THE SEBEWA RECOLLECTOR Bulletin of the Sebewa Center Association,
OCTOBER 2001, Volume 37, Numbers 2. Sebewa Township, Ionia County, MI.
Submitted with written permission of Editor Grayden D. SLOWINS:


SURNAMES: Leak, Prince, Evans, Nicholson, Wilson, Sandborn, Luz, Halladay, Luscher, Gibbs, Deatsman, Sears, Erdman, Hunziker, Faes, Peters, Dunlap, Daniels, Ingall, Ingalls, Fancher, Sowles, Clark, Hamm, Smith, Shilton, Wyma, Clow, Lippenscott, McCormack, Carpenter, Gates, Ritter, Gibbons, Stanton, Harper, Duffey, Catlin, Kneale, Matoon, Whitlock, Burgess, Brooks, Torrey

RECENT DEATHS:

HERBERT WILSON EVANS, 96, widower of Harriet NICHOLSON EVANS, father of Janet CARTER, Harold & Ronal EVANS, brother of the late Estin EVANS & Mildred BROWN, son of Christina WILSON & Albert EVANS, son of Susan & Jacob W. EVANS. Herb was a farmer & shepherd, worked in Portland milk plant, General Motors war plant, and in the maintenance department at Portland High School. Buried in East Sebewa Cemetery.

MAX VANCE SANDBORN, 79, husband of Delores LUZ SANDBORN, father of Craig, Randy, Ryan, Lynn & Jill SANDBORN, and Diane WILLARD, brother of Kathyleen ROGERS & Dwaine SANDBORN, son of Bernice Esther HALLADAY & Jacob Watson SANDBORN, son of Elma Winifred LUSCHER & Lawrence (Lon) Watson SANDBORN, son of Sarah Jane GIBBS & Columbus SANDBORN, son of Edward SANDBORN, who settled in Sebewa Township in the 1850s. Bernice HALLADAY was the daughter of Martha Jane DEATSMAN & Arthur HALLADAY, son of Mildred Eliza SEARS & Charles Lincoln HALLADAY, son of Amanda & Elihu HALLADAY, who settled in Sebewa Township in 1852. Elma LUSCHER was the daughter of Minnie C. ERDMAN & Jacob LUSCHER, son of Anna HUNZIKER & Jacob LUSCHER, son of Anna FAES & Hans Jakob LUSCHER. Jacob LUSCHER, Sr. settled in Sebewa Township in the 1850s also. Minnie ERDMAN was the daughter of Hanna PETERS & Michael F. ERDMAN, son of Sophie & Christian Frederick ERDMAN. Michael ERDMAN came from Posen, East Prussia, to Sebewa Township in 1870. Sarah Jane GIBBS was the daughter of Mariam & Robert GIBBS, who settled in Sebewa Township in 1858. Max SANDBORN operated an earth-moving business for over 40 years and retired to the home farm. He is buried in East Sebewa Cemetery.

IVA CLOE (INGALL) DUNLAP, 101, sister of the late Greta STAMBAUGH, daughter of Ada DANIELS & D. C. INGALL, son of William INGALL, who settled in Sebewa Township before 1875. Iva was our last survivor of the 1800s. Her photo appeared on the cover of our April-June 2001 Issue as a scholar at GODDARD School. She is buried in East Sebewa Cemetery.

Charles HALL INGALLS, 80, husband of June INGALLS, father of James & Michael INGALLS, brother of the late Louis C. INGALLS, son of Florence FANCHER & Clarence M. INGALLS, son of Phioa SOWELES & Charles WATTERS INGALLS, son of Lucinda CLARK & Charles Manley INGALLS, son of Catherine D. HAMM & Charles Wesley INGALLS, son of Abigail & Jonathan INGALLS, Sebewa’s only soldier in the Revolution. This family is the oldest permanent family in Sebewa Township, having settled here in 1838. They are not to be confused with the INGALL family above. Charles Hall INGALLS is buried in Danby Cemetery.

JOHN M. SMITH, 72, husband of Bertha SHILTON SMITH, father of Dale, Kendall & Jeffrey SMITH and Karen ORTA, brother of Henry & Marvin SMITH, son of Rena WYMA & Gerrit SMITH. John farmed in Sebewa Township all his life, as well as working 14 years for KEELER Brass and as a supervisor for various muck farmers. He is buried in East Sebewa Cemetery.

BURTON M. SMITH, 95, widower of Winifred CLOW SMITH, father of Selma WILlIAMSON and Burton M. (Jack) SMITH, brother of the late Clyde, Clifton, Glenn and Violet Smith, son of William & Louise SINDLINGER SMITH. He was born and raised in Sebewa, on the old William T. GOODRICH farm, across MUSGROVE Hwy. from our farm. He attended Sebewa Center School, graduated from Sunfield High School, worked for SMITH-GROEN Lumber Co., manufacturing windows, and farmed all his life near Clarksville. Buried in Clarksville Cemetery.

REV. JOHN A. LIPPENCOTT, 81, husband of Margery LYNK LIPPENCOTT, father of John III, James, and Rev. Anne LIPPENCOTT, and Katherine DAVIDGE, brother of Allene CONNERS and the late Frances GOODMAN, E. Norma SPENCER, Rachel BINNS and Beth BAILEY, son of Blanche HALLADAY & John R. LIPPENCOTT, son of Allen B. LIPPENCOTT, Civil War Veteran, who settled in Sebewa right after the Civil War. Blanche was the daughter of Ethelynd Lena McCORMACK & George Edgar HALLADAY, son of Rosabella GATES & Abel C. HALLADAY, son of Nancy CARPENTER & David HALLADAY. Rosabella was the daughter of Ezra GATES & Elizabeth INGALLS, daughter of Abigail & Jonathan INGALLS, Sebewa’s only Soldier of the Revolution, whose family were the first settlers in 1838. Buried on his parents’ lot in East Sebewa Cemetery.

PAUL RITTER, 86, father of Nancy WAGNER & Karen KING, brother of Jane REYNOLDS, Jean HARRIS, Maynard RITTER and the late Maxwell & Royal RITTER, son of Pearl GIBBONS & Floyd Maxwell RITTER, son of Sarah Jane STANTON & Anthony RITTER, son of Elizabeth Ann HARPER & Samuel RITTER, who settled in Orange Township in 1849. Paul was the genealogist of the Ritter family. See June 1999, February 2000, April 2000 and June 2000 issues for more information on the Ritter family.

BERNARD E. DUFFEY, 76, husband of Betty BROWN DUFFEY, father of Linda MOYER and Gordon, Dennis & Ken DUFFEY, brother of Berwell DUFFEY and Maxine BROWN, son of Burr DUFFEY & Hazel CATLIN. A WWII Army Veteran defending the Panama Canal, Bernard was a life-long farmer, member of the John Deere Two-cycle Club, and Danby Township Board of Trustees, where he always had a kind word, a joke, or some thoughtful input.

GENEVA E. (WHITLOCK) KNEALE, 93, widow of Howard KNEALE, mother of LaVerne, Gary and the late Lyle KNEALE, sister of the late Harold WHITLOCK, daughter of Margaret MATOON & Alfred WHITLOCK, she taught at Boyne City School, Hinderleider Rural School, and the Sebewa Center School, and farmed with her husband. Buried in Balcom Cemetery.

MARIE E. (TORREY) BURGESS, 88, widow of Irven BURGESS, mother of Kay CREIGHTON, Sherilyn THOMAS & Glenwood BURGESS, sister of Charles TORREY and the late Chalmer, Cecil & Clair TORREY, daughter of Kate BROOKS & Glenn TORREY, buried in Portland Cemetery.

CENSUS FIGURES FOR SEBEWA TOWNSHIP have not changed much in 150 years:
1850 247 (just 40 families)
1860 635
1870 932
1880 1551
1930 913
1940 929
1950 941
1960 891
1970 948
1980 1105
1990 1160
2000 1202
Our very unscientific survey shows we now have approximately 430 family dwellings in the township and of that number, at least 205 have someone with an ancestor in the area more than 100 years ago.

MICHIGAN TOWNSHIPS ASSOCIATION (MTA) SPRING DISTRICT MEETINGS TOUR by Grayden SLOWINS:

Sunday, April 29, 2001, we headed north in our Motor Home on M-66 & M-115, to check out our meeting site at Crystal Mountain Resort, Thompsonville, MI.

Tuesday, May 1, we were up early to get to our first conference, because, as President, I speak first on the agenda each day at 9:00AM. Today it is MTA District 5, at Crystal Mountain………I leave the MTA issues for discussion by the staff. I talk about the current remodeling at MTA Headquarters in Lansing, about staff changes and the five new department heads, about our Legislative Task Forces with all 44 Board Members divided among seven areas of legislation according to their interest & expertise, introduce the Director(s) in each District, and survey preferences for Annual Conference dates & locations.

We ate dinner that night with our MTA staff in a nice restaurant called Steamers, overlooking the Ludington Car Ferry.

Wednesday, May 2, up early for today’s conference for District 8, at West Shore Community College, between Ludington and Scottville………Wednesday, May 9, we were up and to Harris, six miles west of Escanaba, for today’s District 2 conference at Chips Island Resort and Casino………it is a nice meeting facility……Friday, May 11, last meeting for the week at Charlevoix Country Club……District 4………Monday, May 14, brings District 9 meeting at Comfort Inn in Mt. Pleasant, with the same routine………Wednesday, May 16, went to the Holiday Inn at East Tawas for the District 7 conference………Thursday, May 17, brings the tenth and last district meeting of the Spring Tour, District 6 at Houghton Lake Quality Inn. At each meeting, part of my presentation has been to introduce myself as retired from 32 years as Sebewa Township Clerk, 28 years as Cemetery Sexton, and 69 ½ years as a Shepherd. Then I explained the current predicament I am in because of protecting my flock from stray dogs on my sheep farm. Here in Houghton Lake, as at every other district meeting, 5 or 6 people came up to me afterward in the halls, or at lunch, or in the Men’s Room, and related stories from their personal experience, or a family member, or a friend, who was faced with a similar problem with calves, pigs, colts, chickens, turkeys, or sheep & lambs. They had to stop the dogs before they acted, not after, otherwise horrible damage can and often has resulted. Some have color photos to document. Even those who love their dogs recognize that a valued dog must be kept at home and accidental straying is not a valid excuse. I believed I had not only a legal right, but a moral obligation to protect my flock, as did they.

We covered 2271 miles on the 16 days traveled and got 11 miles per gallon – not bad for a Motor Home.

We will have another tour for the counties and districts in the southern half of the State in September. Some of the legislative issues may have changed – there seems to be good progress in the Legislature on Annexation/Detachment bills.

PHOTOS: These are unidentified photos found in the LEAK family photo album once owned by Thomas LEAK, currently owned by Carol LEAK, wife of the late James D. LEAK of Sebewa Twp., Ionia County, MI. If you can identify any of these folks, let us know!

Contact Pam SWILER, President, Ionia County Genealogical Society. 13051 AINSWORTH Road, Rt. 3, Lake Odessa, MI 48849-9406.

These were tin types, some of which were starting to rust and deteriorate from age and environment. Tin types were introduced about 1856 and were a negative image which was produced on a thin iron plate. This type of photography peaked about 1860-1863 and were last made in about 1867. Tin types in various other forms were produced until about 1930. (Source: Randy GLADSTONE, Mason, MI).

Photographer was T. J. PRINCE, in Lake Odessa from December 1894 until at least 1900. Sherman D. JOY and the Nichol Brothers were in business in about 1897 (Source Lake Odessa, A Centennial History, by John R. WAITE)

This type of photography was popular during the 1870s and 1880s. It was first introduced in about 1863 and lasted until the 1920s.