Thursday, April 13, 2017

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks ~ Week #8–Leonard Almanson Hart–My 2nd great granduncle

HART_Lenard A_sitting in a chair in his later years

Leonard Almanson Hart, also known as Lenard and L.A. Hart, was my 2nd great granduncle on my paternal side.  Here’s how we connect.

Henry Hart & Olive G. Doten – my 3rd great grandparents
daughter, Sarah M. Hart & John C. Gould – my 2nd great grandparents
brother of Sarah, Leonard A. Hart – my 2nd great granduncle

Leonard was born 8 Aug 1846 in New York.  He was the last of 9 children born to Henry & Olive Hart.  Sometime before the 1850 census, Henry had moved his wife and 9 children to Armada, Macomb, Michigan.  Here are the names of Leonard’s siblings: Isaac D., Lyman C., Sarah M. (my ancestor), Noble A., Betsy R., Arminda A., Simeon H. and Olive P.  All of the siblings lived into adulthood.  To my knowledge the only two that didn’t marry were Lyman and Noble.  So, this family should have quite a few descendants, as all the married siblings did have children.

On 28 Jan 1866 in Macomb Co., Michigan, Leonard A. Hart married Frances Georgia Ann Wetherell.  She was the daughter of Benjamin Wetherell and Eliza Cole.  My first record of their marriage was in the Dibean Michigan Marriage Index.  I also found the marriage recorded in Michigan Marriages, 1822-1995.  No image is available, but here is the index of that record from familysearch.org
Name Leonard A. Hart
Birth Date 1847
Age 19
Spouse's Name Frances G. Witherell
Spouse's Birth Date 1847
Spouse's Age 19
Event Date 28 Jan 1866
Event Place Macomb,Michigan
Indexing Project (Batch) Number M51858-3
System Origin Michigan-ODM
GS Film number 979571

Source: "Michigan Marriages, 1822-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCTL-2QS : 4 December 2014), Leonard A. Hart and Frances G. Witherell, 28 Jan 1866; citing reference ; FHL microfilm 979,571.

I’m fortunate to be in contact with Leonard’s 2nd great grandson.  We have been communicating for several years now.  He connected with my via one of my blog posts about the Hart family.
He shared several photos of Leonard and his wife Frances who went by her middle name Georgia.  One of them is at the beginning of this post.  Pictures bring our ancestors to life.

Here are a couple of others.  Thank you cousin Charles.

HART_Leonard A & wife Frances Georgia nee Wetherall_portrait photos
Leonard & Georgia Hart - unknown year, but obviously portrait photos 
HART_Frances Georgia standing by car in her later years
Georgia in her later years

I find Leonard in the 1850 and 1860 census in Armada, Macomb, Michigan living with his parents.
 
He is first enumerated with his wife in the 1870 census where is is listed as a Farmer.  The value of his personal estate being $100.  In his household are his wife, Georgia A., son Harland B., age 4 and son, Charles A., age 1.  The family is split on 2 pages.  The second page contains a small snapshot of the farming community in Armada, Michigan at that time.  Six households of family members living adjacent to one another.
 
Here is page 1, with Leonard listed at the bottom of the page. And, his brother, Simeon, further up the page, working for the Shepardson family.

1870_HART_Leonard household_Armada_MI_pg 1 of 2 
Now, here is page 2, with little Charles Hart at the top of the page and all of the other families listed below him.  I have indicated who they all are.  Finding a page like this in any census is a great find.

(PLEASE REMEMBER TO CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)
1870_HART_Leonard household_Armada_MI_pg 2 of 2-annot

In 1880 Leonard is farming in Armada and has one more son, Clayton.

In the 1900 census Leonard is still farming, but has moved to Lansing, Ingham Co., Michigan.  His oldest 3 sons are out of the house and only his son, Harry, age 17, is still at home.  The census also states that one of the 3 older sons has died as Georgia is the mother of 4 children with 3 still living.  From later research I learned that it is Harland, the oldest son, who died prior to 1900.  I’m still trying to locate his death record or obituary.

Next, in 1910,  I find Leonard & his wife, Georgia are no longer on a farm, but in a house at 601 Shannon Ave., in Lansing.  Information I have gathered has led me to believe that the road name for this home may changed from Shannon to Moores River to Sparrow.  The address of 601 remains in various records, but the name of the street changes.

Here is a picture of Georgia standing on the porch of the home at 601 Moores River Rd.

HART_Frances Georgia nee Wetherall on porch of home 601 Moores River Rd_LansingInghamMichigan_before 1927

I cannot for the life of me, locate Leonard and Georgia in the 1920 census.

However, I was able to locate him in two city directories for Lansing, Michigan. 
  • In 1916 he and Georgia are listed on page 360 of the directory.  He is working at J. H. Moores and living at 601 Sparrow Ave.
  • In 1922, the year before his death, Leonard and Georgia are listed on page 476 as living at 601 Moores River Drive.  No place of work is given.
Leonard died 25 Sep 1923 in Lansing, Ingham, Michigan from some type of Uremic hypertrophy.

Here is his death certificate.

HART_Leonard A_death cert_25 Sep 1923_LansingInghamMichigan

I also found a very nice obituary on newspapers.com.  Here is a screenshot of the article.
Copy of HART_Leonard A_Obit_LansingStateJournal_26 Sep 1923_pg 2 - Copy
Leonard is buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Lansing, Michigan, along with his wife, Georgia who died in 1927.  You may view their memorials at #23205259 and #23204976.  Other family members are also buried in the cemetery.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about Leonard and his family today.  If you find that you are connected with them, please contact me by leaving a comment on this post, or using the “contact me” tab.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
Bath School Bombing in 1927 takes the life of 3 Hart children and many others
Michigan Death Records Online - Where can you find them?

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

4 comments:

  1. Diane, something had me checking FamilySearch after I read "No image is available" for the marriage record. Perhaps it was added after your search. Here is the image citation:

    "Michigan, County Marriages, 1820-1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939V-KL2Y-W?cc=1810350&wc=Q868-NRY%3A150746901%2C150771201 : 22 April 2016), Macomb > image 142 of 217; various archives, Michigan.

    The portraits of Leonard sitting in the chair and Georgia on the porch are amazing. I was drawn directly to his hands and Georgia must have loved tending those flowers.

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    1. Cathy - thanks so much for the link to the image of that marriage. YEAH! Getting those pictures from my cousin Charles is amazing.

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  2. Hi, Diane! I enjoy reading your blog. I also have family from Macomb County. My mother grew up in Port Huron, so all of my maternal family is from the area. I knew I had some collateral Hart's in my tree, so when I saw this post, I had to double check. I did not find a definite connection. However, I did find that my uncle's 2x great-grandfather, Martin Swartout, had a sister named Sarah Swartout. Sarah married James H. Hart 13 Mar 1839 in Clay, St. Clair, Michigan. James was born abt 1813-1817 in New York. James and Sarah had six children between 1840 and 1850: Catherine, Charlotte, George, Olive, Ellen, and Mariah. James died 10 Nov 1897 in Brant, Saginaw, Michigan. Not sure if there is a connection, but I did see the name Olive in both families, so thought I would mention it.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jennifer - thanks for your comment. I looked in my tree and don't see a Martin or Sarah Swartout. I do have a few others with that surname. Gotta think they are connected somehow. Neither do I find a James H. Hart. Thanks you for this information. I will keep my eyes open for those names. Also, thank you for reading my blog :)

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I look forward to reading your comments. If you have any connection to the people mentioned in this blog, please let me know. I write about mine and my husband's ancestors and would welcome new information or meeting a new cousin or two. Thanks for visiting and come back soon.