Genie Road Trip

It’s the 95^th Anniversary of the day my Great Grandfather Robert James Shea entered the Michigan State Sanatorium for Tuberculosis upon the completion of quarters by the War Preparedness Board of Michigan for rejected or discharged tuberculosis soldiers. In the picture he is the second from the left with a smile.

For people seeking more information about the Michigan State Sanatorium —the Archives of Michigan and Howell Carnegie Library are two fabulous resources. Additionally, many of the Biennial Reports of the Board of Trustees of the Michigan State Sanatorium are available full text in Google Books.

Happy hunting!

Jess

Not for any other reason than I love the smile on Grandpa’s face. Levie Trotter and my youngest aunt at home in Detroit, Michigan around 1976.

Happy hunting,

Jess

It’s interesting… the (vast) majority of the family’s September births are Porter-Holden descendants.

Today in the real world we’re celebrating the birthday of my occasional research assistant. Happy birthday, kiddo!

But he shares his birthday with his 2nd Great Grandmother Crystal (Porter Johnson) Bailey.

Crystal was born 24 September 1910 in Kent County, MI to Charles “Win” and Lula (Holden) Porter. In April of 1927 she married Robert Eugene Johnson and they had four children including my Grandpa Bill, their eldest son and second child. Sometime between 1932 and 1934 the couple split in an ugly divorce. In October of 1934 Grandma Crystal married my Grandpa Bailey and they added one more child to the family. Crystal died in 1968.

This photograph is of my Gran and my Grandma Crystal probably from early 1952 or maybe late 1951 in Rockford, Michigan. Based on the dress and other pictures that look like they are from the same day, this was probably taken the day of a shared baby shower for Gran and her sister-in-law (and Crystal’s niece), Joan. They had daughters less than a month apart in 1952.

Happy hunting,

Jess

Someone’s birthday is today—she knows who she is! But it’s also the 191^st Anniversary of our shared 4^th Great Grandmother’s birth. Sarah Ann Skiff was born 20 September 1822 in Schuyler County, NY to Russell and Sarah (Davis) Skiff. She married Charles Morrill Holden in November of 1842 in Yates County, NY. The couple moved their family to Michigan in the mid-1850s where Charles worked as a doctor and farmed. They had 12 children with a wide range of fun names. My 3^rd Great Grandfather Chapin was their 5^th child, and his daughter was the recently featured Lula (Holden) Porter.

Happy hunting,

Jess

The month has gotten away from me and I apologize for my miss of Not Quite Wordless Wednesday last week… but I’m trying to get back ahead!

Today’s photo features my 2nd Great Grandmother Lula Vanche (Holden) Porter.

Today marks the 127th anniversary of her birth in Osceola County, Michigan. She was the third child of Chapin and Lois (Blakeslee) Holden and she married my 2nd Great Grandfather Charles Erwin “Win” Porter in September of 1904 in Courtland Township, Kent County, Michigan. My Great Grandmother Crystal was her third child of seven.

This photograph is from my Gran’s collection. It was taken in April or May of 1952 and falls into a great run of pictures of my mother with everyone who could get their hands on her. Lula was widowed within a month or two of this photo–Win died in June. My Gran remembers her fondly–especially as a great source for gossip (they were kindred spirits). Lula died in June of 1973.

Happy hunting!

Jess

It’s someone’s birthday today!

Okay, it’s September… almost every day is someone’s birthday in my family. And while for people in the know it is Miss Feisty’s birthday it’s also the 133^rd anniversary of her 3^rd Great Grandfather, Charles Erwin Porter. This picture was in a lovely set of copies made for me by one of my cousins. It’s a photo from the newspaper featuring Win stacking wood. I have yet to track down the paper myself. Maybe on my next trip to Rockford, MI?

Happy hunting,

Jess

It’s the start of a month long trend… September is the 2^nd most popular birth month in my database. And today would have been my Great Uncle Ernest Philip York’s 90^th Birthday. Here’s Uncle Ernest in the foreground with (I think) his brother Arverse York. Please correct me if you know I’m wrong about which of my many York uncles this is.

Happy hunting,

Jess