I have many pictures in my collection of people that are not identified. This one is interesting because of the clothes. If I had to guess it is from my maternal grandmother's side of the Mast family. She came from Mennonite and Church of the Brethren ancestry. Any thoughts?
My blog features articles on a wide range of historical topics and includes personal stories, historical documents, and photographs. My blog includes resources for family history enthusiasts, such as examples of historical resources and articles about researching family history. I aim to provide a unique and personal perspective on my ancestor’s past, and to help my readers understand the experiences and struggles of the ancestors who came before us.
21 September 2022
19 September 2022
The Oregon Death of Jean Watt Kellen
Researching one's family can bring excitement
when you find what you are looking for, but it can bring sadness when the
record shows unexpected details. Previously, I wrote about Baby Kellan, the son or
daughter of Arthur Kellan and Jean Ethel Watt Kellan.
While researching my paternal great-aunt, Jean Ethel Watt Kellan, her death certificate1 of 4 January 1914, was one day after Baby Kellan's birth. I had such a feeling of sadness knowing that Baby Kellan would grow up without his mother.
Jean Ethel Watt was the daughter of David Watt and Katherine McGee Watt. She was born 4 March 18862, in Marquette, Marquette, Michigan. She married Arthur Kellan 12 October 19103, in Marquette, Marquette, Michigan. Sometime after October of 1910, Arthur and Jean found themselves in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon.
Jean died at Rose City Sanatorium in Portland, Oregon at the age of twenty-seven. Are you wondering what happened to Baby Kellan and his father? Check back for that story.
1Archives, "Oregon, U.S.,
State Deaths, 1864-1968," database, Ancestry.com, entry for Jean
Ethel Kellan; death certificate number 19, 1914.
2 "Michigan Marriages
1868-1925," volume 3, page 23, record number 312.
3 Ibid.
16 September 2022
What Happened to Baby Kellan?
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My recent research has taken me to the family of Arthur Kellan and Jean Ethel Watt. Jean is my paternal great aunt. She died at the age of twenty-seven. My dad never knew her, but he had fond memories of his Uncle Art. Art was the person who took my dad to his first Detroit Tigers game.
Arthur Kellan and Jean Watt Kellan had a son, born on 3 January 1914 at Rose City Sanitarium, Portland, Oregon. In all my research I never came across the fact that they had a child until I found Baby Kellan's birth information in the state of Oregon.
14 September 2022
12 September 2022
The Marriage of Samuel D. Breed and Orpha A. Fenn in 1841
One hundred eighty-one years ago today, Orpha Ann Fenn, the daughter of Daniel Fenn and Huldah Rowley Fenn, married Samuel Dwight Breed on 12 September 1841 in Grass Lake, Michigan. Michigan marriages were not recorded at this early date and I needed to look for other records to confirm this date. One such secondary source record was on page 16 of The 1900 Congregational Yearbook. In addition to marriage information a biography of Samuel Dwight Breed was provided. The transcription is
BREED, SAMUEL DWIGHT, son of Reuben and Martha (Everett) Breed, was born in Volney, N. Y., 1820, Nov. 3. Grass Lake, Mich.
Academy. Chicago Seminary, 1859.
Ordained, Augusta,now Whittaker, Mich., 1862, Feb. 19; acting pastor there, 1862-7 ; Grand Blanc, 1867-9; New Haven and Chesterfield, 1869-70; Napoleon, 1870-2; Rochester, 1872-5; without charge, Ypsilanti, 1875-85; Ann Arbor, after.
Married, 1841. Sept. 12, Orpha Ann, daughter of Daniel and Huldah (Rowley) Fenn, of Shoreham, Vt. She died, 1846, Feb. 12. One son died in the civil war.
Married, 1848, Sept. 14, Amelia Eliza, daughter of Amos and Laura (Mills) Bosworth, of Sandisfleld, Mass., who died, 1893, Sept. 28. Two daughters and two sons, the latter being Revs. Dwight P. and Merle A. Breed.
Died of arterial sclerosis, 1899, Aug. 16, aged 78 years, 9 months, and 13 days. '
My next step in my research would be to look for Grass Lake church records. I know in 1836 there were three churches in Grass Lake, Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian, which the later became a Congregational Church. Currently, it is the Federated Church of Grass Lake.
'States, General Council of the Congregational and Christian Churches of the United. The Congregation Yearbook: 1900. Boston: Congregational Publishing Society,. Digital images. Google Books. https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=9BRKAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PP1 : 2015.
08 September 2022
The Birth Anniversary of Estella Fenn Shaw 175 Years Ago
07 September 2022
Can You Identify These Pictures at the Fort Custer Library?
Some of my readers know that I volunteer at the Fort Custer Historical Society library. It isn't open to the public because my helper, Jan, and I are still in the process of inventorying things.
Our latest project is working on the thousands of photographs in the library. We grouped them by war or subject. If a photo didn't have any identifying information, we scanned it using Google Lens. The photographs below are the ones needing identification.
This is where I need your help. If you can identify anyone, anyplace, or anything about the photograph, please leave a comment below or email me at brae957@gmail.com. If you know which war it was, which arm of service it was, or even the smallest hint, I would be grateful. Thanks for your help. I will update the photographs as I get more information.
The numbers are under the pictures.
Tritten Store in Brethren, Michigan
An undated photograph of Brethren, Michigan.
I never visited my aunt and uncle, Kate and Carl Tritten, when they had the store on N. Coates Hwy, in Brethren, Michigan. My stories come from my mother, Audrey, who went to live with her sister, Kate, at the age of nine.
She tells stories of having to clean and polish the wood floors of the store, pumping gas, babysitting Kate and Carl's children, Katherine Marie and John, stocking shelves, and waiting on people. I don't have a picture of the inside of the store, but I have a few that were taken outside of the store.
06 September 2022
School Days in 1944 Brethren, Michigan
03 September 2022
Bruce Glover Elected President of Northern Thumb C Conference
Source: "New Officers for North Thumb Loop," Bay City Times, 19 September 1957, online images, Genealogy Bank: accessed 23 August 2022
Transcription:New Officers for
North Thumb Loop
Special to
the Times
PIGEON-New officers of
The Northern Thumb C Confer
ence were elected Tuesday night
at the annual meeting of
coaches and school officials held
at the Pigeon Community
school.
The new officers,
all of Deck-
erville High, are: president,
Coach Bruce Glover; vice-pres-
ident Coach Jim Waldo, and
Secretary-treasurer, George Le-
krone
Retiring president is John
Noell, of Harbor Beach.
My father was involved in coach’s associations throughout his career. He was a charter member of the Michigan High School Coaches Association. The above newspaper clipping shows he was elected President of the Northern Thumb C Conference.
He went to many thumb
conference meetings in his role as a coach and athletic director for
Deckerville Community Schools and Harbor Beach Community Schools, both in
Michigan.
Michigan schools are
classified as Class A, B, C, and D for sport team purposes, with Class A being the largest schools. Each class has
student population ranges. It has changed throughout the years as student
population has declined.
The interesting thing
about this record, to me, is the date: September 19, 1957. It was four days
after my birth! I asked my mom about this, and she said she was in the hospital
for six days. My sister, who was four at the time, was staying with my Aunt
Mabel and Uncle Hank Glover in Ferndale.
My mom was the quintessential coach’s wife. Even if she were home with a day’s old newborn, she wouldn't have stopped him from going.
My dad coached Reserve Football, Varsity Basketball and Track in 1956-1957 school year. Here are pictures of his teams.
01 September 2022
September Birthdays and Anniversaries
The following are the sourced September birthdays and anniversaries in my ancestry. No living people are included.
1 September 1784 |
Hopkins ROWLEY and Elizabeth STEWART (238) |
1 September 1847 |
Miles BALDWIN and Aminda FENN (175) |
2 September 1575 |
Thomas LOWTHROPPE and Mary HOWELL (447) |
2 September 1862 |
Catherine MCGEE (160) |
2 September 1922 |
Carl Edward MCDONALD (100) |
3 September 1654 |
John OSGOOD (368) |
3 September 1813 |
Mary Magdalena GRAF (209) |
3 September 1835 |
Katarina "Katherine" GRAF (187) |
3 September 1927 |
Howard E. DYER and Dorothy M. RILEY (95) |
4 September 1575 |
Edward FULLER (447) |
4 September 1625 |
Anna MAST (397) |
4 September 1737 |
Sarah ST. CLAIR (285) |
5 September 1656 |
Daniel POOR II (366) |
5 September 1658 |
John POOR (364) |
5 September 1789 |
Susanna MAUST (233) |
5 September 1821 |
Samuel Worcester GLOVER (201) |
5 September 1875 |
George FOUST and Philippina GRAF (147) |
5 September 1914 |
Anna Ellen BENNINGER (108) |
5 September 1915 |
Albert GUHSE and Lottie WESOLOWSKI (107) |
6 September 1918 |
Kathryn Louise FREDRICK (104) |
7 September 1600 |
Edmund HOBART and Margaret DEWEY (422) |
8 September 1847 |
Estella J. FENN (175) |
8 September 1873 |
Edward Leroy DYER (149) |
8 September 1897 |
Pearly Mae GRAF (125) |
9 September 1731 |
Seth BEAL and Abigail CLARK (291) |
9 September 1792 |
Samuel B. POOR (230) |
9 September 1901 |
Augusta FREDRICK and Herman Adolph BREEN (121) |
10 September 1662 |
Sarah ROWLEY (360) |
10 September 1870 |
Jeanne WATT (152) |
10 September 1900 |
Margaret GIBSON (122) |
11 September 1798 |
Samuel Stillman GLOVER (224) |
12 September 1841 |
Samuel Dwight BREED and Orpha Ann FENN (181) |
12 September 1915 |
Francis H. GLOVER (107) |
14 September 1761 |
Christian L. LIVENGOOD (261) |
14 September 1848 |
Samuel Dwight BREED and Amelia BOSWORTH (174) |
14 September 1872 |
Margaret "Maggie" WATT (150) |
14 September 1878 |
Elias Abraham FREY (144) |
14 September 1925 |
Jacqueline WATT (97) |
14 September 1940 |
Boots GRISCHOW and Audrey Bessie CHALMERS (82) |
15 September 1864 |
George GRAF (158) |
15 September 1881 |
Arthur R. KELLAN (141) |
15 September 1909 |
David GIBSON (113) |
before 16 September 1638 |
Robert LINNELL and Peninnah HOWSE (384) |
17 September 1847 |
Silas R. FENN (175) |
17 September 1863 |
George Begole POOR and Addie OSBORN (159) |
18 September 1623 |
John HOWSE and Mary OSBORNE (399) |
18 September 1692 |
Rebecca MAYO (330) |
18 September 1703 |
Jacob POWERS and Sarah MERRIAM (319) |
18 September 1767 |
Mary "Mariah" LIVENGOOD (255) |
18 September 1832 |
Wilhelmine FREDRICH (190) |
20 September 1714 |
Hester "Esther" BLANDING (308) |
22 September 1770 |
Enoch POOR (252) |
23 September 1756 |
Jonathan ROWLEY and Elizabeth HOPKINS (266) |
24 September 1698 |
Hannah GLOVER (324) |
24 September 1765 |
Anna Walpurga GRAF (257) |
25 September 1835 |
Courtney FENN (187) |
25 September 1845 |
Abel FENN and Mary E. SMITH (177) |
25 September 1858 |
David WATT (164) |
26 September 1782 |
Johann Friedrich GRAF (240) |
27 September 1922 |
Anna K. BITTNER (100) |
28 September 1670 |
Lucy POOR (352) |
28 September 1799 |
Johann Valentin GRAF (223) |
29 September 1906 |
Howard E. DYER (116) |
30 September 1751 |
Edward POWERS (271) |
30 September 1914 |
George B. FENN and Etta L. KLINE (108) |