A Thoughtful Child

From page 11 of the 17 February 1916 Fremont Times Indicator.
A little boy whose grandmother had just died wrote the following letter that he duly posted: Dear Angels--We have just sent you grandma. Please give her a harp to play, as she is short-winded and cannot blow a trumpet. "

Kreative Blogger

Hey, look what we got nominated for!

Luxengen Genealogy and Family History blog from Canada included us in their list of 7 blogs worthy of the award. And shucks! We are only a couple months old. Guess we have something to live up to now.



The rules are that we have to tell 7 things about ourselves and then nominate 7 other blogs we think are worthy. So here goes.

1. We are both from small towns in Newaygo County Michigan. If you look at the palm of your right hand, we located about half way up the left side of your palm, (The Lake Michigan side)and in about an inch. Living in a hand-shaped state can be so "handy."


2. Linda, the quiet and shy one, also has a passion for many fiber related pastimes such as spinning and knitting. She also loves NASCAR. Her blog is FarmMomMusings.


3. Sandy, the boss of the room, (who is not nearby as I type this) is an animal lover. She has been the proud owner of many dogs, as well as cats and whatever crosses her path. She has even recommended inspecting the pouches of road-kill possums, to check for surviving babies.


4. Our domain is the local history room of the Fremont Area District Library. We collect vital stats from the weekly papers and microfilm of old papers. Check the link for our room on the left of the library site, and then the Local History Room databases for names of family members.


5. One of us absolutely LOVES snow and cold and can't wait for it to come. Got lots of wool to wear you know. Oh, did that give me away?


6. The other of us is currently waiting both the completion of her new house and foot surgery. Mixed blessings there.


7. We recently attended a genealogy seminar together. And we made it all the way there and back, without stopping at a cemetery. Of course, we were running late on the way there, and it was very late on the way home. But still......I can't believe we passed them all up.

And now---7 blogs we recommend for the award. Actually, we are presenting 8, so we each could have 4 to pick.

Linda's 4

1. Pink Lemon Twist by Melanie. A great blog with knitting and family. Patterns and pictures. She features "Knitting, Spinning, and My Crazy Life." Fun read.
2. WendyKnits from, who else, Wendy is another favorite. Its about "Adventures With Sticks and String", with some pictures thrown in of her adorable cat Lucy. Patterns and tips. She is famous for her toe-up socks.
3. A Year of Crockpotting is from Stepahnie Ok, so I discovered her in 2009 after the year was over. She still posts regularly and all the recipes from the previous year are searchable. Do I like the blog. Well-I bought 2 crock-pots--a 6 quart and a 4 quart since I started reading her. And I bought her book--Make it Slow, Cook it Fast.
4. My friend and fellow spinner has My 8 Kids Mom Gets Crafty. This fearless woman homeschools, makes her own cheese, spins, dyes fibers, and knits among other things. They have one dairy cow (at this time.) And chickens, sheep, dogs, and...oh yes--kids.
   

These are some of my favorite blogs to read. I also read some genealogy ones, but most of what I read has already been nominated.

Sandy's nominees:

1. Granite in My Blood. Its a great resource for gravestone photography, as well as genealogy and family history. A charter member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.
2. Life is a Spectacular Mess is a blog we can relate to. Her emphasis is scrapbooking with a vintage flair.
3. The Graveyard Rabbit is another favorite. Its association is "dedicated to the academic promotion of the historical importance of cemeteries, gravemarkers and the family history to be learned...."
4. The Cemetery Club celebrates the art and history of cemeteries across the country and even the world.

Now, we just have to notify these of their award.

Surrarrer Cemetery

Surrarrer Cemetery is far off the main road it is on a dusty seasonal road that follows the power line in Newaygo County. Several years ago Terry Wantz a local historian and friend ask me to help out trying to find names of people buried there. It is a lonely place but beautiful, it is sandy and forgotten and hard to reach.
The prairie was known as a place that many Native Americans called home and was a large village since it was close to the river where it was narrow and easy passing. It was also a rich hunting ground. Many believe the cemetery started out as a Native American burial ground. We also seen signs of burial mounds in the area. The area was also known as a place where two major trails leading to the Mackinaw area crossed according to maps of Native American trails that were found.
We have the names of about 8 people but that list is uncertain. You can see where several more people are buried by the indentations in the ground. Many people were moved to Oak Grove in Croton when the area was abandoned. Searching in the nearby fields you can see where a old building stood. A lilac tree plated there by someone years ago dreaming of what her new home will become. A few of the families who were buried there are English's, Overly's, Saunders and a Mr. Boyd.
When looking for information neither the Newaygo County Goverment offices nor the Brooks Township have any records of this cemetery. It is also believe that Mr. Surrarrer was buried here. Ransom Surrarrer made the first purchase of the land thus its name. On the 1880 atlas shows a Phillip Dickinson and his wife Sophonia Tibbits owning 160 acres on the edge of the prairie. It also shows records that they sold a piece of land for a new school that was to become Dickinson school.
Many families had moved here since it was a logging area and a days trip from Grand Rapids but this area was developing and many families moved on to more fertile land.
Terry has worked for several years keeping the area neat and trimmed up. Cutting the grass over the burial site. Putting a fence along the edge to keep Orv's off the burial area. Building and installing a sign and putting benches to rest on. It was a job that he took on as a sign of respect for his ancestors the Dickinson's.
The spelling has changed many times over the years from Serrarrer, Surarrer, among other spelling hence you will see spelling changes depending on the source used.

Tombstone Tuesday--Clark Cemetery

Clark is nearby cemetery that is not city or township owned. It sits near the corners of 3 counties and 4 townships. Across the street from a farm machinery dealership, and sided by a large pole building, it still maintains it rural touch. This classic stone shown above for Amanda Wright shows the clasped hands that was often shown on the graves of wife's who had died.

I have several family members in this cemetery. The below stone is from my paternal grandparents. Although I have found unusual first names are helpful in genealogy, they can also present a problem. Gramp's name is misspelled here and never corrected. At least they had a stone. Grandma's brother and wife are buried here also, near Grandma and Grampa. However, although Uncle Bert had a stone, Aunt Lyla had none. Apparently that small aluminum marker was all she had. Dad made up this stone for her out of cement and wooden letters. Although the letters have since fallen out, you can at least read the name and in real life, the dates. I liked Aunt Lyla. She taught me to enjoy Perry Como.

My Hubby also has family in this cemetery. Although most of his family is in the Holton cemetery, I had searched in vain for the older generations of Walsworths. Imagine my surprise, when, as so often happens, I saw the name Walsworth just before the cemetery exit. The name is carved in the base, and around the sides were the names of Hubby's great-grandparents Artemas and Amanda, but also his great-greats--Elijah and Lucina. I love cemetery serendipity!
Of course I am not related to everyone there. The stones are varied while some are almost hidden in the tall flowers.

One of the nearby roads in one of the adjoining counties are named for this family. I love the log style stones. This one looks like pink granite.

This is such a sad stone. It incorporates many of the commonly seen symbols. The drapery and the lambs. The top of the stones says "Our Little Lambs." And also "the children of _____ and ______ Stevens." Apparently the Stevens children died at the same time. I don't see the names of the children, maybe they are on the sides or back of the stone.

This last tombstone seems to have an urn on the top. I cannot read the name of this rather hidden stone.

But did you notice the little slab leaning against the bottom?

Railroad Map Request

One of the Diva's readers and friends asked for help finding railroad maps. See his inquiry:

Do know of a source online of maps of railroad lines in use in the 1900-1910 era? Several of the people I am trying to track worked on the construction/maintenance of railroads. Therefore they may have traveled on the rails from state to state. So far I have not found such a site. Can the Divas help me?

If anyone has any ideas, please reply in a post. Maybe you can come up with something before we can.

Obituary--Mrs Mary McIlveen (Wallace)

We have obtained the permission of our local paper, the TimesIndicator to reprint some of the older obituaries we have in our notebooks in the Local History Room. While touching, some of the styles of writing and explicit details can cause one to pause. When I cannot refrain from commenting--those editorial comments will be in italics.
From 7 July 1910.
Obituary
Mrs. Mary McIlveen (Wallace), consort of Hon. robert C. Wallace of Ashland township, Newaygo county Mich, was born at Cogneaut, Armagh Co., Ireland May 12 1841, and together with her father, John McIlveen and mother , Nancy (Austin) McIlveen, emigrated to Chester, Ottawa county, Michigan, in 1847, where she resided until July 16, 1876, when she was married to Robert C Wallace and moved to the farm home in Ashland where they have since resided and where she departed this life, after a lingering illness of some months, June 27 1910. (Whew1 Note that this is the first period so far.) In the many long years of life in Ashland she had endeared herself to the entire community by the native goodness always characteristic of her. Educated in the sturdy old Presbyterian faith of her parentage, hers became naturally a religion of good works, for which she became known as one of the foremost, in her home life.
The great esteem in which she was held was attested to by the large and sympathetic audience who attended the last sad rites at the Baptist church, Ashland Center June 29 at 2 o'clock p.m. After a brief discourse by Elder Charles W Gardner of Bailey, the services were taken in charge by the Daughters of Rebekah, of which she was an honored member, and the closing service performed by the beautiful and imposing service of their ritual.
The sympathy of the entire community is extended to Mr Wallace in his bereavement.

cost of burial plots

I just recieved this email from a friend and had to share:

It is hard to understand how a cemetery raised its burial rates and blamed it on the cost of living.

so true!