TOMBSTONE TUESDAY ~ James C. Morrison (about 1886-1958) –My Aunt Joan’s father-in-law

JAMES C. MORRISON HEADSTONE – Photo taken by Diane Gould Hall

James C. Morrison is the father-in-law of my maternal Aunt, Joan Esther Milne Morrison.  He was born in Canada about 1886 and immigrated to the United States, according to the 1930 federal census, in 1910.  He and his wife, Edna Amanda Gleason were married 14 Sep 1910 in St. Mary’s, Perth, Ontario, Canada.  Together they had only one child that I know of, Raymond Gleason Morrison born 25 May 1912 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.

This is a branch of the family that needs more of my attention.  I do have records indicating that James’ parents were William Morrison and Mary A. Beatty.

James C. Morrison is buried at Grand Lawn Cemetery in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.  Many of my ancestors are resting at Grand Lawn.  You may visit his FindAGrave memorial here #184363280.

If you are related to this family, please contact me.  I’d love to hear from you.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY ~ How many great grandparents headstones do I have photos for?

  
We all have eight biological great grandparents.  I was wondering today, do I have headstone photos for all of them?  Do I even know where all of them are buried?

I went to my Legacy program and got an answer to my question pretty quickly.
 
Here are my results:
PATERNAL LINE
Gould, William Val – Yes
Gould, Mary “Mae” Eve nee Thorp – Yes
Lindsay, William Wallace – No-see my explanation below
Lindsay, Elizabeth “Bessie” nee Fitzcharles – Yes

Here are the pictures of the headstones of three of my four paternal great grandparents. 
MATERNAL LINE
Milne, Andrew Charles – No
Milne Smith, Susan Anne nee Gillespie – No
Bowden, Robert Lee – No
Bowden Bell, Florence nee Hunter – No

It sure doesn’t look good on that maternal side, does it?  What are the reasons for not having headstone pictures for those ancestors?  I already know the answers to that question.

Milne, Andrew Charles – buried at Woodmere Cemetery, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan – no headstone.

Milne Smith, Susan nee Gillespie, wife of Andrew Charles – buried at Woodmere Cemetery, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan – no headstone.

Bowden, Robert Lee – buried at Highwood Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania – According to a findagrave volunteer there is no marker in the area where he is supposed to be buried.  I need to follow up with the cemetery office and find out for sure.

Bowden Bell, Florence nee Hunter – ex-wife of Robert Lee Bowden (they divorced in 1899).  She is buried at Mt. Moriah Cemetery, Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri.  There is no headstone for her.  She is buried next to her daughter Edna.  A findagrave volunteer sent me the following photograph of her burial place.



Regarding William Wallace Lindsay’s headstone

I had originally put “yes” next to his name in the the list above, for my paternal line.  Imagine my surprise when I started to post the pictures and found I didn’t have one for him.  I’ve been to Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit, twice in the past 6 years.  I’ve seen all the Lindsay headstones.  Surely I had a picture of my great grandfather’s marker.

Guess what?  I don’t have a picture.  I looked in my cemetery notes in Legacy and found out why.  Apparently his stone was buried 12” down and located by a cemetery staff member, after my cousin inquired about it.
 
I’ve submitted a photo request on FindAGrave, since I can’t be sure I’ll get back to Detroit this year.  Although I certainly hope I do.

One more item to add to my long list of reasons that I think blogging helps with our research.  Seems like every time I write, I discover something new or something I’ve missed.

How many of your great grandparents headstone photos do you have?
 
OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
CEMETERY RECORDS - What can they tell you?  How do you use them?

CIVIL WAR DEAD and our National cemeteries

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

INTERMENT RIGHTS for Ancestor’s burial plots ~ How to gain ownership

Aid Cemetery sign, Lawrence Co., Ohio (photo taken by me)

Me at Washington Cemetery in Keene, New Hampshire (photo taken by my husband)

Mt. Olivet Cemetery sign, Detroit, Michigan (photo taken by me)

The subject of interment rights came to me quite by accident.  One of my paternal cousins wanted to place a headstone on her grandmother’s burial site.  Her grandmother is buried with my paternal grandparents and other family members.
 
However, she was told by cemetery staff that she had to get permission from the owner of the plot.  Trouble was, the owners were all deceased.  The staff member told her that if there was a living heir/descendant to the owner, then a notarized affidavit could be filled out and ownership then transfers to the descendant.

Guess who that descendant was?  Yup, me.
 
My cousin obtained the paperwork. I completed it, had it notarized and then returned it to cemetery staff.  Once this was done I, of course, gave my cousin permission to place the headstone for her grandmother.

Prior to this, I had never thought of doing anything like this.   
Have you heard of this procedure or done it yourself?

Here is the form I filled out (with names changed to protect living descenants).



I paid $10 to have the form notarized.  I am now the documented owner of this plot in Grand Lawn Cemetery, Detroit, Michigan.

WHY WOULD THIS BE IMPORTANT?

• Should anyone want to make changes to any of the gravesites, they would have to get my permission.
• If the cemetery or the City of Detroit or anyone else should decide to use this land for something else, they would, hopefully, notify the owner of record.
• When I make requests to have headstones raised (as I often do), they may be more likely to pay attention to me if I own the plot.
• And the last reason….because it makes me feel good to know that my grandparents and other ancestors are in my care.

I am currently in the process of completing another Affidavit of Heirs for my maternal grandparents burial location at another cemetery in Detroit.  Last time I visited their gravesites, their headstones had sunk so far I could barely see them.  I asked that they be raised and a year later, they had not been. Maybe as the owner they will process my request in a more timely manner.

I called the specific cemetery and they emailed the form to me right away.  Last time I did not keep a blank copy of the form.  This time I have scanned and saved it, as I see that it’s the same form I filled out before.

I’m not sure if all states have the same form, but I’m sure with a phone call to whatever cemetery you have in mind, you can find out.   I did look online and found that using various search criteria brought up mostly information about heirship for estates.

I would love to hear from others who have gone through this process. 

• Did you have any problems?

Do you think this is something you might do in the future?

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY–Who In My Family is Buried at Grand Lawn Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan?

I thought I would do a bit of a different take on Tombstone Tuesday.  I wondered who in my family is buried at Grand Lawn Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan?
 
I knew of Grand Lawn Cemetery long before I ever became interested in genealogy research.  My paternal grandfather, Harry W. Gould died in 1960 and I knew he was buried there.  I was just a young girl, but remember when we went to Detroit from our home in Florida for his funeral & burial.

My paternal grandfather, Harry W. Gould

My paternal grandmother, Marie W. Lindsay Gould

I began by conducting a search in Legacy 8.  I went to the “Search” tab and then “Find.”  It took me a couple of tries to come up with the correct parameters for the list I was trying to create.

For a complete tutorial on using the SEARCH function in Legacy 8, please see my post at Legacy 8 - The Search Function - What Can You Find?

Here are a couple of screen shots to show you what I did and the results.

(Click on any image to enlarge it)


My search revealed that there are 36 individuals in my Legacy database for whom I have recorded Grand Lawn Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan as their burial location.



I then created a report from this list, using the options function.  In this report I added a burial column, giving the date and the relationship to me.  There are many other options you can use.

What I noticed right away was the absence of some relationship values.  Let’s look at Mary Lamond.  When I calculate her relationship to me, using the Legacy 8 relationship calculator she comes up as my Grand Aunt’s Husband’s Mother.  Since that is not a “direct” relationship I notice that Legacy does not pick it up on the report.  Nor is she labeled in my database on the Family View.



Let’s get back to those Grand Lawn burials. Here is the list created by Legacy, based on my search criteria.

Again, in creating a blog post, I have learned new things about Legacy and also noticed some errors in my tree, which I’ve now corrected.

Here are just a few of the headstones from burials at Grand Lawn Cemetery.

PLEASE contact me if you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

CEMETERY RECORDS - What Can They Tell You? How Do You Use Them? 

FIND A GRAVE - Submitting Records Using Their Spreadsheet 

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FUNERAL CARD FRIDAY–BESSIE LINDSAY HOCKSTER

   

Bessie was a colorful lady.  Certainly the documents we have concerning her marriages and the births of her children give evidence of her not being your traditional grandma.

But, it’s the more colorful members of our families that it’s fun to hear about.

(Click on any image to enlarge it)

The William & Elizabeth Lindsay family - children are left to right, Ellen, William "Bill", Marie (my grandmother) and Bessie

Relationship to me:  Grandaunt – my paternal grandmother, Marie’s sister.
Born: 11 Nov 1892 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan to William Wallace Lindsay and Elizabeth “Bessie” Fitzcharles.  She had two sisters, Ellen & Marie and one brother, William.
Married first to William Bryant Curry on 11 Sep 1911 in Windsor, Essex, Ontario, Canada.  They divorced 14 Oct 1915.  William Bryant Curry died at Camp Taylor in Kentucky while serving during World War I.  He was a victim of the 1918 influenza.

Marriage record for William B. Curry and Bessie Lindsay, 11 Sep 1911

Married second to Stewart Frances Hockster on 19 Jul 1913 in Windsor, Essex, Ontario, Canada.  

Marriage record for Stewart Hockster & Bessie Lindsay, 19 Jul 1913

Yes, the marriage to Stewart Hockster took place before the divorce from William B. Curry.  Also of note, is that Bessie is listed as a "spinster" meaning never been married.  We know that's not exactly true because she was married to William B. Curry in 1911.  Interesting what we find out when we do our research.

Children born to Bessie:

• A son, Everett William Hockster born 21 Sep 1910 in Michigan, died 9 May 1985 in Farmington Hills, Michigan.  He married Mary Sophie Ortell.
• A son, Oliver G. who was adopted by a family named Cline.  Oliver was born 23 Jun 1912 and died 10 Aug 1977 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
• A daughter, Ellen Marie born 14 Nov 1914 in Michigan, died 9 Jun 1990 in Los Angeles, California.  She married Robert Boice McConnell.
• A son, Stewart Hockster, Jr. who was born 1 Jan 1917 in Michigan and died just 10 days later on 11 Jan 1917 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.

Stewart Hockster & Bessie - the young man standing is her son, Everett and the little girl is their daughter, Ellen.

Bessie & her family lived in Detroit, Michigan.  

Stewart Hockster and Bessie were divorced in 1935.  Bessie never remarried.  

Stories from her granddaughters say that she was very social and enjoyed dating and having a good time.

Bessie had 9 grandchildren and lived to be 78 years old.  She died on 28 Oct 1971 from “pulmonary embolus.”

Bessie is buried at Grand Lawn Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan.  When one of her granddaughters went to the cemetery in recent years, she found there was no headstone for Bessie.  Her granddaughter ordered one and it is now placed on the site.  She is buried with her sisters, Marie & Ellen and several other family members.  



I wish I would have gotten to know my grand aunt Bessie.  I know I met her when I was young, but I don’t remember her.  Fortunately, I have reconnected with her granddaughters and am very close to one of them.  I’m thankful for that.

Tell me about some colorful characters in your family.  Either by leaving a comment or writing about it in your blog.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY ALSO BE OF INTEREST


BREAKING DOWN BRICK WALLS - FINDING ELIZABETH FITZCHARLES LINDSAY'S PARENTS

LOTS OF NEW LINDSAY INFORMATION

LEGACY 8 SEARCH FUNCTION - WHAT CAN YOU FIND? FEATURING RICHARD LINDSAY

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION