October 31, 2020

A New Family Project & Great Photos

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I’ve actually done a fair amount of (virtual) presenting lately which has been different but fun. I haven’t quite gotten my mojo back from the ongoing “fun” of 2020–and don’t see that happening anytime soon. But I’m finding my way and enjoying my research and reading again! That said my Aunt Joan gave me a new project which some of you should get a kick out of. Porter and Holden descendents (plus any Morris, Conant, Eldred cousins out there)–heads up! I’m sorting and scanning Aunt Zelma Porter’s (Morris Hanson Reeves) pictures and I’m hoping to stick them somewhere for family to access.

Happy hunting,

Jess

Photo: Charles Erwin Porter and Lulu Holden Porter, Wedding Portrait, 1904.
This is the wedding photo of (2nd Great) Grandpa and Grandma Charles Erwin and Lulu (Holden) Porter, taken in 1904.
 

December 11, 2013

Not Quite Wordless Wednesday

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Rebecca Huntingon PorterToday is the 177th Anniversary of my 4th Great Grandmother’s birth. Rebecca Huntington was born in Vermont and orphaned at a young age. She was brought to Michigan as a child. She married Seth Porter, Jr. on October 4th in 1852. The couple had at least seven children including my 3rd Great Grandfather, George Erwin Porter.

 

September 24, 2013

September Birthdays… Have you noticed the theme?

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Gran & Crystal (Porter Johnson) Bailey

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

 

September 18, 2013

Not Quite Wordless Wednesday: More September Birthdays

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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!

Lula V. (Holden) Porter & Mother, 1952Today’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

 

September 9, 2013

September Birthdays!

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Win Porter

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 133rd anniversary of her 3rd 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

 

June 26, 2013

Not At All Wordless Wednesday

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Lorna HoldenSo, as I was running through anniversaries related to this date I came upon the fact that today is the 114 anniversary of the birth of my 1st cousin 4 times removed, Lorna Holden DeBoer. She was the daughter of Kendric Charles Holden (son of Charles and my Chapin’s youngest sibling) and Minnie Isabel Porter (George’s middle sibling). She married John DeBoer in 1921 and they had two children Gaylord and Eleanor. Eleanor in turn married my Great Uncle Darcy (my Great Grandmother Crystal’s brother).

And it seems a great time to express my thanks to the Holden and Porter family who have shown an interest in our common relatives and inspired me to continue researching. As I’ve mentioned before, Lorna penned a book on her aunt, Xantippe, which fellow researchers pointed out to me early on. In my early days as a librarian in Rockford I had the great luck to reconnect with Phyllis (Porter) Dolislager as well as take an informative life writing workshop from her. And the Porters and Holden’s have been tremendous donors to the Rockford Area Historical Museum—where I found countless bits of family memorabilia, family history, and photographs. So many of you have come forward to help with, share, or just be a great audience for my research and I really appreciate it. And that includes Carole, Janet, Uncle Aaron, Uncle Louis, Kathy and my original Porter source, Grandpa Bailey.

Thank you all!

Happy hunting,

Jess

This photo was copied from the Rockford Area Historical Museum and is a picture of Lorna Holden.

 

December 4, 2012

Tombstone Tuesday

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This is the final resting site of my Great Grandmother, Crystal May Porter and my Step-Great-Grandfather Harold Bailey at Blythefield Memory Gardens in Kent County, MI. Grandma Crystal died 44 years ago today, at the age of 55. She was the third child of Charles and Lula (Holden) Porter. She married my Great Grandfather Robert Eugene Johnson on April 13, 1927 and they had four children including my Grandfather, William Eugene Johnson. Crystal and Robert divorced and in 1934 Grandma Crystal married Grandpa Bailey with whom she had one more son.

Happy hunting!

Jess

 

October 9, 2012

Tombstone Tuesday

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We’re back to Pioneer Cemetery in Rockford, Michigan for this week’s tombstone. This is the stone for Rebecca (Huntingdon) Porter, my 4th Great Grandmother and the first wife of Seth Porter. I believe she was born in Vermont in 1837. She married Seth in 160 years ago this month—Oct 4, 1852. She was the mother of seven children—Melissa Emeline, George Erwin  (my 3rd Great Grandfather), Rheumina, Minnie Isabel, Harry Clifford, Almeda Laverne, and Flora Ethel. She died at the age of 52 in February of 1890.

Happy hunting,

Jess

 

September 18, 2012

Tombstone Tuesday

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Today is the 126th Anniversary of my Grandma Porter’s birth. This makes her and Grandpa Porter’s headstone the perfect pick for this week’s Tombstone Tuesday. This is the resting place of Lula Vanche (Holden) Porter and her husband Charles Erwin “Winn” Porter. The photo is from Courtland Cemetery in Courtland Township, Michigan the final resting place of many members of the Holden and Porter families. It was taken by me in the winter of 2002.

Happy Hunting,

Jess

 

June 23, 2012

A Quick Roadtrip & Research Day

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I was able to take a day last week to do a daytrip to Kent County, Michigan to visit another one of my favorite collections—Grand Rapids Public Library’s History and Special Collections Department at the Main Library. It’s been years since I’ve been there to research and took me a little while to get oriented but I was able to answer some of the questions I’d hoped to. For example—and this is for Denise and Gran… Aunt Pearl (Packer) McComb was buried at Rest Lawn Memorial Park according to her Grand Rapids Press obituary—which for some reason I’d missed looking up before. I was also able to work with the Grand Rapids Directories and a few other resources.

I spent the afternoon at the Kent County Probate Court to look at family probate records. As I had used this courthouse before I had gotten a fair explanation of how things worked form their website. And I was pretty well prepared when I arrived. I didn’t know what they might have so I used their indexes to look up a few family names and picked one to work on for the afternoon.

I spent the remainder of my time looking at the very detailed and long probate packet for my 3rd Great-Grandfather George E. Porter, who died without a will. What followed was a very detailed process in which George’s heirs nominated my 2nd Great-Grandfather Charles E. Porter to act as agent in settling his father’s estate. There were pages of material—I couldn’t afford to print it all at $2 per page. But Idid get a great sampling with lists of surviving heirs, property information and value, and lists of debts—from a line by line of the costs of treatment for George’s illness to the burial. I worked with bits of probate packets before but this was my first experience seeing a large detailed packet without someone choosing bits to show me. It was fascinating!

Happy hunting,

Jess

 

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