Belated Blogiversary to Us!!

Wow!  Has it really only been a year since Sandy and I started this little endeavor?  Its been so much fun, and I really have learned a lot more about our local history in the process.

Thanks to the loyal readers that we have gained in the last year and I hope that we can occasionally post something here that helps in your genealogical journey.

Thanks for going on the journey with us.
(As always, picture is from the collection of the Fremont Area District Library Local History room.)

Obituary--Marion June Schoolmaster

One of the drawbacks of working in the Local History Room, and of reading all of these old obituaries, is that after a while, so many of the names are so familiar.  I feel like I know them, and know all about them, and it is only when I stop to think that they died years before I was born, and I am in no way related, that I am almost shocked to realize they are complete strangers to me.

From the 7 June 1917, Fremont Times Indicator:

MARION JUNE SCHOOLMASTER

Marion June Schoolmaster, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Lewis Schoolmaster, passed away at the home of her parents on the afternoon of May 31st, 1917, at the age of 13 years, 5 months and two days.
Marion was born on the County farm one and one half miles east of Fremont, Dec. 29, 1903 and was always a bright and shining light in the home and circles in which she moved, one knew her but to love her.  She attended the public schools of Fremont and would have passed the sixth grade this semester.
She was also very apt in music and took much pride and pleasure in her musical studies.  She has been a pupil of Miss Gladys Edwards for three years, doing seventh grade work.
Her life was full of activity and she was a constant companion of her parents on the farm which has been their home for the past six years.  She was happy with her many pets, and her hands were so gentle and ways so pleasing that the dogs, cats, chickens and stock all came at the sound of her voice.  She loved the church and attended the bible schools of the Congregational and Christian churches whenever she could do so, and her life is a benediction to all who knew her.
Her illness, of three weeks duration, was borne with patience and cheerfulness and she passed away with a smile on her lips with mother, father, brother and her Aunt May at her bedside.
Besides her immediate family, she leaves many relatives and friends to mourn her departure.  But our loss is her gain, and Jesus has bid her come up higher, saying, "Suffer the children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven."
The funeral services were held at the Congregational church Sunday at 2:00 p. m., conducted by Rev. F. W. Magdanz and the body was laid to rest in Maple Grove cemetery, amidst a profusion of beautuful flowers.
Contributed.

Hmmmmm.  "Contributed."  I wonder if Mrs Robertson was a friend of the family?  This does have her style. 
It is funny, how many people got mere a blip of an obituary, and others, only children, got a lengthy article like this one.  
This name sounds so familiar but it must be just from reading old newspapers.  Or perhaps its from the family name in the hospital.

They do have a very impressive family plot.

Tombstone Tuesday--Surrerrar Cemetery

 Yes this really is a cemetery. Surrerrar is a very old cemetery that is no longer actively used. 

Located along eastern Newaygo county, this ancient cemetery is one that predates even our earliest white settlers.  Surrerrar Cemetery is one that was used by Indians long ago.  It was located near the crossways of several Indian trails and while probably not ever a location of a village, it was an area where they gathered and had meetings.
At one time, Indian mounds were discovered in the area.  Some of these old mounds were ones that were very unique in that the bodies were buried vertically, feet down/head up.  Very few of these style mounds were found in Michigan, other than the ones that were found here in Surrerrar.

A couple of our favorite local cemetery buffs helped in the rescue and preservation of Surrerrar Cemetery.  Andy Whitlock, shown above in the green tee, is the originator of http://theoctoberproject.com/, a website that has quite a bit of information on Newaygo County history, including information on Surrerrar and all of the cemeteries.  Most of our pictures are from his collection.  The woman is a descendant of pioneers who were buried here.  And the gentleman in the foreground on the right is Terry Wantz, our favorite local historian.  If you look closely, you will see in his hands the "dowsing rods"  or "witching sticks" that he has used to help determine the boundaries and numbers of bodies buried here.  People may scoff at these tactics but many of his finds have been verified by sonar and x-rays.  Behind Andy, there are some small flowers in a line that marks one side of the cemetery.  In the distance, the hayfield in front of the trees marks the farthest border.

Recent research, much done by Andy, Terry and co-blogger Sandy has determined that the cemetery was larger than originally thought.  Evidence of a homestead in the area has been spotted in the area.

In the past Surrerrar has been neglected and vandalized.  We hope that through the efforts of Andy, Terry and others to protect and preserve sites like this.

Obituary--Clifton Barton

Another person who died way too young.  Modern medicine probably would not have helped him.  (We still don't have a cure for carelessness!)  Anyway.....
From the 2 August 1917 Fremont TimesIndicator:

LEARNING TO SWIM YOUNG MAN DROWNS
Clifton Barton victim of Accident at Fremont Lake Last Thursday Afternoon
While  trying to learn to swim, Clifton Barton, age 17 years and nine montys, was drowned in Fremont lake late last Thursday afternoon.
The young man was desirous of learning to swim and was assured by friends that they would teach him.  Impatient to wait, however, he got into a row boat, rowed to a depth of eight or nine feet and plunged into the water, drowning almost immediately.
The body was recovered by Cornelius Gerber and Markle Stanger and Drs. C. B. Long and C. A. Mateer were called.  Although methods of resuscitation were immediately applied, they proved of no avail.
The strange action of Barton in plunging into deep water when unable to swim can only be accounted for upon the supposition that he had been told that this was the best method of learning how to swim. 
Barton had been making his home with his grandparents in Big Prairie township, but recently had been employed in the canning factory here.
His mother, Mrs Nellie Barton, his sisters, Lois and Nellie, and brothers Willis and Harry, came from Battle Creek Friday to take charge of the body which was taken to Big Prairie Saturday for burial.  The funeral services were held in the union church of Big Prairie, conducted by Rev. Daniel Truman, of Newaygo.

Ok, so may he didn't die of carelessness, it may have been gullibility, or just because he was a teenage boy. Sad, but so avoidable.  They never realize until its too late that perhaps they are not as invincible as they think. 
I know, I've raised a couple of my own.
And marvel that they've survived their teen years.

Obituary--Ben Karnemaat

Yet another young man who died too soon.  This time Ben was still a high school student, and he is again remembered with a flowery tribute from his teacher.  His family still lives in the area.  And again I wonder, if modern medicine could have saved him. 


From the 12 April 1917, Fremont TimesIndicator.

DEATH TAKES ANOTHER HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR
Ben Karnemaat Passed Away at City Hospital After Three Weeks Illness

Ben Karnemaat, one of the most beloved and most respected students of the Fremont high school, passed away at the City hospital Friday night after an ilness of exactly three weeks.  He was taken with hemorrhages three weeks ago and his condition became so serious that he was removed immediately to the City hospital where the best of care and medical treatment proved of no avail.  His last illness was aggravated by a tubercular condition of the lungs which doubtless lessened his physical power to resist his last affliction.
Mr Karnemaat was the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Karnemaat who life on a farm near Brookside.  The young man spent his entire life in this community and after completing his rural school work came to Fremont to attend the high school.  His manly characteristics and good nature soon won him the confidence and respect of his fellow students and the faculty and he soon attained a popularity seldom enjoyed by any student.
Words fail to measure the true worth of Ben Karnemaat.  In character he was absolutely clean, in mind he was unusually able, in motive he was animated only by fairest means, his life was exemplary in its every phase.  His popularity was not confined to the younger element.  During his spare time he clerked in the Pioneer Drug store and there his radiant smile, good humor and affability won him a host of friends.  He was never affected and enjoyed an unconscious popularity.
One of the high school teachers pays him the following beautiful tribute.
"With the passing of Ben Karnemaat, Fremont High School loses a well-loved friend.
"Never, perhaps in the history of Fremont, has there been a student who entered so whole-heartedly into all the activities of high school life.  As speaker of the Student House of Representatives and as president of the Athletic Association, he conducted himself with a quite unassuming dignity which never failed to win the co-operation of the student body.  As a member of the editorial staff of the Mogul, he did everything in his power to assure the success of the annual. In athletics he won the respect and admiration of all by his fairmindedness and clean play.  In the class room, he proved himself an able scholar, interested in this work, conscientious, absolutely worthy of trust.
"If we loved him less, we might be able to discuss his characteristics with more eloquence.  As it is, we can only remember that his smile, as he came and went among us, made gloomy faces brighten.  We can only remember that he was loyal without partisanship, ambitious without egotism and gentle without weakness.
This is the second time this year that death has invaded the ranks of the senior class of 1917, Gerald Cooley having passed away February 26th of this year.
Besides his parents, he is survived by one Brother, Koss Karnemaat. (Editor's note--Koos is the correct spelling of the brother's name.) 
The funeral services were held yesterday afternoon from the First Christian Reformed church, the big edifice being filled to its capacity with sorrowing friends.  Rev. H. Keegstra, pastor of the church, spoke in Holland, and Rev. J L Heeres, pastor of the Reeman Christian Reformed church spoke in English.  The body was laid at rest in Maple Grove cemetery.


I found it interesting that the home pastor spoke the language of their homeland, Dutch, while the visiting pastor spoke English.  It doesn't state if he was born in the Netherlands or locally.  Many churches kept their services in the language from home.   The tradition continues of course in the area Amish communities with their own language.  A funeral several years ago following a tragic fire saw services conducted in one location in their traditional language, and in the Amish schoolhouse in English, for others in the community.

Tombestone Tuesday--Stearns Prairie Cemetery

 The Stearns Prairie Cemetery is a very old cemetery in Newaygo County.  Located in Croton township, just a couple miles from the Muskegon River, our transcript shows burials dating back to 1850's.  Although this was once logging country, the deaths listed show many women as well as men, civil war veterans and children. 

 

 As you can see behind the sign, Stearns Prairie is well maintained.  The grass is closely clipped, the weeds cleared.  Then fence appears sturdy and in good repair.  Yet Stearns Prairie Cemetery has feeling of sadness that can hit you as you look over it.
 There are not many recent burials.  The pictures show many flowers left on graves, but few modern markers.  The most recent burial I can find in our admittedly old transcript is for Lloyd B. Davison, who died in 1977.  It appears he died at the age of 49 and was buried next to John L and Ruth A Davison. who died in 1955 and 1962.  A single man perhaps, buried alongside his parents?  It seems likely. 

 Most of the rest of the burials in the transcript are dated from the 1850's to 1880's.  Some probably have no markers at all any longer.  See the above curious remnant.  It appears to be made of cement.  but with a lower center, that is now filled with debris and weeds. It is hard to tell if it is a deteriorated monument, or what.  I am leaning to the idea of a handmade urn, from cement that has perhaps been sunk into the ground, or partially collapsed.

 This row of graves along one edge show that whoever is lying there has not been forgotten.  Flowers on nearly every marker.  And from the overgrown background, you can see that the cemetery has kept been mowed regularly.

 This stone has no apparent markings.  It appears to be marking a grave.  With all of the early burials here, it is very possible that a simple yet distinctive field stone was used to mark the grave of a loved one.

 

 Here is the marker for Julia, wife of Nathan Bogardus.  It appears to be made of marble with a hand chiseled engraving: Born February 14 1847, Died Aug 13 1886.  As is true of many of the earlier stones, she died fairly young. 

 This is a lovely, well cared for stone, and well preserved as well.  It marks the resting place of Phebe Ann, wife of Cyrus P. Deming.  She died 29 August 1953, at the age of 22.  The stone is in remarkable condition, considering many of those located here have been broken, weathered, and just plain worn. 

 This stone of the Allen family is standing strong and clear.  Obviously it has been sheltered by the lilac bush that nearly surrounds it. The inscription: James Allen--Father   29Y 3 M 22 D. He died 17 Sept 1859.  And also on the same stone: Margaret Harris, wife of James Allen--27Y 3 M 19 D.  She died a little over a year later on 30 August 1960.  They both died so young.  Since the inscription Father is on James's section, I wonder what happened to their child.

Above is an example of one of the broken stones.  It appears to have been wrapped with a piece of wire?   I am unable to find a name in the transcript that fits what bits of inscription I can make out. 

And finally this monument: Sacred to the memory f Merlin Hunter.  Died Aug 25, 1855.  Aged 73 Yrs. 3 mos. 28dys.
Obviously he lived longer than many that are buried here.  The condition of the stone is remarkable, if it was erected near the time of his death.    I do like that this, as well as several other stones in this cemetery have been supported in some manner.  Perhaps that was what the wire on the previous stone was for.

Obituary--Everett Wilbur

This is another obituary of a child.  Brief, yet except for the date of birth, fairly complete.


From the 15 April 1915 Fremont TimesIndicator;

Everett, the seven year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Wilbur of North Denver, died at his home last Wednesday, April 7.  He had been an invalid all his life.  The funeral was held at the home Friday afternoon, Rev. M. Oldt, of the M. E. church officiating.  The interment was made in the East cemetery.

This is one of the brief obits that only appear in the community gossip columns of the newspaper. The East cemetery, is apparently the East Hesperia cemetery, as that is in Denver township, and would be probably the closest.  So young, yet, what a hard life he must have had, being an invalid all his life.  I always wonder what life would have been for these children who die so young, if they had been born in this century.   Would they still be alive?