Cassius and Cena.
Adrian R. Burdick, b 1883, Michigan, son of Cassius and Cena.
Edgar Burdick, b 1887, Michigan, son of Cassius and Cena.
George M. or George Mark Burdick, b. 1863, Michigan son of H.H. and Martha.
Jessie Babcock Burdick, wife of George M., and subsequent to his death married his brother Harrison R. Burdick.
Harrison R. Burdick, b. 1874, Michigan, son of H.R. and Martha.

Other Associated names:
John Salisburg, husband of Almina Burdick.  Almina was a daughter of H.R. and Martha.

I will begin a series tomorrow for the deeds of the group which is apparently unrelated, or at least not closely related to our group.