Genie Road Trip

In my pleasure reading I’ve recently picked up a number of books** that explore the idea that one decision or act can change the course of a life or lives and as a genealogist it sparks my imagination… what choices and decisions lead to my existence? I’ll never know most of them but every time I can find a little more information it’s a little victory.

Martha Ward Garbutt had some hand in raising my 2^nd Great Grandmother Flora Jane Massy. I would dearly love to know how Flora ended up in Canada. As I’ve mentioned before, the gap in my research on her life spans from the 1870 Census when she lived in Detroit, Michigan with her mother, Augusta (Cory) Massy, and 1881 when she was enumerated as the youngest Garbutt child. Whatever the story, the Garbutt family made a home for Flora. And it’s through this connection that she met and married into the Packer family—Martha’s 5^th child, Mary, married Cornelius’s older brother, Thomas, in 1875. And there’s more than enough photographic evidence that the families all remained in touch long after my 2^nd Great Grandparents came to Grand Rapids in 1891.

So, on this 195^th anniversary of the birth of Martha (Ward) Garbutt, I’d like to say thank you for whatever role she had in my existence. Martha was born in England to John and Jane (Spenceley) Ward in 1818 and married William Garbutt on 30 Nov 1839. They started their family in Pickering, in North Yorkshire (per the 1851 England Census) but the family immigrated to Woodstock, Ontario, Canada prior to 1855 when Mary was born. They were the parents of eight children. Martha outlived her husband by about 18 years and lived out her last years with Mary and Thomas Packer. She died at home, just over a month shy of her 95^th birthday, on 12 Mar 1913.

This photo-postcard was sent to my 2^nd Great Grandparents at Christmas in 1911 or 1912. One of my cousins shared it with me and it was one of those great finds that makes the rest of the pieces fall into place. It’s inscribed to “Curly and Flo” (Cornelius and Flora Packer) from Mary with the note, “don’t you think Grandma looks real nice for one nearly 94 years.”

Happy hunting,

Jess

** Ex. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, Strange Attractors by Charles Soule

Yesterday marked the 80^th Anniversary of the death of my Great Grandfather Robert James Shea. I’ve talked about him a great deal on the blog so follow the links for more information.  He died of complications from tuberculosis at Kalamazoo State Hospital on 23 Apr 1933.

Robert is the dark haired bloke seated up front, a believe that is his father, Cornelius,beside him on the bench. I think the others are Earl (at the head of the wagon) and George sitting up on the back.

For more on Robert Shea check out these posts: 24 Sep 2011, 22 Oct 2011

Happy hunting,

Jess

I just love this picture! My grandfather’s older sister and younger brother.

Happy hunting,

Jess

I feel like I’ve loved to dance forever! This isn’t really proof, as I’m about seven in this picture, but it hits on a few recent topics of conversation.

First, I still dance and I’ll be performing in a show on Saturday which is why I’ve been very quiet here on the blog for the past month or so.

Second, I recently had a chance to look at my niece’s progress report from her Preschool teacher in which she stated that she “wants to be a ballerina”—I know it’s a common “girl wish” but it’s still thrilling to hear when she takes such joy in coming to see me dance. And it makes me wonder about how the “creative gene” gets passed on.

Third, this shot was taken in a studio in the upper floor of a converted church in Haslett, Michigan—which in itself was cool!—but, coincidentally, the mother of one of my current fellow dancers has recently occupied the same space with the fabulous and inspiring small but mighty arts. For all you ladies who have been borrowing space there to make costumes… the upstairs workspace was my first dance studio.

And, yes, I can (barely) still do the splits.

Happy hunting,

Jess

It’s that time of year again… Sunday is the Michigan Antiquarian Book and Paper Show (9:30-5 pm) which not only satisfies my interest in collecting books but is also my primary source for postcards to illustrate and round out my genealogy. I tend to collect regular and real photo postcards of street scenes and buildings that were important to my family. So Rockford street scenes dominate my collection. But I also have representative works from Grand Rapids, Howell (the Sanatorium), Leelanau/Grand Traverse, and Ypsilanti as well. And, every once in a while, I even stumble across a postcard actually sent by a distant relative or a friend of the family.

This is a relatively common postcard of Old Bostwick Lake Congregational Church in Cannon Township, Kent County, Michigan which included among its charter members: my Grandpa Bailey’s Great Grandparents, Smith and Eunice Bailey, and two of their married daughters—Eunice Pitcher and Chloe Scott. Many of the Bailey’s and their allied families were buried in the attached cemetery known as Old Bostwick or Marshall Cemetery. The congregation was organized on 06 June 1846 and still exists today in its current incarnation on Belding Rd in Rockford.

Happy hunting.

Jess

It’s been 22 years since my Step-Great-Grandmother Pauline Bailey died. I didn’t spend a lot of time with her but I associate her with the extended family Christmas’s and baby showers she hosted—particularly those held at the Community Room of the Towers in downtown Rockford, Michigan—though I know she was also very involved in the American Legion Auxiliary, Merrit Lamb Post #102 as well.

She was born Pauline Boukamp and had children from a previous marriage (or marriages?) before she married my Grandpa Bailey within a year of my biological Great Grandmother’s death. She was a very strong personality (like most of the women in the family). And, like Grandpa Bailey, she wasn’t related to me by blood but she was the Great-Grandmother I remember best.

For some reason I think of her whenever I see pastel mints.

Happy hunting.

Jess