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Sebewa Recollector
THE SEBEWA RECOLLECTOR,
SEASONAL NOTES
The first frost
did not wait until October. Covers
for choice tomatoes and flowers were in evidence.
Tons and tons of carrots are being moved to market from the DeBruyn muck
fields in the northern part of the township.
Onions and cabbage will follow.
If you buy your soup or salad, you still may be eating Sebewa.
Tons and tons also describe the white bean crop in Sebewa with extensive
fields of soys to follow in harvest later.
The roar of the silo filler that was so characteristic of fall thirty or
more years ago is scarcely noticeable.
Fewer silos are filled—larger ones are filled in a shorter time with less
noise. I recall the first two
airplanes to fly over the area.
School was out for recess—everybody playing ball.
There came a roar of the planes overhead.
Nobody looked up. I thought
the silo filler was running at Fred Gunn’s place—thus any historic sight went
unnoticed by a playground of children.
PRECINCT #2
Our Sebewa
Center schoolhouse served as an election precinct in the August primary
election. It will do so again for
the November fall election.
Contrasting with the election boards of years ago, cigars are no longer a
standard prop for the members serving.
A BIG ORDER
Recently the
various units of government of Ionia County received a request from THE
KALAMAZOO VALLEY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY for “a list of all public officials from
the date of organization to the present time”.
We know that Odessa township people have done some work on this project.
I have thumbed through the first two Clerks Record Books of Sebewa
Township covering the years 1846 to 1867.
The early clerks kept a very good record of elections and the officials
serving. Often there were fewer
candidates than offices to be filled.
The difficulty was overcome by some men holding more than one office.
Sometimes the
number of officers was more than it is easy to believe.
Besides the supervisor, clerk and treasurer, there were also elected two
highway commissioners, two school inspectors, three or four justices of the
peace, a like number of constables, perhaps best of all, up to 17 highway
overseers of the poor were elected.
Later a health officer was elected or appointed.
Once the elder Benjamin Probasco was appointed pound master. If Ionia County’s other 15 townships and the several villages and cities can come up with a similar number of officials for the requested list, the customary 84 pages of the Kalamazoo publication might not hold all the information.
A CALL TO CITIZENS—AN EARLY CENTENNIAL EVENT
On Saturday October the fifth, 1974 at 10:30 in the Morning the HISTORICAL
SOCIETY OF GREATER LANSING will hold a DEDICATION OF MARKER to honor JOSHUA
SIMMONS, Continental Soldier in the American War for INDEPENDENCE.
Ceremonies will
be at the North Eagle Cemetery 2 & ½ miles north of the Towne of Eagle on Grange
Rd. The principal speaker will be
the Hon. James Brickly, Lt. Governor of the State of Michigan.
May we add that there is always room for one more in the cemetery, so
don’t fear that your prescence will overcrowd this ceremonial event.
RUBBINGS---BRINGING A BIT OF THE PAST INTO THE PRESENT
In the December
1973 RECOLLECTOR is the short article taken from the 1910 PORTLAND OBSERVER
about William Pangbourn, Revolutionary War soldier.
As we come closer to the National Bicentennial it is appropriate that we
should take notice of whatever connections we may have with our nation’s
beginnings. From a scrapbook IONIA
COUNTY NEWS clipping about the centennial celebration of Ionia’s settlement in
1833 the Daughters of the American Revolution, Stevens Thompson Mason Chapter of
Ionia reported recognizing the graves of two Revolutionary War soldiers in Ionia
County. One was that of William
Pangbourn and the other was of Jonathan Ingalls.
Ingalls died in
1843 and was buried on the farm of his son-in-law, John Tirrell.
Sebewa Township had not yet established a cemetery, so the choice of a
burial site was unlimited. In 1921
the D.A.R. erected suitable stone memorial to Jonathan Ingalls about a quarter
mile south of Sebewa Corners Church on the Keefer Highway near the burial site.
Interest in the
Pangbourn article finally triggered me to look for his cemetery in Ronald
Township. About 8 miles north of
Ionia on Stage Road near Woods Road is the little cemetery surrounded by hickory
and sumac where Pangbourn’s marker has stood for 122 years.
Ronald Township has kept the cemetery in neat condition and vandals have
not plied their trade.
I had made some
tombstone rubbings before, so I came supplied with a roll of paper and a well
soiled leather glove for rubbing the paper that was taped to the stone.
The inscription from the stone was soon legible on the paper in a
brownish tan from the glove. Lynn
and Ariel Morris were with me and while they were making a second rubbing, I
noticed a field of second cutting of alfalfa directly across the road.
Presently some farmer lost a handful of his hay crop and a bright green
rubbing became the property of Mrs. Morris.
Still in an
experimental mood, I stripped a handful of staghorn sumac leaves and made
another rubbing with the same tint of green chlorophyll as the alfalfa showed.
Since then I visited the Ingalls marker and made some rubbings of that.
One made with only slightly damp clay soil.
Another came as a rich gold from crumpled golden rod flowers.
By this time the season had changed so that the sumac lavos gave a
reddish purple.
The standard
practice in making stone rubbings is to use rice paper and a block of cobbler’s
wax for the coloring. If you wish
to experiment, you may have more fun using the materials at hand.
So far, my colors have not faded.
Surely other organic materials in season would give a variety of tints
and colors but if you have a sensitive nose, you might object to the haystack
smell that stays with the paper.
Many people have
seen these rubbings and, hopefully, are a little more aware of our country’s
Revolutionary War heritage. If you
do your genealogical work back 4 or 5 generations, your chances of finding a
Revolutionary War ancestor are good unless all your ancestry stemmed from the
big wave of immigration after 1850.
Five generations back give you 16 chances of having had a great great great
grandfather who participated in the separation of this country from Britain.
From WHAT IS A BOY WORTH? By Jerome
L. Reynolds—published 1910
In the early
forties, Charley Berry was the son of a leading merchant of the village of
Portland, Michigan. In those days
the winters were very cold and snows deep.
Ice would form to a great thickness, and the spring freshets, came, the
river became a raging current with floating cakes of ice of all sizes and
shapes. On one such occasion almost
the entire population of the little village was out to see
the roaring river with its fields of floating ice.
Charley Berry
was among the number and, like too many boys of his age, (six to eight years),
became too venturesome, lost his balance, and fell from the bridge, landing on a
small sized cake of ice barely large enough to support his weight.
It seemed as though every particular cake of ice was in a hurry to get to
the sea.
The river ran
nearly due north. Word was
immediately sent to his father, whose store was at the east end of the bridge,
that Charley was floating away. He
ran across the bridge and down the west bank until opposite his little so, but
dared not risk his own life in an effort to reach him on the ice.
He saw at a glance that if he called to him to leave the center of the
cake, which easily carried him, it would tip as he neared the edge, and let him
into the angry waters before he could reach another cake, which would mean
certain death.
There was
a large bend in the river two miles around, and only one and one half miles
across by wagon road. The moment
was one of intense excitement. What
was to be done must be done quickly.
The anxious father had taught his son to obey, and, above the rear of the
river and the bumping and cracking of the ice, he said “Charley, sit down.
We are going to try to save you down at the Milne farm at the other end
of the bend.”
A hurried
conversation had been held with his neighbors and a plan formed.
One, Luther Van Horn, who lived on the west bank, near the bridge, and
who had a fine canoe and was an expert in handling it, volunteered to make an
effort to reach the boy if they could reach the other end of the bend before he
floated by. A team and wagon was
pressed into service; quick hands loaded the little life-boat, and the race of
one and one-half miles for life against sure death, if it failed, began, and was
successfully made, when floating Charley and his anxious father came in sight,
Van Horn and his fork were there.
The bend in the
river had naturally carried the ice nearer the east bank all the way around and
made it more difficult for our hero to carry out his part of the plan of
salvation. But the moment for
action arrived. A delay of thirty
seconds would be fatal. A neighbor
of Van Horn assisted him in launching his little craft.
With strength born of the occasion, he seated himself in the little boat,
and straight as an arrow it shot out into the middle of the stream and into the
only open space of water leading toward the floating boy.
It was the intensest moment of his life.
Great fields of
floating ice were bearing down upon him.
If caught between them, his little shell would be crushed like an egg,
his own life in great peril, and the only hope of saving the boy would be lost.
The anxious father from the shore
watched every stroke of the oars. A
rift in the clouds sometimes lets down the mellow light of the moon just in
season to guild the belated traveler to his home.
So a fift in the icebergs left an open sea to the very one with its
precious load of living freight.
Our pair of
heroes now faced the difficult problem of getting safely back to land, which was
accomplished with a courage and skill that knows no failure.
The father until
now had borne the excitement and nervous strain like a man trained to the life
of a pioneer. Now he broke down and
wept like a child, and after suitable demonstrations of parental affection
towards his son, whom he regarded almost as one from the dead, wiped away his
tears and, turning to Mr. Van Horn, said “Luther, how much do I owe you?”
This is the question at the beginning of our story “What is a Boy Worth?”
“You don’t owe
me anything,” replied Mr. Van Horn.
“Yes, I do”,
said Mr. Berry, “You have saved my boy.
Come up to my store and help yourself.
Take anything you want; take all I have, and I’ll be satisfied.”
This was Mr.
Berry’s estimate. He had summed it
up. He was willing to begin life
all over again, if only he could have the companionship and help of his son.
But Luther Van Horn was too good a philanthropist to retract his first
statement. The party, now numbering
quite a portion of the village, returned, everyone calling at the Berry home to
congratulate the parents on the narrow escape of their son.
* * * * * * *
Many thrilling experiences came to those early pioneers.
One that impressed the writer very much, although but a lad, was the fact
that every now and then a boy or girl would wander from their home and get lost
in the timber; or some boy or older girl would wander from their home and get
lost in the timber; or some boy of older growth, whose duty it was to “fetch”
home a much-needed cow, would follow the tinkle of her bell until the patient
animal stopped and laid down for the night, and darkness coming on, he would
find himself traveling in a circle, unable to find his way out of the forest;
or, some belated traveler, finding settlements farther apart than he expected,
or half through, with daylight fading into darkness, finds himself unable to
follow the blazed trail, the only path out of the woods.
In one or all of these cases the lost one would send up a shout for help.
The settlers
understood these calls and had provided ample means for their relief.
Every family had secured a horn, commonly used to call their men folks to
their meals; but if one was heard at an unusual hour, day or night, it meant
that someone needed help. The next
neighbor took it up, and soon the woods for miles around were filled with
answering horns. But light was as
much needed as sound, to lead the lookers to the lost.
Flash-lights were not yet invented, and such an article as a railroad
lantern was unknown. The only one
known to them being the old tin one, punched full of holes, with a tallow candle
inside, which cut a sorry figure in the dense darkness of a Michigan forest.
But they were
equal to the emergency, and many had provided material for torches from the
shell-bark hickory or from cedar trees, which were plentiful in some parts of
the timber. Thus equipped, they
sallied forth, and with such signal success that we cannot recall a single
instance in which they failed to find the object of their search, and although
sixty years have come and gone, we all remember with what good cheer they
welcomed the strangers to their humble homes, gave them free entertainment
overnight, and sent them on their way rejoicing in the morning.
They put a true value on human life, and could correctly answer our
questions, “WHAT IS A BOY WORTH?”
1880 U.S. CENSUS:
COOK, CHARLES 27, MI NY NY, EMORY
V. (wife) 22, OH MA OH, Mabel
11/12, MI MI OH.
ESTEP, CHARLES A. 27, MI MD OH,
FLORA E. 22, MI I NY.
MARTIN, ANDREW H. 39, OH NY E;
(doctor), ABBIE 29, ME ME ME,
Clinton 9, MI OH ME
BALDWIN, GEORGE 45, NY NY NY,
ESTHER 38, OH CT CT, Mary
18, MI NY OH, Charlie E. 13,
OH NY OH, Edson P. 5, MI NY OH,
Jessie M. 1, MI NY OH/
BALDWIN, RUSH P. 38, OH NY NY,
PHOEBE M. 32, OH E MA, Addie C.
11, MI OH OH, Clarence E. 8,
MI OH OH, Ella E. 6, MI OH OH,
MATILDA (mother) 67, NY, WHITE, ELIZA (aunt) 73, NY
LAPO, RUBEN 48, MD MD MD, ALICE 42,
OH PA VA, Orris A. 18, MI MD OH,
GUY 14, MI MD OH
HARPER, CHARLES M. 22, MI PA NY,
BLANCHE B. 21, OH NY OH, Vernie H?,
11 MI MI OH, FRAYER, HIRAM ½ brother
16, MI NY NY
FREEHOUSE, EDWARD 21, MI G NY,
MINNIE 15, IL PA IL, Floyd H.
6/12, MI MI IL, MINNIE 15,
IL PA IL, Floyd H. 6/12, MI MI IL,
FOSTER, HATTIE 8, IL NY IL.
MCALISTER, JOHN 41, OH NY OH,
RACHEL A. 32, OH OH VA, Jessie
4, MI OH OH, McCONNEL, JENNIE 22, OH OH VA.
LEAK, THOMAS 48, E E E, ELIZABETH
47, PA I NY, Christopher 18,
IN E PA, William H. 15, IN E PA,
CARN, IDA L. (ser) 14, MI G OH, MARY (mother)
82, E E E, BOND, REBECCA 40, sis, 40, E E E.
LEAK, DAVID 48, E E E, MARY A.
45, E E E, Edwin 20, NY E E,
Lillie L. 15, NY E E, Esther A.
12, MI E E, Elizabeth M. 9,
MI E E, Emma 8, MI E E, David
5, MI E E, Samuel 2, MI E E.
WILLIAMS, HARMON 41,
OH VT VT, AMANDA 37, PA NY
NY, Eva W. 12, MI OH PA, Etta D.
12, MI OH PA, George V. 7,
MI OH PA.
NICHOL, PHILLIP S. 57, PA PA PA,
BETSY 56, NY NY NY.
CLARK, DAVID 27, PA PA PA, ELLA
17 MI MI PA.
BROWN, HOMER 35, MI PA NY,
CATHERINE 29, PA PA NY, JANE
(mother) 75, NY PA VT.
GODDARD, DANIEL 49,
NY MA MA, MARY 32, IN OH OH,
FOX, GEORGE servant
39, MI CT C.
INGALL, WILLIAM 44, E E E, SARAH M.
29, MI NY G, Emma R. 10, MI
E MI, Dese (son) 6, MI E MI, Carrie
M. 5, MI E MI, Mattie M.
4, MI E MI, Fede (son) 2, MI
E MI.
HENRY, JOSHUA 36, VA OH PA, Maggie
(niece) 23, VA OH OH, Lydia
11, MI OH - , William 8, MI
OH -, Cora 4, MI OH -, Edith
2, MI OH -, BOND, JAMES servant
16, N?, E E.
MARTIN, DANIEL 26, OH NY PA,
ROSINA. S. 24, MI NY RI, Addie
3 days, MI OH MI.
MARTIN, THOMAS B. 28, OH NY PA,
ANNA 25, OH PA PA, William
5, MI OH OH.
DETTERICK, MARK MI PA PA, MINNIE
30, G G G, Nellie 17, MI G MI, Rosina
16, MI G MI, Melvin 9, MI G
MI, Gracie 5, MI G MI, Hettis
2, MI G MI.
SNYDER, JOSEPH 25, IN OH OH, SOPHIA
18, OH PA PA.
SWEITZER, FERDINAND 56, G G G,
HENRIETTA 51, PA PA G, Henrietta
16, OH G PA, William H. 16,
OH G PA, Artie 13, MI G PA, FENDER,
LOUIS P. 21, MI G PA, DAVIDSON,
GEORGE (adopted) 10, OH OH OH.
KING, JACOB G. 34, OH OH VA, SARAH
M. 29, OH OH OH, Edwin C.
7, MI OH OH.
LUDWIG, WARREN 23, OH PA PA,
LUCINDA 25, OH G PA, Baby Boy
11/12, MI OH OH.
AUNGST, HENRY 55, OH VA PA, SARAH
51, E E E, Charles
24, OH OH 3, Daniel 16, IN
OH E, Andrew J. 13, IN OH E, Mary
10, IN OH E, Ruth—seamstress
30, OH OH E.
KIMMEL, AMOS 21, OH OH OH, ROSA
19, MI MD MD.
TORPY, WILLIS G. 50, NY MA CT,
SYBIL 54, RI RI RI., Anson
20, MI NY RI, Ella 16, MI NY
RI, Emma 16, MI NY RI, Willis J.
14, MI NY RI, Joel 12, MI NY
RI. DAVIS, SOPHIA, mother
80, RI RI RI.
GODDARD, RUFUS 47, NY MA MA, MARTHA
57, MI MD I, Loia L. 9, MI
NY MI, Ida E. 7, MI NY MI,
FREEHOUSE, JOHN H. 23, MI SW SW.
COLE, JOHN W. 52, PA PA PA,
ELIZABETH 43, PA PA PA, William C.
22, PA PA PA, Nelson M. 19,
PA PA PA, Ida E. 12, PA PA PA.
OTTO, STEPHEN 25, MI NY NY, HANNAH
19, MI NY NY, William S.
7/12, MI MI MI.
EVANS, ALONZO 36,
NY NY NY, EMMA A. 30, OH E MA.
PIERCE, WM. H. 31, OH NY PA, NANCY
L. 32, OH, Mary A.
2, MI OH OH, Edith 6 days MI
OH OH, ESTABROOK, GENESA 47, NY F
F, SEAMAN, GEORGE 45, NY F F.
SINDLINGER, JACOB 59, G G G, BARBRA
41, G G G, Esther 7, MI G
G., Teresa 5, MI G G.
WILKINSON, WM. W. 60, VT VT VT,
ANNA E. 58, NY MA MA, Hattie L.
12, MI NY NY.
WILKINSON, ROSWELL 27, NY VT NY,
ALLIE 19, OH OH OH, Bessie
2, MI NY OH.
STIMSON, LAFAYETTE 49, NY MA MA,
CARRIE 40 OH VT CT.
BIDWELL, JASPER -, IN VT CT, AMANDA
28, MI IN MI, Grace 8, MI IN
MI, Grace 8, MI IN MI, Alma
6, MI IN MI, Muriel 2, MI IN
MI, Claude 5/12
MI IN MI.
EARTHMAN, MICHAEL 51, G G G, HANNAH
C. 49, G G G, John 19, NY G G, Mary
17, NY G G, Rose 15, MI G G,
Frank 12, MI G G, Lena
9, MI G G, George 3, MI G G.
MCCLELLAND, JAMES 48, PA PA PA,
MARIA L. 30, NY NY NY, Henry
17, IN PA OH, Wilton A. 12,
MI PA OH, Willis E. 12 MI PA OH,
BUSLER, GEORGE—servant 27, IN PA
OH.
SHOWERMAN, ORLANDO 41, NY NY NY,
EMILY M. 38, VT ME VT, Ellen A.
10, MI NY VT, Elmer 8, MI NY VT, Ernest O.
4, MI NY VT, Myrtle 1, MI NY
VT, JEWELL, IDA S. 17,
sis-in-law 20, MI ME VT.
SMITH, HANNAH J. 58, NY PA NY, Ida
F. 17, MI NY NY.
HYTT, KATIE 57, NY NY NY, Eliza
8, MI OH MI; DILLENBACK, ALVIRUM 81, NY NY NY, LAKE, EBENEZER
60, NY RI NY.
GREEN, ANSON 34, OH OH OH, ANNA E.
32, MI NY NY, Ai 8, MI NY
NY, John 5, MI NY NY, Guy A. 2, MI
NY MI
OLRY, LEWIS A. 34, OH OH OH, LOUISA
J. 25, NY NY NY, Mary M. –niece-,
18, MI OH MI, AVES, JOHN servant-, 19, NY E E, WYMAN, SABRA, -teacher-, 25, VT
VT VT.
DEATSMAN, CHARLES 49, G G G,
ELIZABETH 48, PA PA PA, John
20, OH G PA, Josephine 18, OH G PA, Farley
16, OH G PA, Martha J. 18,
OH G PA, Eli S. 13, OH G PA, Alva
11, MI G PA, Rhoda 3, MI G
PA.
BROWN, IRVING A. 33, MI NY NY,
DELIA 31, MI MA NY, Stacy 7, MI MI
NY, STACY, JOHN w. Fatherinlaw, 68, MI MI NY, ELIJAH mother-in-law
58, NY NY NY, PHETTYPLACE, MELVINA mother 69, NY NY NY, TRUXTON, ALLEN
–servant- 23, IN, LIZZIE E. –servant-, 16.
PIKE, ASA 48, OH NY OH, SARAH
28, MI PA VT, William 4, MI
OH MI, Olive 8/12 MI OH MI, PIKE,
EMANUAL –brother-, 35 OH NY OH.
PIKE, SAMUEL 30, OH NY OH, MARY
–mother- 64, OH OH OH.
WOOD, PAUL 29, C E E, MATILDA
28, MI NY NY, PETRIE, MARY J.
18, NY NY NY.
TERRY, LLYMAN 26, OH OH OH, JENNIE
22, PA PA PA.
OLRY, JOHN 39, OH F F, LAURA
24, MI I NY, Hattie 7, MI OH
MI, William – brother -, 42, OH F F.
RALSTON, ANDREW M. 50, VA VA VA,
KATHRYN 44, OH VY PA, Gideon D.
21, MI VA OH, Florence 17,
MI VA OH, Charles M. 13, OH VA OH,
Joseph G. 11, MI VA OH, Walter E.
8, MI VA OH.
ESTEP, WILLIAM 55, MD MD MD,
REBECCA 48, OH PA OH, Bion
22, MI MD OH, Ward B. 19, MI
MD OH, Maud E. 13, MI MD OH, Dora
B. 9, MI MD OH.
LAPO, ALONZO P. 20, MI NY NY, CORA
L. 19, MI NY MI, BETTS, JOHN
63, E E E, TORPY, LEONORA 43, C C C, Leander –daughter- 9, MI NY C,
Gracie M. 5, MI E C.
TRUXTON, EDW. A. 47, NY S VT, RUTH
E. 41, IN MA VT, Newton D.
17, MI NY IN, Jessie R. 10, MI NY IN, Lucy L.
7, MI NY IN, Letha G. 3, MI
NY IN.
HAMMOND, JOHN 42, MI NY NY,
PHOEBE A. 38, OH MA NY,
Teresa A. 7, MI MI OH, CARPENTER,
CHARLOTTE 69, (mother-in-law) NY MA MA.
BRIGGS, JOHN C. 50, MA MA MA,
SUSANNAH 45, OH PA PA, William 28,
OH MA OH, Sarah 20, OH MA OH, Dedia
13, MI MA OH, Charles 17, OH MA OH, Dora
13, MI MA OH, Addin 8, MI MA OH, Bertha, 6, MA OH, Myrta
2, MI MA OH, Manna 7/12, MI
MA OH, TODD, SANFORD, 23, OH OH OH.
FIGG, ALBERT 30, OH, MARY 26, OH OH
PA, David 25, OH OH MD.
HALLADAY, ABEL C. 51, VT VT VT,
ROSABELLA 46, VT VT VT, Edgar G.
28, MA VT VT, Alice R. 19, MA VT
VT, Grace L.
13, MI VT VT, DAVIS, JESSIE F.
18, IN PA OH.
DILLEY, HENRY 44, E E E, ANNE 41, E
E E, Emily 18, IL E E, Sarah A.
13, MI E E, Jennie M. 11, MI
E E,) Hannah F. 7, MI E E, MI E E,
Ira T. 1, MI E E.
METCALF, WILLIAM 73, NY NY PA,
ANGELINE 65, NY VT VT.
GREGG, ROBERT H. 29, MI MA MA, ANNA
M. 29, OH PA OH, Rosa
5, MI MI OH, George 2, MI MI OH, Joseph (brother)
34, MI MA MA.
WHITE, LILLIANS 39, OH NY NY, MARY
H. 32, MI NY NY.
ROGERS, WILLIAM H. 23, MI NY VT.,
MARTHA 23, MI VT NY, HARTWELL,
Marvel 11, NY NY NY,
Peling, Ransler
51, NY NY NY.
PALMETER, PETER 44, NY VT C, ANNA
M. 36, IL KY OH, Jay D.
14, IL NY IL, Milton D. 12,
MI NY IL, William 10, MI NY IL,
Alonzo 8, MI NY IL, Bert
6, MI NY NY, Mary E. 4, MI
NY NY, Rosia B. 2, MI NY IL.
PALMETER, JAY 25, MI VT C, ADELLA
20, OH OH OH, Bertha 11/12
MI MI OH.
MORRICE, WM. A. 35 OH OH PA, SARAH
E. 31, OH MD OH, Homer R.
2, MI OH OH.
PECK, AUSTIN 39, PA CT VT, ROSELLA
37, NY NY NY, CARL, CHARLOTTE (adopted)
8, MI NY MI.
WIRT, DURS 47, SW SW SW, SUSAN 34,
OH PA PA, John W. 12, MI SW OH,
Jacob E. 10, MI SW OH, George R.
8, MI SW OH, Charles O. 5,
MI SW OH, Dorsey E. 3, MI SW OH.
WALKER, WILLIAM 35, IN MD MD, IVY
34, OH OH OH, Orlow W. 8, IN IN O,
Charles B. MI IN OH, SHAFER, MARY –
old maid 52, OH MD MD.
BLISS, SAMUEL 53, MA E MA, MARY A.
51, MA CT MA, Eugene P. 22,
MI MA MA, Lottie M. 18, MI MA MA.
STINCHCOMB, GIDEON 24, OH OH PA,
IDA E. 24, MI MA MA.
PEABODY, JASON 44,
NH NH NH, ANGELINE 42, MI NY
I, Lyda 16, MI NH MI, Jason
14, MI NY MI, Frank 10, MI NH MI, Claude
6, MI NH MI, Hannah – mother - 75, NH NH NH, YAW, WILSON
40, OH NY NY.
A LETTER FROM JOSEPHINE (DORIN) McWHORTER
I spent most of
my early years at Sebewa Corners until I was married and went to live in
Sunfield Township. I am now a widow
and live at Grand Ledge. My father
was Ellis Dorin and he and my mother and a brother are buried in the east Sebewa
cemetery.
In one of the
issues of THE SEBEWA RECOLLECTOR I saw there was a story about “Praying
Charlie”. He lived at one time in
an old sugar shanty in the woods of our farm.
(This is the farm where Jeff Sandborn now lives just north of Sebewa
Corners). My father cut off the
timber in a part of the wood lot
And he told Charlie he would have to move but he continued to stay there until
the day my father and an uncle began tearing down the place right over his head;
then he pulled up stakes and left.
I think he was
one of the oddest persons I ever knew and the young men around at that time
would gather around his place in the dark and call out all kinds of threats and
throw rocks at the building. He
would come racing up to our house and wake my father in the middle of the night
and would want him to go back to the woods with him and take his gun.
My dad would talk to him and get him calmed down and tell him the boys
wouldn’t harm him and that they were only teasing him and he should not let them
know they were bothering him. They
would soon tire of the sport they were having with him.
As I recall he
finally had to be taken to the then Ionia County Poor House and the story went
that they cleaned Charlie up and put clean clothes on him, cut his hair and
shaved him. It killed him, the
story went, but he was a very old man.
I suppose there was a Potter’s Field where they buried such as him.
No one ever knew how old he was or where he really came from.
There was
another very strange old man who lived at Sebewa Corners.
His name was Tom Sleight and lived in pretty sordid conditions.
I can remember many times of his going back in the middle of the woods
and coming to our door with a pailful of blackberries he had picked and would
want my mother to take the berries and bake him a pie.
As I recall I think he had never married and I don’t remember of his
death or where he was buried but as his little shack was on the Danby side of
the road at the Corners, I presume he was buried in the Danby Cemetery.
–Josephine McWhorter.
PLANS FOR BICENTENNIAL ACTIVITIES MOVE AHEAD
In the format
suggested by the AMERICAN REVOLUTION BICENTENNIAL ADMINISTRACTION and the
MICHIGAN AMERICAN REVOLUTION BICENTENNIAL COMISSION, bicentennial committees
have been formed in both Ionia and Eaton counties.
The function of the count committees is generally to coordinate and
encourage local celebrations and commemorative projects for the decade of
1970-1980 as the 200th anniversary of the founding of these United
States.
The county
committees will try to aid in giving a bicentennial flavor to the traditional
fairs, farmers picnics, Labor Day events, fish fries or whatever form the local
festive occasions take. Emphasis
will be on our historical heritage, celebrations and defining and working toward
community goals. In Ionia County
Marge Smith of Portland is committee chairman, Monroe MacPherson of Ionia is
co-chairman and Lee Satterlee of Belding is vice chairman.
In Eaton County Phil Derland of Delta Township near Grand Ledge is
Chairman and Marilyn Frankenstein of Bellvue is vice chairman.
Watch your news
sources for developments.
PUBLIC DIARY
If you are in
the 18 and younger group, perhaps a good many of all your comings and goings and
the rest of the things that come under the heading of “local news” are now a
part of a permanent record in the Sunfield District Library.
From a gift by the late Maruerite Satterly of the back issues of THE
SUNFIELD SENTINEL and the generous supplementing of the missing issues by John
and Gloria Nelson, the Sunfield Historical Society has now completed collecting
the SUNFIELD SENTINEL for the years 1956-1974, bound them into annual volumes
and made them available for public reference at the Sunfield District Library.
Of course, the
fragile pages of newsprint do not allow constant or rough handling.
However, when you need to refer to an item that was likely in print in
the SENTINAL during those years, you should feel free to make use of this
reference source.
DEATHS FOR THE PERIOD.
Recent deaths
have been those of Mrs. Ethel Campbell of Sunfield and later Lake Odessa and of
Royce Merrill of Sebewa Corners.
CENSUS
With the four
pages of the 1880 Sebewa census included in this issue and one more installment
for the December issue, we shall have that huge cat off our backs.
It is hoped you have occasion to refer to it from time to time.
FROM: The Sebewa Recollector, Robert W. Gierman, Editor, R 1, Portland, Michigan 48875
Last update October 20, 2021 |
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