Apr 02
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.
Apr 01
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 Newaygo County, Michigan.
This is the earliest record I have for a deed containing the surname Fellows as a grantor or grantee in Newaygo County, Michigan.
| Date: | 14 July 1859 |
| Liber: | 5 |
| Page: | 101 |
| Location: | Newaygo Co., MI |
| Grantor: | John Foster of Casnovia township, Ottawa Co., MI |
| Grantee: | Erastus Fellows, of Ashland, Newaygo, MI |
| Witnesses: | E.L. Gray, J.H. Standish |
| Type of deed: | Warranty |
| Rec’d and recording: | 24 Sept 1859 |
| Clerk/registrar: | W. Persons |
| Location of land: | Newaygo Co. |
| Consideration: | $80 |
| Notes: | |
| Description: |
W 1/2 of NE 1/4 of NW 1/4 Sec 13 T11N R13W 20 acres |
Every document I have relating to the Fellows family in Newaygo indicates that Ashland township, was their home. Lucky for me, Township 11 North, Range 13 West is Ashland township.
Section 13 is located just north of Grant. The “State Road”, later called M-37, and the railroad run directly through the township. I have reviewed several old railroad maps of Michigan, and although I have not found on for 1859, I do not believe the railroad was built through the area until later. Here is a outline showing township locations.
When I consulted the the 1880 atlas1, the earliest Newaygo County Atlas which was available on-line, I easily found the area where the Fellows families lived. You can enlarge the thumbnail, if you wish. The 20 acres purchased by Erastus in 1859 were owned by J.L. Chase when the information for the 1880 atlas was gathered. I also noticed that Henry H. Fellows owned land in section 13 in 1880.
Mar 31
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.
Mar 30
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.
These deeds are recorded on consecutive pages, are the documents that complete the purchase of the two 80 acre pieces of land owned by Ross Fenton in Section 17, Colfax Township. I described one deed related to the property several weeks ago .
| Date: | 16 November 1926 |
| Liber: | 114 |
| Page: | 227 |
| Location: | Wexford County, MI |
| Grantor: | Joseph Murphy & Kate Murphy his wife of Cadillac, MI |
| Grantee: | Ross Fenton of Manton, MI |
| Witnesses: | Henry Knowlton, E.F. Parker |
| Type of deed: | Warranty |
| Rec’d and recording: | 21 March 1927 |
| Clerk/registrar: | Johnson |
| Location of land: | Colfax, Wexford, MI |
| Consideration: | $150 |
| Notes: | Deed conveyed to complete the terms of a land contract between Murphy & Dig gins & Wm. A. Jenkins dated 10 Jan 1921. Contract assigned to Wm. A. Jenkins, then on 18 Nov 1926 to Ernest F. Parker, and from Ernest F. Parker to Ross Fenton on 18 Nov 1926 by assignment. Taxes on first description 1920 & subsequent and on second description 1921 and subsequent years. |
| Description: | An undivided 1/2 interest in: the E1/2 of the NE 1/4, and the E 1/2 of the SE 1/4 all in Section 17, T23N R10W |
| Date: | 18 November 1926 |
| Liber: | 114 |
| Page: | 228 |
| Location: | Kent County, MI |
| Grantor: | Dorothy Thomson of Grand Rapids, MI |
| Grantee: | Ross Fenton of Manton, MI |
| Witnesses: | Gertrude Klein, Emma Anderson |
| Type of deed: | Warranty |
| Rec’d and recording: | 21 March 1927 |
| Clerk/registrar: | Johnson |
| Location of land: | Colfax, Wexford, MI |
| Consideration: | ? |
| Notes: | Deed conveyed to complete the terms of a land contract between Murphy & Dig gins & Wm. A. Jenkins dated 10 Jan 1921. Contract assigned to Wm. A. Jenkins, then on 18 Nov 1926 to Ernest F. Parker, and from Ernest F. Parker to Ross Fenton on 18 Nov 1926 by assignment. Taxes on first description 1920 & subsequent and on second description 1921 and subsequent years. |
| Description: | And undivided 1/4 interest in: the E1/2 of the NE 1/4, and the E 1/2 of the SE 1/4 all in Section 17, T23N R10W |
OK, a land contract was the original sale mechanism for the two eighty acre pieces of land, and William Jenkins was the original purchaser. Then the contract was sold to Ernest F. Parker, then to Papa’s grandfather, Ross Fenton. When Ross paid the taxes on the land and had that payment recorded (liber 100, page 342) it was part of his responsibility under the land contract, not because he was behind on the taxes. Since these deeds represent a total of 3/4 interest in the property, there is probably another deed somewhere under which Ross Fenton acquired the other 1/4 interest.
In order to get the complete detail of the transfer of the two 80 acre pieces, it would be necessary to do quite a bit more digging, since records in the names of Jenkins and Parker would need to be examined. The two 80 acre pieces of land are outlined in blue on this illustration, which I made using the old 1908 Atlas1.
Mar 29
If you haven’t read about my search for my great-grandfather’s surname, you can find out more here, here, and here. After I found my grandfather’s family, I was thrilled, and did quite a few happy dances, visited the cemetery, got his will and every record available about him and his family in his hometown of Howell, Michigan. Then the struggle began. 1870 census? Nothing close. Passenger lists? Nothing. I have searched passenger lists and Castle Garden records every way imaginable. I have a list of possible surname spellings that covers two pages, all carefully recorded from soundex and “sounds like” searches of various sources. I have visited the locations where he lived, read the newspaper microfilms, copied his real estate transactions, obtained death records for him and his family, searched for birth records and other records. But I still have a dead end. Boo!
When I realized I was pretty much at a dead end on that branch of the family, I did what my brain and experience told me to do. I searched more, expanding into neighboring counties and my grandfather’s siblings. I found a divorced Baptist minister, and a descendant of the divorced wife’s second husband. I wrote letters to 26 gentleman who were listed in the phone book and have a name which may be connected with another branch, carefully outlining the relationship and asking specific questions. I included a self-addressed stamped envelope in each letter, and my phone number, along with e-mail and postal addresses. I received only replies that were negative, not one from the person I was seeking. Still nothing useful or helpful in identifying the family’s actual origin, or the original spelling of their name. Boo-hoo.
Now, the new “Family Finder” DNA test has become available, and I am taking the plunge. A close male relative of mine is also taking the family finder test, and a YDNA test. It will be interesting to see what the results are, and if it will help me in my search. I have no illusions here, I know this is not a magic bullet. Today I will list the reasons why I have considered the test, and why I am taking it, and in later parts of this series, I will keep you abreast with the process as it unfolds. If my experience helps someone, then I will have a good result, even if it does not help me.
Since much of this is a shot-in-the dark kind of thing, I thought my readers might be interested in the results. Fishing trips can be fun and challenging, but so are roller coaster rides. Ride along with me as I explore DNA testing, what to expect, and how the process works. Better still, watch me sweat and sit on the edge of my chair while wait to for the results. Best of all, see if the results help me in any way.
Mar 27
How this one is spelled among my ancestors depends on the person, the time and the place.
You can see posts in which I mention this line by clicking this link. My mother searched for many years and never found out why her mother had left, or where her mother had gone, and I still do not have the entire story. Mom would have been happy to know that her mother had a nice burial place in a National cemetery with her husband. I just wish I had found this information a few years sooner.
So, without further delay, my known Herrington ancestors are:
Martin L. Herrington, born May 1853, New York. Married about 1881, Kate Knapp, the family lived in Easton and Greenwich, and probably sometimes in Vermont where at least one daughter was born. Ten or eleven children, I do not know all the names.
David Henry Herrington b. 21 Mar 1891, Easton, NY, married ca 1924, Helen Lois Palmer, d. 13 Mar 1931, Bennington, Bennington, VT.
Marjorie Helen Herrington, my mother, b. 20 Nov 1926, Troy, Rensselaer County, New York, and d. 6 June 2007, Rochester Hills, Oakland, Michigan.
Mar 25
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
Mar 24
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.
Mar 23
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: | 507 |
| Location: | Wexford Co., MI |
| Grantor: | Charles Tinker & Belle Tinker his wife |
| Grantee: | Earl T. Colbert & Marie Colbert Husband and Wife |
| Witnesses: | Jno A. Muche, Harriet Muche |
| Type of deed: | Warranty |
| Rec’d and recording: | 24 Jan 1947 |
| Clerk/registrar: | Brown |
| Location of land: | Colfax |
| Consideration: | $1,000 |
| Notes: | Belle signed with an X, although She could write and had signed previous deeds. |
| Description: | The W 1/2 of the NE 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of Section 9 T23N R10W except a piece of land in the NW corner 10 rods N-S by 12 rods E-W and also a piece starting 12 rods E of the corner of the NW 1/4 of the NW 1/4 and running east 24 rods, south 10 rods, west 24 rods and north 10 rods to the point of beginning. |
Charlie Tinker died on 5 January 1946, less than a year after the this deed was executed. I cannot explain why Mr. & Mrs. Colbert did not file this deed until 24 January 1947, but since Charlie died on 5 January, maybe that prompted them to act. I have again used a portion of the Colfax Township map from the 19141 Atlas to show the location of the property.
Mar 22
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 June 1936 |
| Liber: | 128 |
| Page: | 451 |
| Location: | Wexford County, MI |
| Grantor: | Charles Tinker & Belle Tinker his wife of Colfax, Wexford, MI |
| Grantee: | I. Fay Horton, C. Howard Horton |
| Witnesses: | Warranty |
| Type of deed: | 16 June 1936 |
| Rec’d and recording: | 6 June 1936 |
| Clerk/registrar: | Johnson |
| Location of land: | Colfax |
| Consideration: | $75.00 |
| Notes: | |
| Description: | Start 12 rods east of the corner of the NW 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of Section 9, T23N R10W, then east 24 rods, south 10 rods, west 24 rods, then north 10 rods to the start. |
On this deed, Charlie and Belle sold a lot of about 1.5 acres to Clayton L. Babcock. I used the Colfax map from the 1914 atlas1 to show the position of the lot descried in this deed.
