S(tuff) Happens

In current real life and in the past, s(tuff) happens.  Life here at our history center has been rather frantic, even since the Open House and Ribbon Cutting.
While those events went smoothly, we suddenly had to make sure some of the donations were scanned, as it turned out, they were not long term loans, but extremely temporary.   And that is where I have been, at the scanner, and away from the blog.  I truly hope that this will be the last hiatus for a long, long time. 
Donations continue to pour into the History Center, here in beautiful downtown Fremont Michigan.  Just yesterday, a member of Colonial Dames, who is cleaning house brought in a pile of magazines and books.  She is sorting and making sure when she is gone, things don't just get tossed, as the next generation is so prone to do.  So often we hear from visitors, when they come in to see what we do, say, "I just threw out a bunch of old (insert here: obituaries, clippings, newspapers, yearbooks, etc.) when cleaning out my mothers house after she died.
Dang.
So why the picture of this stone for George Cunningham?  How does he fit the theme of this post?

George was the second (or third husband) of my 5th great-grandmother Mary Sitts, and their first born is my ancestor.  Mary let a wonderfully colorful life.  Captured by Indians from New York's Mohawk River Valley to Canada, she was raised by the family of the tribes medicine woman, possibly the chief's family.  She may have been paired with one of the tribe before being ransomed away by Colonel Nelles.  She was later married to his son, before running off with George.  See why I call her colorful?  After the death of George she remarried and lived a long full life as Granny Johnson, local medicine and herbal woman.  But I always considered the fact that she "ran off" with GGGGG-grandpa George rather romantic.  They were only married eight years before his death.  But such a tragic end.  He was helping at raising a building for a neighbor, when he apparently fell from the roof and died, leaving her with 3 small children.
Poor Mary.  As happens to so many people, now and then, when life seemed to be going along fine, s(tuff) happens.  But even when you think it is the end, life goes on.
And so it is here at the Wantz Historical Research Center.  Sandy and I never dreamed, when our funding was cut at the library, that we would continue on with this History Center being such a success.  We have been supported by the community and are thriving.  Even when things happen, sometimes you can still go along having a long full life, just like my GGGGG-granny Mary Sitts, (native), Nelles Cunningham Johnson.
So we also will continue here at the History Center.  Stop by and visit us.

We Really Are Back

Yesterday, we came back.
The rather low-key opening of The Terry Wantz Historical Research Center--the new place of employment for Sandy and me. While we do not yet have as large a collection as we had access to at the library, we are growing one. All day yesterday and already today we had had bags and boxes of books donated to our collection. Our grand opening will be coming up. I'll be sure to blog it.
The story of why we had to leave our position at the library is in the past. Now we can go forward. If you are in the Fremont Michigan area we are located at 10 West Main Street, just down Main Street from our old location. While we are closed on Sunday and Monday, we are open 10 to 7 Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 to 5 Thursday and Friday, and on the first two Saturdays of the month from 10 to 2. Pictures will be coming.
Please feel free to come and see us.

Coming Soon To This Space

Before long, we hope to end the long drought. About a year or so ago, this blog was forced to be suspended. It has started as a departmental blog for our local history room where both Sandy and I were employed. The purpose was to share our love for history and cemeteries, as well as help publicize our department.

However, the director who had originally approved the blog decided he didn't approve the time spent on it. And after funding cuts, both of us were let go at the end of 2011.

We are in the process of setting up a new historical research center. We hope to be able to resume full time blogging soon. As well as providing a place for local historians and genealogists to continue their research with knowledgeable assistance from Sandy and I.

Since the local history room at the library is now open only 3 mornings and 1 afternoon a week, and is staffed by someone who is a rookie at local history (and knows nothing of genealogy), we hope the new center is up and running soon.

So please watch this space. We hope to be back at it soon.

I better find some more cemetery pictures.

Remembrance

This past week, the only surviving veteran of World War I past away, leaving only one from Great Britain and one from Australia, or so I've read.   That got me thinking about the many who lost their lives during this fight.  I had a first cousin 2x removed who died then.  I have a few obituaries I have found in the 1918 obit book of men who died then, often of disease rather than fighting.  I found this column that lists names of those killed or wounded in that war.
From the 30 January 1919 Fremont Times Indicator. 

DR. WEAVER COMPILES COUNTY HONOR ROLL
Following is a List of Boys Killed or Wounded in Democracy's Struggle

Casualty list of Newaygo county as compiled by Dr. L. S. Weaver:
Killed
Ole Webster, big Prairie
Don M. Dickinson, Fremont
Frank Clark, Fremont
Paul Steffe, Newaygo
Carl Loxen, Grant
Clyde Crabtree, Big Prairie
Herman Brandt, White Cloud

Wounded
Leo McGrath, Bitely
Frank Raymond, Fremont
Jack Stewart, Woodville
Herbert Lenard, White Cloud
W. H. Dubois, Newaygo
Cornelius Wolters, Fremont
Selah Reber, Fremont
Chas. Risher, Hesperia
Wm. Sherman, Newaygo
Glen anthony, Newaygo
E. O. Cooper, Newaygo
Will H. Horton, Fremont
D. J. Carlington, Fremont
A. C. Harper, White Cloud
Andrew O. Goebel, White cloud
Clyde D. Chism, Fremont
John D. Brookhuis, Fremont
Milo Ostrom, Grant
Howard Brown, Fremont
Howard Brown, Fremont
Geo. K. Bowen, Hesperia
Alto Sherman, Hesperia
David Hopkins, Fremont

Died of Wounds
John G. Frens, Fremont; France

Died of Disease
Carl Reynolds, Hesperia; Great Lakes Training Station
W. H. Fowler, Hesperia; Camp Custer
Glen Taylor, Fremont; Camp Custer
Bert Lambers, Fremont; Ann Arbor
H. Teisenga, Fremont; Camp Custer
Auren Brown, Grant; France
Wm. Hutchinson, France
Chas. Alvord, Croton, Camp Custer
Dan covey, Paris, France
A. D. Jordan, Paris, France
Howard Schoolmaster, Fremont; Great Lakes Training Station.

Gassed
C. C. Upton, Fremont

Database Update

I mentioned in the previous post that obituaries were not able to be added without a birth date, or year.  I was entering info into the database and discovered, that not only are we able to add years before 1800 (which was also unavailable), but we can also enter obituaries with with no birth information.  YEA!
I will try to put ages, when we have them, to help users calculate approximate years, but at least they will be in the database.
Uh, well...... they will be once we get them entered again.  There are four shelves, four foot long, bursting with black notebooks all full of information to re-enter.  Have some patience, please.