I’d like to present more information as a follow up to yesterday’s post about my 2nd great granduncle, Leonard Almanson Hart & his family.
Leonard and his wife, Georgia had four sons; Harland B., Charles A., L. Clayton and Harry S.
I stated in my post, which you can read here, that I did not know when Harland B. Hart, the oldest son, died. I learned from looking at the 1900 census that he had probably died prior to that year.
Thanks to my cousin, Charles, I now have more information.
According to some old family papers that are in Charles’ possession, here is what is known:
Harland Benjamin Hart was born 21 Jun 1866 in Armanda, Macomb, Michigan. He died 18 Dec 1890 in Lansing, Ingham, Michigan. He was buried 19 Dec 1890 at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Lansing, Michigan, in Section B, Lot 104, Sub 5. He was removed to Section B, Lot 253, Sub 8 on 4th May 1893.
He would have been only 24 years old at the time of his death.
I’ve created a memorial for Harland on FindAGrave. You can see the memorial here #17839487. I’ve submitted a request for a photo of the headstone.
In the meantime, I searched on Newspapers.com, which I know carries Lansing newspapers, hoping for an obituary. I didn’t find anything for Harland B. Hart. I also tried Genealogy Bank, with no luck.
Then I went back to Ancestry and updated Harland’s information, based on what I’d learned. I know that I need more solid proof as to his date of death and burial location. However, I enter this information on my tree in order to create more hints. I use the the search feature and the card catalog also.
It worked. Up popped two City Directory hints for him. They were Detroit City Directories. Knowing how many of my family members, including Hart’s were in Detroit, this was not a surprise for me.
He is listed in the 1888 Detroit directory on page 660 as follows:
Hart, Harland B., clk E H Patterson, rms 374 Woodward Av.
I could find no other Hart’s in this directory that were listed as living at 374 Woodward Ave. My next step was to find out what kind of company E. H. Patterson was.On page 1049 I located the following listing:
Patterson, Edward H., Undertaker, 374 Woodward Ave., h 308 4th Tel 1414Conclusion – Harland B. Hart was working for E. H. Patterson and boarding/rooming at the business.
Next I find Harland listed in the 1890 Detroit directory on page 566 as follows:
1888 directory listing for Harland B. Hart
1888 directory listing for Edward H. Patterson, Undertaker
Hart, Harland B, asst T H Roberts, rms 25 Adams Ave.
Again, I find no other Hart’s in this directory that were listed as living at the same address, 25 Adams. Let’s see what kind of company T. H. Roberts is.On page 934 is the following listing:
Roberts, Thomas H, Funeral Director, 23-25 Adams Ave., h 28 Edmund Pl, Tel office 268, h 4412Conclusion – Harland B. Hart was working for another funeral home, T. H. Roberts and living on the business premises.
Thoughts – Could there have been another Harland B. Hart. Certainly. And, until I can find his death record, an obituary or a burial record from the cemetery, I cannot be positive this is my Harland. But, most of us have learned over the years that when we add A & B together, along with other evidence we can come to a conclusion.
1890 directory listing for Harland B. Hart
1890 directory listing for Thomas H. Roberts, Funeral Director
Try as I might, I cannot locate a death record on either Ancestry or Family Search for this young man. The search continues.
Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright © 2010-2017 Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION
I just love your U.S. City Directories, Diane, they are so informative. If Harland is not listed in the 1891 or 1892 Directory, it may also support the theory he passed away.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dara - I love those directories too. As to confirming he passed away....my cousin, Charles, also related to Harland, was able to make a trip to the library and locate his obituary. Yeah! It was in a newspaper that is not available on any of the newspaper websites. I will be writing a follow up for tomorrow's Sunday Obituary post.
DeleteThanks for stopping by.