SUNDAY’S OBITUARYS ~ Henry Croft & Sarah McTaggart Croft–1930 and 1944, Michigan

 

Today I’m featuring Henry & Sarah Croft.  They are the 2nd great grandparents of my two half nieces.  The Croft’s are direct ancestors of my father’s first wife, Elaine Croft, whom he married in 1936.  My Dad & Elaine had two daughters together (my half sisters, Norlaine & Virginia).

I took another look at the Croft family this week after being contacted by a DNA match to my half niece.  This match believed he was connected via the Croft/Sinclair line and I wanted to help out.

Elaine Croft was the daughter of Alexander Croft and his wife Rachel Sinclair.  Up to this point, I had never gone back further on the Croft line.

I was able to connect Alexander Croft to his parents Henry Croft and Sarah McTaggart.  I was able to locate their marriage record, obituaries, census records and take them back one more generation.

Henry was born 16 Jun 1857 in Ontario, Canada to Peter Croft and Whilemina Young.  He came to the U.S. from Canada, as a young man and his family settled in Michigan.

 

Sarah McTaggart was born 7 Aug 1856¹ in Govan, Lanarkshire, Scotland.  She came to the area when she was 6 yrs. old.  She married Henry Croft 21 Dec 1882² in Cass, Tuscola, Michigan.

Henry and his family were pioneers in Sheridan Township, Michigan.  Henry was a farmer.

Those towns are located in what is called the thumb of the state of Michigan. 

Henry & Sarah are both buried in the McTaggart Cemetery in Bad Axe, Huron, Michigan.  You may visit their memorials here, Henry #3612367 and Sarah #36123371.

This post is dedicated to my two half sisters, Norlaine Gould Rankhorn (1942-2001) and Virginia Gould Corbett (1945-2005).  I didn’t meet them til I was in my 30’s and wish we’d had more time together.

Sources: 1. Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950; 2. Michigan, County Marriage Records, 1822-1940

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SUNDAY’S OBITUARY ~ Lucille M. Croft Beach–My father’s former sister-in-law

Published in the News-Journal 23 Dec 2003

Lucille M. Croft was the sister of my Dad’s first wife, Elaine Croft.  They were the children of Alexander Croft and Rachel Sinclair.  Lucille was born 8 Jul 1921 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.

When I was growing up my Dad loved to tell stories.  A lot of his stories included his best friend, Robert “Bob” Beach.  As it turns out Bob Beach and his family lived right next door to my Dad and grandparents on Whitney Ave. in Detroit, Michigan.  My Dad and Bob Beach went to the same high school, Northwestern, in Detroit.

And, guess who else went to Northwestern High School.  Yup, Elaine and Lucille Croft.

 

My Dad-H. Norman Gould-1933

Robert Beach-1931

Elaine Croft - 1936

Lucille Croft - 1939

One more thing about these four.  My Dad married Elaine Croft in 1936, just after she graduated from high school.  And, his best friend Bob Beach married Lucille Croft on 10 Jul 1942 in Detroit, Michigan.  So these two sisters married best friends.

Here is the photo from my Dad & Elaine’s wedding day in 1936.  And, there’s Bob Beach and Lucille Croft with them.  Best man and maid of honor?  I don’t know for sure, but it seems highly likely given the matching corsages & boutonnieres. 

Lucille and Bob had one daughter, Cheryl.  I know my nieces all remember their grandaunt, Lucille and her husband Bob, very well.  And, they used to play with their cousin, Cheryl.

We moved away from Detroit when I was 7 years old.  Sadly, I don’t remember meeting Bob or Lucille.  I don’t know much more about her life, than what I’ve shared here.  From what my niece remembers, Lucille had two grandsons, born to her daughter Cheryl.

I did create a FindAGrave memorial for Lucille, which you can visit here #15867948.

Here is the transcription of the obituary:

Lucille M. Croft Beach
Mt. Gilead - Lucille M. Croft Beach, 82, died Sunday, Dec. 21, 2003 in Morrow County Hospital.
Funeral services will be held in Snyder Funeral Home, Mount Gilead, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2003, at 2 p.m.  Friends may call one hour prior to the services. Burial will be at Oakview Cemetery in Royal Oak, Mich.
Condolences may be expressed at www.snyderfuneralhomes.com

If you have any additions or corrections to this post, please let me know.  And, if you are related to anyone mentioned here, please contact me, I’d love to hear from you.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ Detroit Free Press Newspaper Finds

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

WEDDING WEDNESDAY–Detroit Free Press Newspaper Finds

Wedding day (22 Aug 1936 in Detroit, Michigan) for Harry Norman Gould & Elaine G. Croft.  They are the couple in the center - on the left is Robert Beach and on the right is Lucille Croft, who marry one another 6 yrs. later

The recent announcement that the Detroit Free Press is now available online for those of us outside of the Michigan area, has been fantastic for my research. Here’s a link to my post about this new resource Detroit Free Press 1837 to Sep 2015 now online.

It takes some ingenuity and a few search tricks to find what you’re looking for, but if you’re persistent it pays off.

I was able to find the marriage license listings for my father, Harry Norman Gould to his first wife, Elaine Gertrude Croft and the license for Elaine’s sister, Lucille Croft to her husband Robert Beach.

My Dad and Robert “Bob” Beach were best friends and they married sisters.

 

While I was growing up my Dad told many stories about his adventures and shenanigans with his friend Bob.

Here is the license announcement for my Dad & Elaine.

 

Here is the license announcement for Robert Beach and Lucille Croft.



While I did not find any photos or wedding details, at least I have this information.  Every bit of evidence we find adds validity to our research.

What will I discover today?  I can’t wait to find out.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

CENSUS SUNDAY–The first 1940 census I looked for when they were released

When the 1940 census records were released I know most of us had been waiting a long time.  We had in mind exactly who we wanted to look for first.
 
Before all the indexing was finished by volunteers (myself among them), we had to use Enumeration Districts and other locators to find our family members.
 
The first one I wanted to see was of my Dad, Harry Norman Gould living with his first wife Elaine.  He and Elaine were married 22 Aug 1936 in Michigan.  There were two daughters born to this couple.  These daughters were my half sisters, Norlaine Rae 1942-2001 and Virginia Carol 1945-2005.  I didn’t grow up knowing my sisters, but was fortunate to meet them each one time, when I was in my 30’s.  Unfortunately, they are both gone now.  However, I have a wonderful relationship with Virginia’s daughters, my nieces, Dawn & Debbie.  I'm so happy to have them in my life.  They both still live in Michigan, as does most of my family.

My Dad & his first wife, Elaine on their wedding day in 1936

Here is that 1940 census record.



Here is the index from that 1940 census:

Name:    Norman Gould
Age:    27
Estimated Birth Year:  abt 1913
Gender:    Male
Race:    White
Birthplace:    Michigan
Marital Status:    Married
Relation to Head of House:    Head
Home in 1940:    Detroit, Wayne, Michigan
Map of Home in 1940:    View Map
Street:    Faust Avenue
House Number:    12892
Farm:    No
Inferred Residence in 1935:   Detroit, Wayne, Michigan
Residence in 1935:    Same Place
Sheet Number:    12A
Number of Household in Order of Visitation:  268
Occupation:    Statistician
House Owned or Rented:    Owned
Value of Home or Monthly Rental if Rented:  4350
Attended School or College:    No
Highest Grade Completed:    College, 2nd year
Hours Worked Week Prior to Census:    39
Class of Worker:  Wage or salary worker in Government work
Weeks Worked in 1939:    52
Income:    2050
Income Other Sources:    No
Neighbors:  View others on page
Household Members:   
Name    Age
Norman Gould    27
Elaine Gould    21

Something I just noticed in looking at this record again, is that my Dad owned this home.  I need to look at property records in Detroit and see if I can find the deed to this residence from that time period.  I tried going to the Wayne Co. Deeds online site, but their records only go back about 30 years.
 
Which 1940 census did you look for first?

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION