52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS ~ Post #1 - Meet Richard Lindsay (1862-1937) , my paternal great granduncle–He was City Clerk, Estimator at Large and temporary Mayor of Detroit

I will be writing a series of posts about my paternal great granduncle, Richard “Dick” Lindsay, throughout the year.  I heard a lot about him growing up, as we spent a lot of time with my grandmother, Marie W. Lindsay Gould, who was his niece.

Richard Lindsay at his desk - unknown year

Background – Richard Lindsay is the son of William Lindsay (abt 1830-1898) and Mary Wallace (abt 1832-1895).  He was born in Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland, the youngest of 6 children.  He began working in the printing industry while living in Dundee. 

According to the records I’ve located Richard came to the United States in 1885 on the ship Circassia.  From that point on, he is found living in Detroit, Michigan.

 

He continued working in the printing industry, finding employment at the Detroit Free Press, according to the 1890 Detroit City Directory.

By 1893 he was elected to the office of Estimator at Large for the City of Detroit.  Five years later, in 1898,  he was appointed as the Clerk of the Justice Court for Detroit. It appears that he held that job until 1912.

In Nov 1912 he was elected as City Clerk for Detroit.  This article was published regarding his election to this office.  Richard would have been 50 years old at the time of this election.

Richard Lindsay elected as City Clerk - Detroit Free Press, Nov 1912

Here is my transcription of the article.

LINDSAY AND INGALLS A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER
The election of Richard Lindsay insures for the city of Detroit a business-like and careful administration of the city clerk's office, a thing the municipality has not possessed in several years.  Under the Nichols incumbency the office, so far as its chief is concerned, has been little more than a political headquarters for the hatching of plots to build up machines.  The real work for which the city created it has been left to a few clerks.
Though Mr. Lindsay has held public office for a good many years, he never has been a politician in the objectionable sense of the word, and his election at this time is largely a tribute to his personal popularity and a recognition of the fact that he appears to belive it his duty to give value received for any remuneration acquired in the public service.
In selecting Guy L. Ingalls for his deputy clerk, Mr. Lindsay begins well.  It is a matter of record that Ingalls as a journal clerk under Nichols took charge of practically all the office routine during the months in which the city clerk and his deputy were running here and there, chasing after the Bull Moose rainbow, and that whatever efficiency the office developed was chiefly due to Ingalls' willingness to do hard work.

There is every reason to expect that Lindsay and Ingalls will be honest and conscientious and capable public officials, who will devote their best energies to making their place of trust a credit to Detroit and themselves.

My great granduncle went on to serve the City of Detroit, in various capacaties, until shortly before his death in 1937.

 

I find no record of him every marrying or having children.  I do find that he and his older sister, Elizabeth (she was five years older than him) were enumerated in every census from 1900, until her death in 1931.  She also never married.

Of the six siblings in Richard’s family 4 of them made new lives in America, all settling in Detroit, Michigan. 

• Robert Lindsay, Sr (1852-1911) appears to be the first to immigrate, in 1875.  He became a Detroit city Firefighter.  It’s through his line that I’m connected to one of my cousins, Marian, whom I’m close to.
• Mary Ann Lindsay (abt 1853 – ?)  I don’t know what became of Mary Ann after the 1871 census where she is enumerated with her family, in Dundee.
• John Lindsay (abt 1856 – ?) He married Catherine Milne Oct 1879 and they had four children.  However, I’ve not been able to find his death record.  I believe John did come to the U.S. in 1886 and is recorded in the 1887 and 1888 Detroit City Directory listing.  After that, I have no idea.  I did find his wife and children, back in Scotland by 1891.
• Elizabeth Lindsay (1857-1931), spinster sister who lived with Richard.  They came to the U.S. in 1886.
• William Wallace Lindsay (1859-1931) came to American on the ship State of Indiana in 1886.  His, soon to be, wife, Elizabeth “Bessie” Fitzcharles was on the same ship.  They married in Detroit, one month after their arrival.  They are my great grandparents.

Because of his active involvement in the City of Detroit, there are many newspaper articles featuring or mentioning my great granduncle Richard Lindsay.  I will be writing about them this year.

I’m very grateful to be friends with Lindsay cousins and other descendants from this family.  Several of us are genealogists and we share what we find with each other.  That's me standing in the back in this cousin reunion photo.

Stay tuned to learn more about my interesting great granduncle.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS ~ Week #3–My great grandfather–William Wallace Lindsay 1859-1931 (a bit of a mystery)

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ William “Bill” Lindsay & his many wives–the story of my Granduncle Bill

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks–Week #1–Vera Violet Allen 1902-1991–wife of my granduncle

Amy Johnson Crow began this theme several years ago.  Many bloggers participate.  I have tried before and only got to week 9.  My goal this year is to try very hard to get all 52 weeks done.  Wish me luck.  It’s week one and here we go.

Amy supplies us with a word that we can build a theme off of for each week’s post.  We decide how to interpret the words and how we’ll use them.

This week the theme is “first.”

I’ve decided to just make it my “first” post this year.

I thought I would randomly go into my Legacy database and pick the person who has RIN 100.  RIN stands for Record Identification Number.

That person is Vera Violet Allen who was the second of four wives married to my granduncle William “Bill” Lindsay.  I’ve written about his marriages in this post William "Bill" Lindsay & his many wives - the story of my granduncle Bill

What do I know about Vera Violet Allen?

• A birth record from Rockingham, Vermont indicates she was born 16 Feb 1902 to Almon F. Allen & Minnie Luella Fisher¹

• The marriage record for Vera & my granduncle Bill from 23 Sep 1919 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan gives her parent's name and they match the birth record.²
• In the 1910 census Vera is living with her divorced mother, Minnie Allen and her siblings.
• By 1920 she is living with her husband, William “Bill” Lindsay whom she married on 23 Sep 1919 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.  They, in fact, are living with Bill’s sister Marie (my grandmother) and Marie’s husband Harry Gould and my young father who was 7 at the time.
• In about 1927 a son, Robert Lindsay was born in Massachusetts.  I don’t have any details on him at this time.  However, I do have the divorce record for Vera and Bill, filed in Detroit, Michigan and granted on 19 Jul 1928.³ 

• In the 1930 census, Vera is listed as divorced and living in Waltham, Middlesex, Massachusetts with her sister, Christine, brother-in-law, Henry Vear and their young daughter Gwendolyn.  Also in the household is Robert Lindsay age 3 1/2 and William Lindsay, age 5. 
• NOTE: This is why I love blogging.  I taking another look at the divorce record for Vera & Bill, I see that both sons, Robert and William are listed as their children and it gives ages and middle initials for them.  This should help me learn more about those two little boys.  How did I miss those clues before?
• In the 1940 census I have located Vera living with her two sons, William and Robert and a husband, Laurence Aiken.  Laurence died in 1953.
• In the 1960 Berkshire, Massachusetts city directory Vera is listed as Vera Aiken widow of Laurence Aiken.
• I have located a FindAGrave memorial for Vera.  The memorial lists her as Vera Violet Allen Lindsay Aiken Marlow #190733872.
• I haven’t yet located a marriage to anyone named Marlow, but will continue to look.

Good things always come from my blog posts.  I end up doing more research on a particular person or family and the end result is enhanced information, more records and better sourcing.  In this case I was able to find additional information about Vera & Bill Lindsay’s sons, William & Robert.  They married and at least one of them had children.  Perhaps now I can connect with descendants of my granduncle Bill Lindsay?

I’m hoping I can keep up with the 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks theme.  I look forward to sharing even more about mine and my husband’s ancestors with you.
 

Here’s a link to my other 52 Ancestors posts from 2017.


Sources: 1 - State of Vermont. Vermont Vital Records, 1871–1908. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.  2 - Michigan Marriage Records, 1867-1952  3 - Michigan Divorce Records, 1897-1952

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ William “Bill” Lindsay & his many wives–the story of my Granduncle Bill

Marriage index for Wm. Lindsay & Gertrude Watson - 1912 - Canada

Marriage register for William Lindsay & Vera Allen - 1919 - Detroit, Michigan

Marriage license & record for William Lindsay & Vera Kidd - 1928 - Lucas Co., Ohio

William Lindsay is my paternal granduncle

William Lindsay was the youngest child born to William Wallace Lindsay (1859-1931) and Elizabeth “Bessie” Fitzcharles (1864-1914).  He is a brother to my paternal grandmother, Marie Wallace Lindsay.

 

My grandmother always spoke fondly of her brother “Bill.”  He was alive well into my 20’s, but I never recall meeting him.  If I did, it would have been when I was a young child living in Detroit.  Bill had three older sisters; Ellen (1887-1927), Marie (1888-1970) and Bessie (1892-1971).  The family grew up in Detroit, Michigan.

Here he is as a little boy, with his parents & sisters.  He isn’t officially a Jr., but the photo has been labeled that way for clarity.

 

Bill is reported to have been married several times.  I am in touch with my cousins who are descended from his sister Bessie and another cousin, one generation removed.  Several of us are genealogists and we have put together a picture of Bill’s life as best we can.

He was born in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan probably in 1894 (the exact month & day varies depending on the record).  I have the following records to document his life:

1900 U.S. census – age 5, living with his parents and siblings in Detroit

1910 U.S. census – age, 15, living with his father in Detroit and working as a Packer

Question I asked myself – why are Bill and his father, William enumerated without any other family members?  I think I know the answer, based on my research.  I located Bill’s mother (William’s wife) working as a Housekeeper just north of Detroit, in Mt. Clemens, Macomb, Michigan.  She is enumerated as Mrs. Elizabeth Lindsay.  Just two years later a divorce was finalized between William Lindsay and his wife Elizabeth.  They must have separated by the time the 1910 census was taken.  He filed for the divorce on the grounds of “cruelty.”  The divorce was granted on 18 May 1912.  I have the divorce record and published it in another blog post.  You can read about it here 52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS ~ Week #3–My great grandfather–William Wallace Lindsay 1859-1931 (a bit of a mystery)

Now back to Bill.  He married Gertrude May Watson 10 Feb 1912 in Windsor, Essex, Ontario, Canada.  Gertrude was born in Canada 8 Aug 1895 and immigrated to the United States in 1909.  I have no idea how Bill & Gertrude met each other.  However, their son, William Harold Lindsay was born 3 months after their marriage on 10 May 1912 in Detroit, Michigan.

Interesting note about this family of Lindsay siblings.  Ellen was the oldest and she married her husband James Frederick Pickard in Detroit in 1906.  ALL three of the other siblings, Marie, Bessie and Bill married their spouses in Canada.  I wonder if there were laws in place in the United States or Michigan in particular, that influenced their decision to marry in Canada? 

Why is this significant?  If you take a look at the marriage records of those three siblings and compare them to the births of children or the status of the sibling getting married, there are some details that stand out.  Such as: children born within a time frame considerably less than 9 months (two of the siblings, Marie and Bill).  And for Bessie, she listed herself as a Spinster for her second marriage, when in fact, she was still married to her first husband.  We have the documents for all of this information.  Certainly a colorful group.  My cousin Paula often speaks of her grandma Bessie being a bit wild.

When you find facts, like those listed above, about your family, don’t let it bother you.  People are people and history is history.  What we uncover are just the facts and most of it will not change relationships we have formed or memories we share.

1916 - Gertrude and Bill divorced just four years after their marriage on 4 Dec 1916.  Bill is listed in the Detroit City Directory in 1916 as again living with his father, William and working as a Chauffeur.

1917 – I have a World War I Draft Registration Card for Bill.  He lists himself as single, working as an Auto Driver for Detroit Public Works and having a child, age 5.  That must be his son, William Harold Lindsay, born in 1912.

1919 – Bill married for a second time to Vera Violet Allen (1902-1991) on 23 Sep 1919.  They were married in Detroit.  I believe there was a son born to this couple in 1927.  Robert Lindsay.  I have not researched little Robert since 2010, so I have no further information on him.

1920 – Bill and his wife Vera are actually living with my grandparents and my Dad on Lothrop Ave. in Detroit.  He was a taxi driver at this time.

1928 – Bill and his wife, Vera, divorce on 19 Jul 1928 in Detroit.

1928 – Less than a month after his divorce from Vera Allen Lindsay, Bill marries for a 3rd time, to another Vera.  This time Vera Kidd who also went by the name Matilda.  On the marriage record for this couple Bill states he has never been married.  I guess those first two wives don’t count.  His parents names are correct on this marriage record as is other vital information for him, so I have no doubt it’s him.

1930 – Bill and “Matilda” are living in Detroit, renting a home and he works as a Repair Foreman for automobiles.  No children are listed in the residence.  His children must be living with one of the other wives.

1940 – I have not been able to locate William “Bill” Lindsay in the 1940 federal census.

1942 – Bill is registered in the World War II Draft Registration – he is living at 8589 Mendota in Detroit.  He is 47 yrs. old, born in Detroit on 5 Jul 1894.  He is working for the Civil Service Commission/City of Detroit/Div. of Motor Transportation.  His physical description if 5’6”, 155 pounds, blue eyes, brown hair and light complexion, no scars.

1948 – Bill and his 3rd wife, Matilda Vera obtain a divorce, granted on 23 Oct 1948 in Detroit, Michigan.

1950’s – By the mid 1950’s Bill has either remarried or has a girlfriend named Alice Marie Penn.  They can be seen at the dining table at the home of Everett & Mary Hockster.  Also at this table are Bill’s sister Bessie and Everett & Mary’s daughters Betty & Paula.

Going around this table from left to right – Paula Hockster, Betty Hockster, Mary Ortell Hockster, Alice Penn Lindsay, William “Bill” Lindsay, Bessie Lindsay Hockster (Bill’s sister) and Everett Hockster – Detroit, Michigan

 

I find no other public records for William “Bill” Lindsay until his death on 10 Apr 1976 in New Port Richey, Pasco, Florida.

In researching this blog post I located both a death notice and an obituary for Bill.  The obituary states that he had moved to Florida 24 years prior to his death, which would have been 1952.  He was apparently a member of the Baptist church and the BPOE 2284 of New Port Richey, Florida.  I also notice there is no mention of his two sons, only of his nephews, which would be Everett Hockster and my father, Harry Norman Gould.

 

 

My question – What does BPOE stand for.  I figured it was some sort of organization.  I Googled it and found this definition: “Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. ... The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868 originally as a social club in New York City.” 

I haven’t yet located a marriage record for Bill’s 4th and final wife, Alice Marie Penn, but I’ll keep on looking.  She died on 21 Jul 2001, 25 years after him.  They are buried together at Meadowlawn Memorial Gardens in New Port Richey, Pasco, Florida.  You can visit their memorials here: Bill #33361388 and Alice #33361389.

Here, used with permission from David England is their headstone.

Conclusion – It seems that Bill finally settled down with one woman, Alice, his fourth wife.  There are family rumors that he had more than four wives, but I have no evidence of that.  I hope he was happy in those last 25 or so years of his life.  I do wonder why his sons, William and Robert weren’t mentioned in his obituary.  I’ve heard from one family member that his son William didn’t like him and spoke poorly of him.  The reasons for that may forever remain unknown to us.  Those that are gone take their secrets with them to the grave.  I do know that my grandmother, Marie Lindsay Gould always spoke with love when talking about her brother Bill.

If you are related to anyone mentioned in this story, 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

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS ~ Week #3–My great grandfather–William Wallace Lindsay 1859-1931 (a bit of a mystery)

Headshot of William W. Lindsay cropped from group photo

Today’s post is about my great grandfather, William Wallace Lindsay. 

Thank you to Amy Johnson Crow who writes No Story Too Small, for this theme.

William Wallace Lindsay was born on 18 Oct 1859 in Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland to William Lindsay (abt 1830 - 4 Jul 1898) and Mary Wallace (abt 1832 – 17 May 1895)

Here is his birth record from Scotland

Birth record for William Lindsay - Scotland, 18 Oct 1859

There were 6 known children born to William & Mary as follows:

1. Robert (1852-1911)
2. Mary Ann (abt 1853 – bef 1898)
3. John (abt 1856 – bef 1901)
4. Elizabeth “Betsy” (1857-1931)
5. William Wallace  - my great grandfather
6. Richard “Dick” (1862-1937)

I find my William living with his family, in Dundee, Angus, Scotland, in the 1861 & 1871 Scottish census.  His father worked as a Linen Weaver.  By 1881 William is living as a boarder in the Euphemia Lamb household, aged 22, unmarried, with no occupation listed.

In the 1882 Detroit City Directory I located William W. Lindsay boarding at 19 Elizabeth e., working as a clk at Am Nat Bank.  Three entries above him on the page is Robert Lindsay, boarding with John McRobbie (Robert was married to an Isabella McRobbie for a short time, but we don’t know much about that family)

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)


My question when I look at city directories, is always, who else is living at the same address as my ancestor?

In this case I find a Jane Lindsay (wid James) also boarding at 19 Elizabeth e.  How is Jane Lindsay?  How might she be related to us?  I have no James and no Jane in my database.

I don’t have an immigration record for my grandfather, William and his brother Robert for the time period preceding this city directory listing.  My information has him coming to the U.S. in 1886.

Further research has me coming to the conclusion that the William W. listed in this directory is not my William W.  I have excluded him after finding a U.S. census record for 1880 that lists Jane Lindsay and her son, William W., bank clerk.  Every record I have for my William W. gives his parents names as William & Mary (not James & Jane).
   
NOTE:  Sometimes we can go down a wrong path because names and dates are close matches.  In this case I was able to come to a negative conclusion and eliminate the incorrect information.

On 28 Apr 1886 I have a ship manifest for William Lindsay on the ship State of Indiana.  Also on this same ship, on another page is Bessie Fitzcharles.  I know that Elizabeth Fitzcharles went by the name “Bessie” and I have several records showing that nickname, including her headstone.

Here are the ship manifests showing William and Bessie.

Ship manifest for William Lindsay 1886

Ship manifest for Bessie Fitzcharles 1886

William & Bessie were married in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan on 21 May 1886, just 24 days after their arrival in the U.S.

Marriage record for William Lindsay and Bessie Fitzcharles - 1886, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan

My records originally indicated 4 children born to this couple.  However, I later discovered they may have had 5 children.  While I was growing up, I was only aware that my grandmother had 2 sisters and one brother.  That fifth child may have been stillborn or died shortly after birth.  However, since a court record and one census record list 5 children born to the couple, I have included this child as “unknown” in my database.

The known children were: Ellen W. (1887-1927), Marie Wallace (my grandmother) (1888-1970), Bessie (1892-1971) and William “Bill” (1894-1976).

Here is a family photo showing William & Elizabeth with their 4 children.  This is the only photo I have of my great grandfather, William Wallace Lindsay.  Although my family took lots of pictures throughout the years he was alive, I haven’t found any others of him.

The William Lindsay family - circa 1896  Standing in the back are Ellen & Bessie Lindsay - seated is William W. Lindsay holding his son William Lindsay - the girl in the front on the right is my grandmother, Marie and behind her is Bessie

I find William & Elizabeth with four children in the 1900 census in Detroit.  He is working as a Machinist.
 
In the 1910 census I find William Sr. age 49 and his 15 year old son, William, Jr. living in the Roller household in Detroit.  This is evidence that there might have been trouble in the marriage as I find his wife, “Mrs. Elizabeth Lindsay”, working as a housekeeper in the home of Christ Hough and living in Mt. Clements, Macomb, Michigan.  Two doors from her is Charles Hart who is connected to my Gould family.  This is also one of the records that lists her as the mother of 5 children, of whom 4 are living.

On 18 May 1912 my great grandparents divorce was made final.  It was William who filed for the divorce and the grounds were “cruelty.”

Divorce record for William & Elizabeth Lindsay - 18 MAY 1912 date of final judgement

Michigan, Divorce Records, 1897-1952
Name:William Lindsay
Marriage Date:21 May 1886
Marriage Place:Detroit, Michigan
Decree Date:18 May 1912
Decree Place:Wayne, Michigan, USA
Spouse Name:    Elizabeth Lindsay
State File Number:40,660
Number of Children:5
Divorce Status:Granted

I next find William listed in the 1914 Detroit city directory.  Working as a Machinist and living on Labadie Ave.  I also located William in the 1916, 1918, 1919 and 1920 city directory listing for Detroit.  He is working as a Machinist or Operator in each listing.

I cannot locate him in the 1920 U.S. Federal census, but not for lack of trying.

Both my cousin, Paula, and myself believe that we have located a marriage record for William in the Ontario Marriages on 8 Jan 1912.

This would have been prior to his divorce from Bessie.  
Here is the record we found.

Marriage record for William W. Lindsay and Sarah Fearnley - 8 Jan 1912

I have created a red box around identifying items on this record.  I have indicated with a red star items in conflict with what we know.

List of identifying items:
Name – William W. Lindsay
Place of Birth – Mich. (William W. Lindsay was born in Scotland)
Nationality – Amer. (this could be true as he applied for citizenship)
Bachelor or Widower – W (indicating he is a widower, which he isn’t)
Age 49
Religious denomination – Pres.
Name in full of Father – Wm. Lindsay
Rank or profession of Father – Machinist
Name and maiden name of Mother – Mary Wallace
Status in #5 on this form – Widower (again, he is not a widower)

NOTE: It seemed to be a Lindsay family tradition, in some cases, to go over to Canada from Detroit to get married.  But, it seems that was only the tradition if the marriage was somehow questionable.  Two of William’s daughters, Bessie and Marie were married in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.  One listed herself as a spinster, when she wasn’t, and we believe the other one was pregnant at the time of her marriage in 1912.

I have tried to locate any other record with William & Sarah in it and I am unable to.

William’s ex-wife, Bessie, died on 11 Jul 1914 in Detroit.  Her cause of death was carcinoma of the jaw.  She was 49 years old.
 
The last record I have for William when he was living, is the 1930 census.  He is living with his daughter, Bessie and her family at 9416 Burnett in Detroit, Michigan.  He is listed as a widower.

William died on 23 Apr 1931 in Detroit.  His cause of death was Cerebral hemorrhage.  He is buried in Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit along with other Lindsay family members.  

His ex-wife Bessie is buried at Grand Lawn Cemetery with her daughter Marie Lindsay Gould and other Gould family members.

Here is his death certificate.  This was provided to me by the State of Michigan and was the best copy they could offer.

Death certificate for William W. Lindsay - 1931

I have an obituary and a funeral notice for William Wallace Lindsay.  These were shared with me by my cousin, Marian.
 


There is a memorial on FindAGrave for William, but no photo of his headstone.  My cousin, Marian and I have been to Woodmere Cemetery to the Lindsay section.  At that time we could not locate a headstone.  I later learned that it was buried 12” down.  A member of the cemetery staff found it.  It has not been photographed.

His cemetery card states that he was buried on 25 Apr 1931 in the South Lake Section, Lot 16.  No grave number is listed.

FindAGrave #21178174

My thoughts – I used to hear my grandmother, Marie, William’s daughter, talk about her family.  I don’t remember her talking much about her father.  Why?  Was there a lot of bitterness after he divorced Bessie?  William had at least 8 grandchildren, most of whom were in Detroit, including my father.  Why is he not seen in any of our family photos?  I’d like to know more, but maybe I never will.

If you are connected to this family in any way, I’d love to hear from you.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

Breaking Down a Brick Wall - Finding Elizabeth Fitzcharles' Parents - my 10 year search ends

Birth Records with Incorrect Names - What Would You Think?

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

ASHES RETURNED TO FAMILY 18 YEARS AFTER DEATH–Welcome back Harriet!

Left to right - J. Fred Pickard, Ellen Lindsay Pickard, Harry W. Gould and Marie Lindsay - Is the little girl in the front Fred & Ellen's daughter, Harriet?  We think so, but we don't know for sure.

I certainly didn’t have to wonder what I was going to write about in my blog today.  Thanks to online trees, FindAGrave and Facebook, we have located a family member’s ashes, 18 years after her death.
Yesterday I sat down at my computer and opened up Ancestry.com.  I saw the little envelope icon at the top had a 1 next to it, indicating I had a message.  When I opened the message here is what I read:

Re: Harriet M. “Lynn” Pickard Dowdell
“Hi,
How did you know this lady?? I was just asked by a person I went to school with to look up Lynn’s husband and find where he was buried..well it was so easy since you had it on here..He has her ashes and her wishes were to spread them over her husbands grave. Now that I looked here and than found him listed in FAG, he will now carry out her wishes.”

What?  Someone has Harriet’s ashes?  Seriously?  After all these years?
 

Who was Harriet “Lynn” Pickard Cramer Dowdell?

She was my 1st cousin once removed.  That makes her my grandmother’s niece and a first cousin to my Dad.  Harriet and my father, Harry Norman Gould were only a few years apart.  Since neither of them had siblings they grew up close.

I remember hearing about Harriet when I was a little girl in Michigan, but don’t remember meeting her back then.  We left Michigan when I was 7 yrs. old.
 
Harriet was the only child of James Frederick Pickard (1884-1964) and Ellen W. Lindsay (1887-1927) who married 17 Jan 1906 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.
 
As to Harriet’s date of birth.  That is a good question. I haven’t been able to locate a birth record.  I can only go by census records, the SSDI and her death certificate.  It seems that she liked to change that to suit her needs.  That is something I remember my Dad and my grandmother talking about.  Not only that, but she went by the name Lynn, not Harriet.  Oh, those ancestors, they do love to confuse us.

Harriet married first Howard C. Cramer on 26 Jan 1929 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.  No children were born to this couple.  They filed for divorce five years later in 1934 in Palm Beach Co., Florida. Volume No. 52, Number 1961

She later married James Alexander Dowdell.  He died 19 Mar 1987 in Pontiac, Oakland, Michigan.
 
Just a couple of months after James Dowdell’s death, my father moved back to Michigan, from California to live with Harriet.  My Dad was 74 years old then and in poor health.  He and Harriet thought they would be better off together and could help one another. 

I went back to Michigan from my home in California, in November 1990 to visit my Dad.  Sadly, I didn’t take the time to talk to Harriet while I had the chance.  I wasn’t yet researching my family.  Isn’t this a familiar story to all of us?
 
My Dad died a few months later and I never saw Harriet again.

Fast forward to 2003 when I began doing family research.  I was soon in contact with my 2nd cousin, Paula, and got her interested in family research too.  Eventually, we tried to locate Harriet’s death record or evidence of her still being alive, which would be slim.
In 2013 I located a Public Records Index which I was pretty certain was her.  The address listed in this record in Wixom, Michigan is where she and my father lived.

U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1
Name:  Lynn P Dowdell       
Birth Date:  30 Jul 1911       
Phone Number:  669-1281       
Address: 2550 Woodrow Wilson 1, Keego Harbor, MI, 48320 [118 Canal St, Milford, MI, 48381-1904 (1994)]  [23175 W Le Bost, Novi, MI, 48375-3410 (1995)] [48210 Pontiac Trail # 1, Wixom, MI, 48393-2503 (1987)]  [PO Box 851059, Westland, MI, 48185-6159]

Next I was able to locate her SSDI
United States Social Security Death Index
Given Name: Lynn
Middle Name: P
Surname: Dowdell
Name Suffix:    
Birth Date: 30 July 1911
Social Security Number: 214-22-7583
State: Maryland
Last Place of Residence: Oakland, Michigan
Previous Residence Postal Code: 48375
Event Date: 16 March 1997
Age: 86

Cousin Paula sent for a copy of Harriet aka Lynn’s death certificate based on the information we had gathered from those indexes.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT) 


As you can see this record lists the correct parent’s names.  The informant was Cecile Vanderhaeghen, who was unknown to us.  Her remains were cremated.

My cousin Paula contacted the United Memorial Gardens who handled her cremation.  They indicated the remains were given to RG & GR Harris Funeral Home.   The funeral home wasn’t very helpful (they wouldn’t look in their archives to see what became of the ashes), but said they “probably” went to the informant if no next of kin claimed them.  Further research by Paula revealed that the informant, Cecile Vanderhaeghen had died in March 2013.

That seemed to be the end of the story.  Right?

We thought so, until I received that message on Ancestry yesterday morning.  What a surprise!

I responded to the message immediately.  My cousin, Paula, had also gotten a message from the same person.  Within an hour I was talking to the person who sent the message and within another hour I was speaking with the person who actually has Harriet’s remains.  Turns out this family had kept them because they couldn’t locate next of kin and didn’t want to be disrespectful.
 
HOW AMAZING IS THAT?

The person, James, who has Harriet’s ashes lives in Michigan. Paula and I are in California.  One of our other cousins, Debbie, as it turns out, only lives a mile away from James.  She went over there today and got Harriet’s ashes.  I’m sure it was a relief for those wonderful, kind people who had kept them all those years.  And, let’s not forget Marilyn who did a favor for a friend and got in touch with me on Ancestry.  We can’t thank them enough.

Harriet had no children and died without family around her.  But, apparently she was well liked by the people at the home where she lived her last few years.  That’s good to know.

None of this would have been possible without having family information on Ancestry.com and FindAGrave.  With that information it was possible to get in touch with both me and Paula and find out who we were in relation to Harriet.  A very happy ending for all.

Do you have any similar stories?  I’d love to hear them.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
DID I FIND OUT WHO JULIA AUSTIN'S PARENTS WERE?  Or not?
IS THAT INDEX CORRECT?  Here's why we need to look at the actual document

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

More cousins and a laptop crash

Yup, it's been a few days since I've written. For one thing I ended up with a stupid virus on my laptop. Had to have the entire hard drive wiped and re-formatted. Good thing that all my family files are on my desktop computer and backed up on external hard drives and flash drives. This is one thing I cannot stress to you enough. Backup, backup and backup some more. This is absolutely critical for all reserachers and has saved me more than once. I'm happy to say that after about five days I have most everything back on my laptop. Most importantly my family database.
On to happier things. I drove about 3 hours up the coast to visit my 2nd cousin. She's related to me on the Lindsay side. Seems like all of us Lindsay descendants are coming out of the woodwork lately. It was a real nice visit. We talked a lot and looked at family pictures and exchanged information. We even called her sister in Detroit and talked to her for a while. Since my 2nd cousin's sister is about 14 years older than her, she has more memories of Grandparents and family lore. Certainly there are mysteries and curiosities to uncover in this Lindsay clan. Children born "out of wedlock" back at the beginning of the last century and marriages up in Canada with some questionable information on the certificates. Children given up for adoption. Who were the fathers of these children? We are certainly trying to unravel all these interesting stories.
Of course you know that if we'd been smart enough to talk to our Grandmothers and Grandfathers back when they were still with us, we would have some of these answers. So this would be another thing I cannot stress enough. If you have family members on any side of your family that may be getting on in years, please take the time to interview them now. Don't wait. Either record you conversation or take really good notes. Boy, what I wouldn't give for 10 minutes with any of my grandparents or even my Dad.
That's all for today,
Michigan Girl