SUNDAY’S OBITUARY ~ The final chapter of Harland B. Hart’s story - He was only 24 years old

Last week I shared with you the the story of Leonard Almanson Hart and his family.  That was followed by a post about his oldest son, Harland B. Hart.  I believed I had located Harland, living in Detroit, Michigan, based on the 1888 and 1890 city directories.  However, I couldn’t be positive it was him.

Thankfully, my cousin, Charles, in Michigan, has found the evidence we needed to finish Harland’s story.  This evidence does confirm that the Harland I located in those Detroit directories, was the correct one.

The following death notice, not only names Harland as the eldest son of L. Hart, but also names T. H. Roberts as his employer, as listed in the 1890 directory.

The following death notice was published in The State Republican, Lansing, Michigan on 18 Dec. 1890.

 

Here is a transcription of the death notice

A dispatch from Detroit this morning announces the sudden death of Harley B. Hart, formerly of Lansing, but for some time in the employ of T. H. Robert, undertaker. Deceased was twenty-four years of age and eldest son of L. Hart of Millets.

A full obituary was published in The State Republican on 20 Dec 1890.



Here is a transcription of the obituary for Harland.  We now have his cause of death.

A dispatch from Detroit, Thursday, December 18, announced the sudden death of Harland B. Hart, formerly of Lansing, but for the past few years residing in Detroit, and in the employ of T. H. Roberts, undertaker.  He died after a short illness of two days, of diphtheria and heart failure.  The deceased was twenty-four years of age and was born in Macomb county.  when fourteen years of age he moved with his parents to this city where he remained until he went to Detroit, where he made many friends.  The deceased’s father, L. A. Hart, left Thursday at 8:30 p.m. and returned home with the remains Friday, accompanied by T. H. Roberts, who kindly conducted the funeral.  Relatives and friends assembled at the D. L. & N. depot to meet the remains at 3:24 p.m. from where the body was taken to Mt. Hope for interment.  He was a bright and promising young man, highly respected by his employer and well fitted for his occupation.  He leaves a large circle of friends both in Detroit and Lansing to mourn their loss.  Rev. Mr. Fox officiated.

While I was happy to learn that I’d located the correct person in those Detroit directories, it is sad to learn of the passing of Harland at such a young age. R.I.P Harland.

NOTE:  Never give up looking for the evidence of proof needed for your conclusions.  The number of cousins that I’ve connected with, since beginning my research have provided me with untold amounts of information, photos and stories.  This is one such example.  Thanks Charles!

You may visit Harland’s memorial here #17839487.  His headstone photo was taken by my cousin, Charles, and is used with permission.



Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

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

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.

Leonard & Georgia Hart - unknown year, but obviously portrait photos

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.

 

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)

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.



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.

I also found a very nice obituary on newspapers.com.  Here is a screenshot of the article.

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

CENSUS SUNDAY–WHO WAS LIVING NEXT TO WHOM? AND WHAT DOES THIS RECORD TELL ME?

I know you’ve all seen it.  You find a census record for someone you are researching and lo and behold, on the same page is another familiar family. 
This has happened to me more than once during my research.  Sometimes, I don’t see it the first time I view the census. 

• Maybe because I didn’t know about the other family?
• Maybe I learned later on who that one daughter married?
• Maybe because I was careless and didn’t take the time to look at other entries?

Whatever the reason, it’s fun when you do find them.  Here’s one that I found early in my research.

1860 census – Armada, Macomb, Michigan
 


Here is a close up of my two families.  Henry Hart and John Gould



Who are these ancestors to me?

Henry Hart & his wife Olive are my 3rd great grandparents

John Gould and his wife Sally are my 2nd great grandparents. Sally is Henry Hart’s daughter.  She and John were married in 1858.  And now have a young son, Vivaldo.

1860 census – Town of Armada, County of Macomb, State of Michigan
Enumerated on 13 day of July 1860.
Lines 3-12, dwelling number 1111, family number 1128

• Henry Hart, age 65, male, farmer, value of real estate $6700, personal estate $570, born in New York
• Olive Hart, age 55, female, born in Vermont
• Noble Hart, age 21, male, farm laborer, born in New York
• Betsy Hart, age 20, female, domestic, born in New York
• Arminda Hart, age 18, female, born in New York
• Simeon Hart, age 16, male, farm laborer, born in New York
• Olive Hart, age 14, female, born in New York
• Leonard Hart, age 12, male, born in New York
• Monroe Knapp, age 2, male, born in ?
• Hannah Burrell, age 69, female, born in Massachusetts

QUESTIONS:  Who are Monroe Knapp and Hannah Burrell?  Are they family?  Are they boarders?  I have yet to figure this out and I’ve tried many times over the past 10 years.

Lines 13-15, dwelling number 1111, family number 1129

• John Gool [should be Gould], age 28, male, day laborer, value of real estate $500, personal estate $100, born in Michigan
• Sally Gould, age 23, female, born in New York
• Vivaldo Gould, age 8 months, male, born in Michigan

OBSERVATIONS: 
1.  Because the dwelling number for both families is the same, it appears they were living in the same house or on the same property. 
2.  Both Henry Hart and John Gould own real estate.  They should then be listed on the agricultural census for 1860.  Are they? 
3.  There is a family directly next door named Stone.  I know that John Gould, bought land from Hannibal Stone in 1863.  Is this Stone family related to Hannibal?
4.  The enumerator lists New York as the birthplace for Henry Hart and his children.  However, this conflicts with other records I have for this family.
5.  Can I locate the land records for the real estate owned by Henry Hart and John Gould in 1860?

Reviewing this census, that I have looked at so many times, has given me some new ideas.  It never hurts to take another look at even the most common of records, such as our wonderful census records. 

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

THOSE PLACES THURSDAY

THOSE PLACES THURSDAY

Armada, Macomb Co., Michigan

Armada, Michigan is located north of Detroit

Armada is a village in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,730 at the 2010 census. The 2008 Census Bureau Estimate places the population at 1,657. The village is located within Armada Township. Wikipedia

Area: 487 acres (197 ha)

Weather: 52°F (11°C), Wind SW at 0 mph (0 km/h), 100% Humidity

Local time: Thursday 2:27 PM

Population: 1,729 (2012)

Why am I posting about Armada, Michigan?

1. Because my Great Grandfather, William Val GOULD (aka Vivaldo William Gould) was born there.
2. Because his father & mother, John C. GOULD & Sarah HART, were married there in 1858.
3. Because many other family members were born, married & died there.

I first heard of Armada, Michigan very early in my research of the GOULD family.  The more I researched the more intrigued I became with this little "town" of Armada.  

Where was it?  How many members of my family have links to it?

In 2007 I was able to go back to Detroit for the first time since 1970.  I spent 8 days there, going to libraries, cemeteries, courthouses and meeting long lost cousins, nieces & nephews.  What a treat.

I had my whole trip planned out.  What I was going to do each day, where I would go, what I was looking for.  This took a LOT of pre-organization (I'll cover genealogy roadtrips in another post).  Since most of the family were working during the days, I knew I could spend the daylight hours doing research and then spend the evenings with family.  That's exactly what I did.

On about the 3rd or 4th day, it was time to drive north from my hotel and go to Armada.  YEAH!

It's about 73 miles and takes about an hour to make the drive.  Once I was out of the Detroit metro area, the scenery was lovely.  When I reached Armada I stopped at the welcome sign and took this photo.

 

 WOW!!!  I was finally here.  Armada is just a small town.  The town hall consisted of about 6 employees.  There was construction on main street so I had to park and walk.  Not a problem.

I didn't find any information at the town hall as far as old records.  I was kind of hoping I would, but apparently the records are kept at the county level, as most records are.  But, you never know when you might get lucky.

I knew that several family members, including my 2nd Great Grandparents, Henry HART& Olive Doten HART were buried at a small cemetery called Rose Hill Cemetery.  It's located on Coon Creek Rd.  You have to take GOULD Rd. to get to it.  Yes, a road named after my father's family.  My maiden name.  And another road nearby is named PRATT Rd.  Another family I'm linked to.  This was very exciting.  

Here are some photos from Rose Hill Cemetery.

As you can see it's a small country cemetery.  It's located in between homes on a dirt road.  Just a small chain link gate is the entrance.

Once there I was able to locate the headstone for my 2nd great grandfather & his wife and their son.  In addition, as I walked the cemetery, I found many other family surnames.  I took as many pictures as I could because I wasn't sure who I might find connected to me, that I wasn't familiar with at this time.

TIP:  Whenever you visit a cemetery, large or small, always walk all around and look for other family surnames.  You can check at the office, if there is one.  If not, as in this case, then just document what you find by taking pictures and/or notes.

Note:  After I got home I was able to connect our family, by marriages to many of those buried at this cemetery.

Headstone for Olive Hart

My 2nd Great Grandfather, Henry HART, was born about 1785 in New Hampshire and died 26 Apr 1879 in Armada, Macomb, Michigan.  He married Olive DOTEN bet 1830-1835, possibly in Canada.  She was born in 1805 in Vermont and died 10 Apr 1887 in Armada, Macomb, Michigan.  They had 9 children.  Several of those children are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery.  The HART children married into the following families in Armada: PRATT, RICHARDS, GOULD, HEAD, TIBBETS, BEALS, GAYLORD, WETHERELL & INGRAHAM.

There's so much history here and many stories to uncover.  I've found a few, but still have more to find.  

Visiting places that your ancestors lived is so very rewarding.  It can reveal clues to their lives, give you information you didn't have before, lead to new family finds and expand your family.

Who knows?  You might even find some cousins among those still living in the area.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

 

Lots of new Lindsay information

That's a picture of Bessie Lindsay and an article about Richard "Dick" Lindsay.

Gosh, it's been several days since I've posted. The reason is because I've been so darn busy gathering information from my newly found 3rd cousin. Well, maybe also because the internet has been up and down due to the incredible storm that swept thru here for several days. But...........where was I? Oh yeah, the Lindsay's. This new 3rd cousin, I'll call her May for privacy purposes, has provided pictures, vital records and newspaper articles galore. In exchanging photos I was able to identify the two unknowns sitting at a table with our Great GrandUncle Dick Lindsay, as my grandfather and grandmother. How cool is that? And, when she sent me all those newspaper articles about Great Granduncle Dick Lindsay (he was prominent in Detroit politics for many years) there just happened to be an obituary for his brother, William W. Lindsay. Well, William W. Lindsay is my Great Grandfather and I had not located his obituary. It's been just great connecting with May because she is as passionate about genealogy as I am and she also happens to be very nice and fun to talk to.
That's one of the unexpected joys I've found in my 5+ year journey in locating ancestors and descendants. I have connected with many cousins on all sides of the family and every one of them is a treasure. Some I've become quite close to.
So then today I was in here working and began digging around my information on Bessie Lindsay. She was married twice. The first time was not a happy marriage and according to her granddaughters she didn't talk much about it. I've been trying to locate a marriage record to that first husband and guess what? I FOUND IT! Where? In the Ontario Marriage Records on Ancestry.com. This is the 3rd or 4th time I have found a marriage record in the Ontario records. Seems it was pretty easy to drive over the bridge from Detroit to Windsor and get hitched. Why go out of country? In one case it seemed that there was an "early" pregnancy. This find today is also a bit suspicious as far as dates and could be for the same reason. In finding this record I've gotten the names of the first husband's parents, and the religion as stated by the bride and groom. I am sure this is the right couple because the parents names for the bride match what I have and one of the witnesses is the bride's sister - also a match for what I have.
I've gone on too long already. Never quit looking. While you may not locate something today you never know what you'll find next week, next month or next year. Keep good records on what and where you search, but never hesitate to go back to a place you searched before and search again. New records are being added all the time.

I better get back to "work."
Smiles,
Michigan Girl

New information on the Murphy's

Yesterday and today I've recevied some new information on the Murphy's in our line. Francis "Frank" Murphy married Agnes Lucy Thorp who is my Great GrandAunt. I always enjoy making new contacts because more often than not it leads to new information, new cousins to make friends with and best of all, sometimes you get those elusive photos of past family that you thought you'd never see.
It's supposed to rain here for the next couple of days which should make it great weather for staying indoors and working on genealogy. I'll let you know what I find.

Over and out,
Michigan Girl

A Day at the San Diego Genealogy Society

Today was my first day volunteering to help out at the San Diego Genealogical Society. I joined this organization about a year ago, with the intent of becoming involved once I retired. Well......since I became suddenly "retired" last April I have taken a more active roll and have been attending meetings and seminars. The two seminars have been informative and I recommend classes & seminars to anyone who is interested in learning more effective way to research your family.
But, I digress. I arrived at 10 a.m. and met our society President, who had asked for volunteers. I was the only one there so I'm not sure if others volunteered or were just coming on other days? The entire society runs on volunteer work and there are many things that need to be done all the time.
I was put to work immediately in a very familiar area - liability insurance. Getting a certificate corrected to be exact. Right up my alley since that's what I did at the City of Poway for many years. Then it was on to other small, but necessary tasks. We already have plans for what I/we will do next week and I brought home a couple of things I can complete here.
I think I will enjoy this volunteer thing. After 41 years of working there's got to be something useful to pass along.
No family research got done today, but tomorrow is another day.

Til then,
Michigan Girl

Blogging about family research - Day 1

I have just created this blog as a way to try and connect with more family members. I have been researching my family, including my husband's family, for over 5 years. I've never had a blog before so this will be a learning experience.

Here are some of the surnames that I am researching. This is not a complete list, but includes some of the primary names: Boggs, Bowen, Bowden, Bright, Fink, Frampton, Gillen, Goodbody, Gould, Hall, Hart, Hunter, Lindsay, Milne & Thorp

I hope that this will be a way to share this incredible journey. I currently live in southern California, although I was born in Michigan. My parents and grandparents and many other family members were born in Michigan and many still live there. There are also family connections in many other states.

Stay tuned and let's see how this blog thing works.

Til next time,

Michigan Girl