Tombstone Tuesday--Omar Allen

 Yup, another one from my family.  GGrandpa Omar was the father of Delva, featured last week.  His stone is in Alton cemetery, in Vergennes township, Kent county, Michigan.  It is a beautiful old rolling cemetery.  The original church is in the corner of the cemetery and many family members names are listed in their rolls.

Luckily, on my trips there I have been accompanied by my aunt, who knew right where to find GGrandpa Omar and his second wife, Carrie Ford Cross Allen.
The stone is a simple granite, rather weathered with just the years 1857-1945. 

Interestingly he passed away just a week after his son died.

Tombstone Tuesday--Don't Believe Everything You See

My paternal grandpa died before I was born.  His stone is a joint stone with grandma's in Newaygo County's Clark Cemetery.
It is a nice upright wedge shaped stone. It is located near the drive, but not too near, under a large maple tree.  No danger of their stone getting buried in grass, leaves and soil anytime soon.  It is more susceptible to moss and lichen.

But there is a problem with their stone.  Specifically with Grandpa's name.  It's spelled wrong. 
I know it is spelled wrong because I was given the correct spelling many times.  My grandma, Dad, several aunts and others used it several times in writing.  It should be Delva.  I also had a cousin named for grandpa. 
Although hard to read in the picture above, the stone clearly says Delve.

 Grandpa Delva did have a fairly unique name.  I haven't met anyone with that name, other than my cousin.  But his line comes from a long line of what are today rather unusual names: Laban, Elisha, Ebenezer, and Omar among others.

 I wonder why the stone was misspelled.  Back when the stone was set, you couldn't blame auto-correct like you can now.

 But it all goes to show, that you cann't believe everthing you see when doing genealogy.
Pictures top to bottom--

1. The stone for Grandma Edna and Grandpa Delva.  
2. A picture of Grandpa, undated of course in his baseball uniform.  He wasn't a professional, but must have belong to a local team somewhere, possibly in the Grand Rapids area.
3. Grandma and Grandpa, presumable on their farm in western Newaygo county in the 30's or early 40's.
4. Another undated picture, one that my father told me was their wedding picture.

Tombstone Tuesday--Myrtle Gilbert Schermerhorn

 The line of stones that I have talked about before, with my great- and great-great-grandparents.  Those darn flat stones that are sunk level with the surrounding ground.  The fifth in the row of five stones belong to older sister of my grandpa Leon. 
Myrtle Fay Gilbert married Riley Schermerhorn in 1920 and died in 1920 giving birth to her son.  Her son, although he lived near Lansing, would still visit her grave in Chase, Michigan.  I often found flowers when I would visit the grave in the summertime.  I think her stone is still clear because both her son and I would clear it off on our visits.

In this family photo Grand Aunt Myrtle is the tallest child, pictured with her siblings and my Great-Grandpa Roy and GGrandma Ada.  My grandpa Leon is the tallest boy in the middle. Uncle Harry is still in skirts in Grandma's arms. Also picture here are Aunt Goldie in back left, and Aunt Nellie in front between GGrandpa Roy and Grandpa Leon.  Aunt Dorothy was still a "gleam in her father's eye."

I must close with this bit of family legend.  I heard from one of my family members, (unfortunately I didn't write down who--bad me!) that she died in childbirth only because the only doctor available was a veterinarian who "butchered"  After this, the townspeople ran him out of town. 

Tombestone Tuesday--Flat Stones

A marble slab.  Surely that is the iconic image of a tombstone.  But there is nothing simple about those marble slabs.
This row of slabs are found in Everett-Big Prairie cemetery, also know as Community Cemetery.

 The four stones, all in a row are probably from the same era.  The left most above is a slightly different shape on top.  The next three all seem to be similar in shape and design.
The picture of this stone below was filed just before the above picture.  It looks like it could possibly be one of those three on the right.  The first of those has a streak across the bottom, like this stone.

The stone for Felix Matthews is is a simple slab, yet it has the image of the weeping willow with some additional carving in the top corners.  The inscription reads: Felix, son of Henry and Anna Matthews died May 17, 1860, aged 24 years.
The bottom of the stone has an additional verse but it is faint.  It looks to me that at one time, there must have been dirt or debris piled higher around the stone.  The dark streak across the bottom is a bit of a deposit on the stone.  And, since below that line, the stone is less decayed, I think something was protecting that area. Whether it was buried or not, it definitely was not exposed to the elements.
Either way, there is something special about the old marble slab.

Tombstone Tuesday: Fancy Stone of Lulu Utley

While scanning pictures of cemeteries, I was struck by this fancy stone.  Lulu, daughter of W. S. and L. B. Utley apparently died in 1885.

 

This lovely stone is located in Everett-Big Prairie Cemetery in Newaygo County Michigan.  I really like the detailed carving. The over-all shape is more detailed than usual. When you add the inner framework around the wording, and all the flowers engraved on the top section, this stone becomes something quite ornate.
The stone is a bit weathered, but all in all, a wonderful memorial to Lulu.

Tombstone Tuesday--

Chilly morning today.  Our furnace was not working for a while and our temperature here in the history center was down to 56 degrees when I got here.

While the cold is making typing hard, I thought this was the most appropriate cemetery stone I could share.  I am not sure where it is from, but Winfield S Merrill (1851-1938) was the brother of James Merrill, or at least that is what the caption of the photo states. 
The furnace has kicked in, but I remain tucked in wool.  I will find some non-typing to do for a while.

Tombstone Tuesday--Oh, Allens

 Several years ago, I went with my crazy aunt Glenna to go cemetery crawling.  She was showing me some of the Kent County, Michigan Allen graves.

 We search several cemeteries that day.  I had armed myself with information from the Western  Michigan Genealogical Society website to figure who was in what cemetery.  But since we had several names not included, most notably my Irish Hurley branch, we still checked several cemeteries.  I believe that these pictures were from the Courtland township cemetery.  Aunt Glenna knew approximately were the Allens were located, and that helped.
We found the big Allen marker with out too much problems, it was near the south drive, and also near the road. 
What we failed to find was my Great-great-grandparents.  My aunt was pretty sure that Isaac and Lydia were buried here.  We did however find stones for two of their sons, Ora and Orlin.

 

 We also searched in vain for their brother's (and my Great-grandfather's) first wife.  Again, Aunt Glenna though she was also here with them.  Anna Laura Hurley died over 40 years before Ggrandpa Omar, and was, she believed, buried with her in-laws.  She was the mother of my grandpa.
(Which always leaves me wondering, was she Catholic and then disowned by her family?  We have almost no information on the Hurley clan, and I need to find something on them.
Last of all, we found Great-grandpa Omar. He is buried in the Alton township cemetery, again in Kent County. 

He is buried next to his second wife, and as luck would have it, the mother, by a previous marriage, of my grandma.  My grandparents were step-siblings who then got married.

Grandma Carrie is one of the sources of my Ford connection. 
And another strange fact was that Carrie and Omar had one child together.  She (strangely enough) was named after the first wife, Anna Laura.

And here is crazy Aunt Glenna, checking out the Alton cemetery stones shown above.

Yup, no mistakes on those stones.

Tombstone (Belated)Tuesday--Buried Stones

Some of the stones of my Gilberts are large and very easily read.  Such as this stone at the end of my row of two Great-Great-Grandparents, two Great-Grandparents and a great aunt.  It looks pretty plain, doesn't it?

However, while most stones in the cemetery face east or west, this faces north, toward a bush and tree.  It is very difficult to find at times.   Last time I was there I know I was unable to pinpoint it.  (You would think that turquoise shed in the background would make it easy to locate, wouldn't you?)
But the row of stones behind it look like this.

Great-Grandpa Roy's stone is typical of the row.  On this visit, I wiped it off as best I could, but the sod was encroaching upon it. 

On another visit the same stone was more readable.  I usually go by there at least once a year, now that I know where they are.  I or someone had cleared the sod away and even revealed the smooth pink granite border.  All five stones are the same size, style, and, alas, set flush to the ground.  The stone of the great aunt gets tended by her son, last I knew.  But he is now in his 90's, the care and cleaning may fall to me.
I better get up there soon.  Last year I didn't have time to hunt and couldn't locate them.

Tombstone Tuesday--Jonathan Stiver

I have shared my GGGrandpa's stone before, in Copmish cemetery in northern lower Michigan.  Jonathan Stiver is the last of my information on that line.
I recently downloaded the Ancestry app on my iPad and was looking at some of the shaky leaves, to see if there was any information I could and verify.

There were five hints.  Oh boy!
Then I started looking at the information.
The 1880 US Census says he was born in 1810, in Pennsylvania.
The 1860 US Census gives a birth date of 1817, Pennsylvania.
The 1850 US Census lists 1815, Pennsylvania as the birth information.
The Michigan Death and Burials Indes, 1867-1995 has his birth as being 1805, Pennsylvania.
And the 1870 US Census says he was born in 1820, Pennsylvania.
Oh, great.  I already had Pennsylvania as his birthplace, and the dates are all different.

And just to be contrary, if you count back from the dated given on the monument, he would have been born about 1804, possibly September.
But, monuments can be wrong.
What can you believe?

Don't Believe Everything You Read--A Belated Tombstone Tuesday

Transcriptions can be deceiving.  Yeah, I know, hard to believe isn't it.
But as most genealogists know, occasionally what you see written down must be taken with a grain of salt,
Case in in point: My 3rd great grandfather, Oscar Averill. 
When I first obtained and read the transcripts for Chester township, Ottawa County, Michigan cemeteries I was thrilled to find one loaded with Averills.  And one was Grandpa Oscar.  I was so excited to finally get the chance to go there and see the stone.
And when I did, it was a mixed blessing.
For as you should be able to see below, the transcriber was not quite accurate.

That's right.  Wife of Oscar Averill.  Not Oscar himself. 
All was not lost though.  While I did not discover her name or his grave, I did get a probably birth date for GGGGrandma. 
Cuz, as we all know, You can't believe everything you read.  Not even the gravestone.

Tombstone Tuesday--Buried Tombstones

 With the big news yesterday about the confirming that King Richard III's remains had been found under the pavement of a parking lot, it reminded me of some our our local burials that are also hidden.
 I profiled the County Farm/Poor Farm cemetery some time ago.  That cemetery is located behind the present day Newaygo County Medical Care Facility.  On a rolling field, tucked beside a neighboring dairy farm, the graves are still intact.  But apparently when the facility was built, it was felt that the seniors and infirm who would be living there may find the sight of so many grave stones some what depressing .

 So each stone was carefully laid down and covered over.  The grassy meadow shown here above and below in the next two pictures is the final resting place of those buried here.  Luckily, a volunteer here at the Terry Wantz Historical Research Center has researched the names of those who died at the county farm and has put together a notebook of all the names of those we believe buried here.

 Since she is using the township records to assist her, her book is probably the most complete list available for this cemetery.  (Thanks Jeanne!)

One other local cemetery which suffered the same fate, to some extent is the Pioneer Cemetery.  Ironically located just down the road from the old county farm, it was partially abandoned when the city of Fremont created a new, larger cemetery,  Maple Grove.  Some of the bodies were transfered, but many were not. 

 So while there are a few recovered stones that have been placed flat, but above ground, there are other graves that are still occupied, with no stones at all. 
So at least these humble people were in good company with their un-marked and un-named graves.

Tombstone Tuesday: A Rural Scene at Clark

One of the things I like best about Clark cemetery is the woodsy feeling, even though it is near two well used roads. 
Clark cemetery is located on 48th Street, a main road into Fremont.  And just west of the cemtery is the intersection of 48th and Maple Island Road.  It is also the meeting point of Newaygo, Muskegon and Oceana counties.  Maple Island Road is a main north south road for commuters heading for Muskegon.

But here at Clark, you can find new graves and stones, as well as the older ones.  Not only the older obelisk shaped stones, and the wedge shaped granite stones can be found here.  Look behind the tree in the center and you can see a couple older stones, one with a military flag, and the other with a bit of a list.
Those two are back near the edge of the cemetery, and close to the road, as can be seen by the implement dealer in the background.  Shaded, but not forgotten, as shown by the flag in the holder by that back stone.
Clark cemetery is a great mix of old and new.  It is a cemetery I love to wonder through.

Tombstone Tuesday--Area Dignitaries

 Well, okay, maybe dignitaries is pushing it some.  But I found it interesting how many family names in Holton Oakwood Cemetery were of citizens prominent enough to have area roads named after them in Muskegon county.  Which does make sense; after all, Holton is in Muskegon county.
And given the lumbering background of Muskegon county especially, it makes perfect sense that one of those families interred there would be the Ryerson family.
 One of our patrons, while I was employed at the local library, was very interested in the Ryerson family.  They have a library in Grand Rapids named after them.  They were prominent lumbermen and were later influential in the Chicago area.

 But other families, ones I am not so familiar with, that are also in Holton Cemetery and are also names I see on the nearby roads.
Ruprecht is a small road nearby.  I wonder if it was named for Edward F, or a relative.

 Marvin is another fairly short road, but a main turnoff into Holton.  Their family has their own marker here.

 Squiers are also here.  Although I think the road is now spelt Squires.

And one of our main county roads, that comes out at the point where three counties come together is Skeels.  And sure enough, they are here too.

I wonder how many other cemeteries are so well represented.

Tombstone Tuesday--Great Great Great Grandpa Jacob Gilbert

The stone below, located in a Chester township, Ottawa county, Michigan cemetery.
Not much information is it?
I can tell only by the death date given here, and by all the Gilberts that surround him.

Many of his children are here, as well ast this large family stone.  I didn't record the exact location, but I believe that is his stone the the left of this pink granite one.

What I found funny was that although all the information of his wife Sarah is complete, the death information for Jacob has been left off the large stone.  Perhaps he died after putting this monument on the plot.  And after he died, no one updated the large stone, but just provided the small one with the death information. 
Don't these ancestors just drive you crazy sometimes?

Tombstone Tuesday--Hanna Rogers, one of the Pioneers

One of our local cemeteries is now called the Pioneer Cemetery.  It was called the old cemetery, and at times the East Cemetery.  That fact caused much confusion when reading old obituaries, because the East Hesperia Cemetery, was also often just called the East cemetery.  I related the story of this cemetery back in July of 2010.
This cemetery was the main Fremont cemetery, until the city established Maple Grove cemetery on the south side of the town.  At that time many bodies were transferred from the older cemetery to Maple Grove.   After a time, the cemetery was abandoned and the remaining stones were piled in a corner and the lot left to grow wild.

When Harry Spooner, a local educator and historian, started efforts to restore the cemetery and identify those people who were still buried in Pioneer Cemetery some of the stones were uncovered in the back corner.  Among those discovered stones was this one for Hannah Rogers, born 18 April 1891 and died 14 October 1861. 
Those stones that were discovered were lay down flat, some were broken and re-assembled flat. But it is great that these stones, like Hannah's have been preserved.  I love the scroll work on the top that would probably have been broken if the stone were left upright.  And engraved picture is one I do not recall seeing before, with both a lamb and a willow.
I'm so glad that at least some of these early stones have been preserved.

Belated Tombstone Tuesday

Due to the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays, there will be no Tombstone Tuesday postings this week or next. 

But while you wait for their return, let this picture of James Merrill's stone, nestled in the snow tide you over.
If only we had snow like that now.

Tombstone Tuesday--A Bit of a Surprise

While looking through the pictures for a stone to post about today, I came across this one.
At first glance it looks like a nicely engraved stone for a married couple.  But look again.

Margaret, the supposed wife was only three years old at death! 
George was 47 years old when Margaret was born.  I can only guess that Margaret was his daughter.  But there is no way of knowing this. 
Are the years misprints?  I know that mistakes on stones are all too common.  My grandfather's name is misspelled on his stone. 
George lived to be eighty.  Did his wife survive him?  Where is she?  I have way too many questions with this stone.  I think if we had our microfilm of the newspapers already, I would be looking for an obituary for George, to see if some of the details can be worked out.

Tombestone Tuesday--Doud cemetery's Gronso

I was struck by this stone for the Gronso family, located in Newaygo county's Dayton township in the cemetery known as both Doud and Jewell as well as sometimes Dayton Center cemetery.

The thing I found so unusual about this was not the blank faces that were clearly meant to be written on.  That unfortunately is all to common.  My family especially was famous for that.  But the outstanding feature to me was the use of the two different types of stone.   The pink is clearly granite.  The white may be granite, or limestone.  But at least in this area, the use of two different color stones is very unusual.
It does appear to be a family stone, and possibly the other smaller stones are family members.  I like the G engraved in the cap stone of the monument.
I like the way this two-tone stone looks.  I wish there were more around this area.

Tombstone Tuesday--P Johnson

Today's tombstone is one that I have not visited.  I'v just seen this picture from Woodville Cemetery Newaygo county, Michigan. 
P. Johnson was born 4 July 1846, and died on 16 September 1895.  Nothing else is known about his or her life.  But the grave says a lot.
A wonderfully shaped stone, with a rose and leaves engraved in the top.  The additional engraving around the point and side give it a little extra oomph.  Clearly this was no cheap slab stuck in the ground.

P. Johnson  died before the age of 50 years.  And apparently there is still family or friends still around.  As this picture was taken many years later, probably close to a century.  But it still has some fairly fresh silk flowers placed on the grave.
Rest in Peace Mr. or Mrs. Johnson.   You are remembered.

Tombstone Tuesday: Walter and Mary Knickerbocker

Today's stone is for Walter Knickerbocker (2 Feb 1822 to 24 Nov 1902) and his wife Mary Knickerbocker (20 Feb 1835 to 21 Nov 1902), located in the West Hesperia cemetery. 
I was intrigued by this stone, first because they died only 3 days apart, and then because the names were squished so far to the right. 

Upon closer examination, the names were squished because there is a faint outline remaining of an engraving of a plant, possibly of a lily or palm frond.  There may even be more written or a picture carved along the top curved section of the stone.   It is very faint and the enlarged picture still does not make it clear if there is carving there or just the shading of the marble.
What is clearer, although shows very faintly in the picture here is the additional carving below Mary's vital statistics.  The stone reads "Gone but not forgotten".  Perhaps by posting this here, some family member may discover them so they will not be forgotten. 
I must mention the military flag holder show in front of the stone as well.  It is not like the ones I have seen commonly in Newaygo County.  The star has a circle with a small star on each point.  The top arm and the two bottom arms have the initials F C L, one letter in each arm.  Inside the main circle are the words" Our Comrade Soldier" followed by the years 1961-1865.  In the right arm of the star is an anchor.  There is also a picture in the left arm, but both I and a civil war buff friend are unable to make it out.  He was able to tell me though that the letters stand for Fraternity, Charity, and Loyalty, the motto of the GAR. 
May their memory live on.