Memorial Day 2012

Memorial Day weekend is here. My perception of this holiday has changed since I began researching my family history. One ancestor stands out in my mind as an American who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. That person is my second great grandfather Justice A Irish. Justice was born in Otsego, New York in 1822 and was one of 9 children born to Charles and Amy Irish.Justice and his family moved to Michigan some time shortly before 1860 settling in Hartford, VanBuren Co., Michigan.  During the Civil War, Justice volunteered to join the 28th Michigan Infantry in 1864. By this time the war was going on 4 years. His brothers Robert and Royal had already served. Robert enlisted in October of 1861 with the Birge's Western Sharpshooters and his success in serving in this effort may have encouraged Justice to do the same. Upon enlistment, Justice was 42, married with 4 children to care for. It was quite a chance to put country before family, and that's just what he did.

In September of 1864 Justice joined the Civil War to preserve the union. Just 6 months after beginning his tour of duty he contracted Typhoid Fever and was sent to D.C. for recovery. Unfortunately recovery never came for  Justice. He died of his disease in July of 1865.

He is buried at Pioneer Cemetery (named Hartford Cemetery today) in Hartford, VanBuren Co., Michigan. 



Another enlistee that comes to mind is Grandpa Nichols' great grandfather Robert Lanning. The story goes that his enlisment was also voluntary, an agreement between him and a drafted individual that he would go in place of this man if he promised to care for Robert's family while Robert served in the other man's place (And that he beat the crap out of him when he didn't keep his promise) Robert was 46 when he agreed to this. Like Justice, he was a family man with young children still at home to care for. He served in the 88th Indiana Infantry in August of 1862. In December of 1862 he was taken prisoner at Murfreesburo, Tennesee during the Battle of Stone River. He was held by the Confederates until February of 1863. He was not treated well during his captivity and suffered the results of this treatment for the rest of his life. His injuries resulted in an ivalid pension from the government. Robert lived to the ripe old age of 88 and died in October of 1905. He is buried in Maple Lawn Cemetery in Pennville, Jay Co.,Indiana.

 

So, this year while you fire up the barbeque take some time to remember the reason why we can sit back and relax and enjoy this wonderful holiday and how it came about. Please don't forget the true meaning. I wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day!!

Looking For Lydia

Searching for my 2nd great grandmother Lydia Null (Nichols) today. I knew where she was born, I knew who her parents were and where they are laid to rest. I assumed she died at an early age but I didn't know where she was, or what year she died. The last record I found of her and her husband James Thomas Nichols was in Greenbush, Warren, Illinois in 1870.

I decided to search findagrave.com . (This site combined with other genealogical websites are a great resource for information. It too is based on information and photos added by volunteers. You can even make a photo request for kin who are interned too far away for you to pay respects to). Anyway, I figured I would just search all of Illinois for her. So I searched just the surname 'Nichols' and I found her. She was in the Prairie City Cemetery in McDonough County, Illinois which is just to the south of Greenbush. And found a photo too,with information about James T.'s puchase of half of  lot# 18 in block#3 on April 5, 1871 just prior to her death.


Lydia Null (Nichols)

 Also in the purchased cemetery lot include a Joel Nichols spelled 'Nickols' born 1800 and his wife Sarah born in 1806. Could this be J.T's parents? There is also another Joel Nickols  born in 1846, a brother perhaps? I did some hunting around on Ancestry and found Joel and his wife Sarah in Greenbush, Warren, Illinios where I had found J.T. and Lydia living in 1870. Upon looking over that record again I found them living next or near them. They are family but I can't positively identify them as the parents  of J.T. yet, I will try to contact the person that took the photos. Hopefully they will know more.

Is this were J.T.'s Parents are laid to rest? Who is Joel Nichols?

The Lanning/ Nichols Connection

Amos and Clara Lanning and family

The information that my grandma Nichols had left behind, as I have mentioned before, is precious. It has simple mentions of people that has been a springboard in finding more information through records via the Internet resources available today. My knowledge of the Lanning family was very limited prior to my genealogical searches. I knew only that my great grandmother's name was Sarah Lanning, my grandfather Oscar Nichols' mother. And Sarah's father Amos was mentioned in her memoirs.


Clara and Amos Lanning (Antrim, Michigan)

 I added Amos's name to my tree on Ancestry.com and began looking for records. I figured the year that the family had relocated to Antrim, Michigan in the late 1800's. Grandma said they worked in the  Stern's logging camp, and a camp was just what it was. They lived in shacks made of  plywood  and covered in tar paper that could be torn down and reassembled at a moments notice because they would move from one location to another to access new areas of the forest. This way of living was carried on through all seasons of the year, even the deepest parts of winter. My grandmother told of living in one of these 'shanties' as she called it and mentioned  how the snow and winter wind would make it's way to the inside of their temporary shelter. Northern Michigan is notorious for it's harsh winter weather so I can imagine some pretty miserable living during those times.
 Beyond what grandma had left behind I had very little information about the Lanning clan and Amos was pretty much a mystery. I wasn't able to find any information before 1880 on him. I knew the Lannings settled in Indiana but I found no Amos Lanning that matched him in records. I was getting frustrated and decided to Google "Amos and Clara Lanning" to see what the search engines could find for me. I read a message or 'quirey' that a guy named Joe Costa left on an Indiana genealogical forum. I responded to his message by email and told him I thought he was talking about my ancestors. Joe's great grandfather was my great grandmother's brother (Lawrence Lanning) so it is that we are 3rd cousins.

Lawrence Lanning (Sarah's brother)

Joe had done more research than I had and had a bit more information to share with me. There were lots of Lannings in Indiana and they all lived in the Blackford, and Jay County areas. It was hard to know who was who so Joe hired a researcher to help.



Sarah Lanning, my maternal great grandmother


As information was passed to him by the researcher he emailed me found documents and pictures taken. Also old family photos shared by other distant cousins still residing in the Kalkaska area today.



A photo of Robert Lanning's headstone and Civil War marker

      The researcher ironed out all the questions that we had about who was who. It is that Robert Lanning is the father of Amos. And Robert's wife, and mother of Amos was Mary Eloisa Schoonover. Mary died in 1864 and Robert married 3 other ladies in his lifetime after her passing.
    Robert was born in Ohio in 1817. He married Mary in 1848 in Blackford Co., Indiana. In 1862 Robert enlisted with the 88th Indiana Union Infantry and fought in the Civil War. Robert was taken prisoner by the Confederates in Dec. of 1862 at Murfreesboro, Tennesee. He was treated badly and suffered permanent ailments and resulted in an invalid pension from the government. An affidavit submitted by Uriah Johnson (Clara Johnson Lanning's father) gave evidence of his inability to perform chores on his farm and that he needed help from Uriah quite often. Also, the family story goes that Robert volunteered to serve in the place of a man he knew that was drafted with the promise that this guy would care for his family while he was away. The man didn't live up to his promise so Robert beat the snot out of the guy.






A business directory found from 1897 shows Amos, Robert, and several other Lannings and their occupations.

    Robert died in October of 1905. The names and some information about Robert's parents was found. His father was Ezekial Lanning born in Pennsylvania in 1790, and his wife Louise (Maiden name not known).
When Ezekial died is not known, his wife Louise is not found either. It appears that Ezekial married more than once, a headstone in a Trenton, Blackford Co. cemetery was found of a Jane Lanning and it says she is Ezekial's wife.
Not much is known about Ezekial although it was discovered that he had a brother named Robert who joined him in purchase of land with the intent of building a town. The township still exists but the grand town that they invisioned apparently did not happen.






big plans for the new town of Trenton, Indiana

  
The earliest Lanning ancestor known (Ezekial's father) was named Robert born in 1730 in New Jersey. I have found information submitted by others on Ancestry.com that have more generations but they haven't any documentation to prove the relation...so for now we stop here. :)

Our Irish Connection

 Otto Schelske married Ettie Irish and Ettie had been married 3 times prior to meeting Otto and they tied the knot in March of 1889 in VanBuren, Michigan. A short time after the birth of their first born William Schelske was in November of that same year. And a short time after that they made the move to the north country of Antrim and Kalkaska Counties.



Marriage Record (click on image to enlarge)


Ettie's family was from Orleans County, New York. Her father was Justice Augustus Irish born in Otsego County, New York in February of 1822 to Charles Irish and Amy Anna Brown. Ettie's mother was Delila Ann Irish (and yes, her maiden name was Irish) born in July 1822 in New York to Job Irish and Elizabeth Bear.


Delila's parents according to Ettie Schelske

  Justice Irish and Delilah were married in Clarkson, Monroe Co., New York on August 5, 1846. Some time before 1860 they moved, with what seems to be the entire Irish family to VanBuren County, Michigan. The family is found in Bangor Twp. in the federal census 1860. Justice Irish enlisted in the volunteer regiment of Company G, Twenty Eighth Infantry on September 1, 1864 at Arlington , for 3 years at the age of 42. In a wild guess about why a 42 year old man would get invalved in this event I suppose he was encouraged to join in the war effort by his brother Robert who was a corporal in the Birge's Western Sharpshooters and had been invalved in the war from October of 1861.

Descriptive muster roll for Justice Irish.

Justice's experience with this venture was not so fortunate. During his tour of duty he contracted Typhoid Fever and was discharged June 23,1865. He had been sick since February so my guess is they sent him home to either recover or die. Unfortunately he died on July 2, 1865 and was buried at Pioneer Cemetery at Hartford, VanBuren County. I have had intentions of getting down there to pay my respects but I don't think he has a headstone. If this is true, I may have to do something about that. I have included a picture of Justice's muster roll, it's my favorite document because although I don't have a picture of him there is a discription. I have, however, found a picture of Justice's brother Robert. Since brothers tend to share a likeness it might be something of what Justice looked like, maybe.



Justice's brother Robert Irish

Justice Irish's grave



Nichols Breakthrough!



Oscar and Delilah (Schelske) Nichols

 It's been 5 years since I started my search for ancestors. Some of it was very easy in that there was information already collected complete with documentation. Other lines that have been very difficult include the Nichols family. In starting I had only my grandfather Oscar Nichols, his father James William, and grandfather James Thomas. For years I had been told that grandpa (Oscar) was born on the 4th of July 1890. Recently I finally discovered his birth record that says he was born July 3, 1891. Which is a relief because I found Sarah (Lanning) and James' marriage record first that said they hitched up in Paulding, Ohio in September of 1890, and it meant that grandpa was 3mos. old...hmm. The discrepancies in the information I was finding with what I had been told about the family was a frustration. On James William's death certificate it states that he was born in Illinois, and that information was solid in all other records I found about him.


James William's parent's names as they appeared on 1912 marriage record



James William's parent's names on his death cert


 His mother's name was an even bigger mystery. So finding  him as a boy in Illinois or prior to living in Michigan seemed hopeless. James obviously had no idea where his parents were born and I kept thinking.."If I could only find a brother or cousin ". So I asked family if they had known if grandpa had a cousin or uncle/aunt mentioned over the years..."nope". I had almost given up, but recently at what my sisters and I call "Craft Night" we were going about our business (I was working on a cross stitch I started about 2 yrs. ago...LOL!) and my sister-in-law Mary mentioned that an old friend from the neighborhood that we knew had stopped by for a visit to my brother Leroy's house. I vaguely remembered her and I asked more about who she was and Mary said she was the grand-daughter to grandpa Nichols' COUSIN Carrie. That brought me totally into the conversation and I said "Whaaat?". In addition to that Carrie was the subject to a cousin's lunch conversation between my brother Leroy and cousin Geraldine and she told him that she was related to us. To confirm this I emailed Geraldine and asked her what she knew about Carrie Nichols. She said she didn't know much other than Carrie was grandpa's (Oscar) cousin and her husband's name.So armed with this information I stared my investigation.  

Carrie's marriage record did not include her parents name...strike one, however her place of birth was listed as Indiana. I found her living in Jefferson, Allen Co., Indiana in 1910 and the father was listed as Irenes D. "Nickols". Remembering an 1870 census from Illinios that I suspected was my family I looked it up again. Listed are J. T. Nichols, Lydia, and James W., and the oldest child named Irenes D. So I followed Irenes some more and found he had married a Cora Croy in 1895 in Fort Wayne, Indiana...once again no parents listed.



James Thomas Nichols and family
1870 federal census
Greenbush, Warren, Illinios

 So, next I thought...well if Irenes spent time in Fort Wayne I might look for his parents in Allen Co. too. I added James Thomas's name to the search box on familysearch.org and it finally popped up before me. I sat with my mouth hanging open for a second and then a holler for joy! James T. Nichols and "Lydia" E. Null married in Fort Wayne Indiana in October of 1860. The record was a transcript of the original document but I have sent for the hard copy through the mail and still waiting for it's arrival.

Further investigation of Lydia's family history, I found another tree on Ancestry with more records to go with her. This tree had Lydia listed as a sister to their direct ancestor. Lydia's parent's names were George W. Null and her mother's first name was Sarah...her maiden name still a mystery. George Null was born in about 1801 in Pennsylvania, his wife Sarah listed as being born in Maryland. I searched Genweb and found their resting place in the IOOF Cemetery in New Haven, Allen County, Indiana and photos to go with. The best part about that is that their birth/death dates are on their stones. Now perhaps I can obtain death records that might include their parent's names...hopefully. I'm still searching for James Thomas and Lydia's resting places...more later.

George W. Null
Written on his stone: Asleep in Jesus blessed sleep
From which none ever wakes to weep
A calm and undisturbed repose
Unspoken by the last of foes




Sarah I. (maiden name unknown) Null
Written on her stone:  A precious one is from us gone
A voice we loved was stilled
A place is vacant in our home
Which never can be filled

"Up Home"

"Up Home" is what grandma Nichols called Kalkaska, Michigan. In her lifetime she had lived many places around Michigan and Wisconsin, but, Kalkaska was and always would be "home" to her. My earliest memories of traveling to this place are fuzzy and I remember the trip was a long one...2 and a half hours north of Muskegon. I haven't been there since I was a teen so this was something I really wanted to do. The weather in Muskegon was crappy and rainy but as we moved north the rain stopped and the clouds cleared enough to see the sun.



coon in a canoe

  My first stop when we got in town was McDonald's for a cup of coffee and a rest and to figure out what we wanted to do first.  I'm not usually thrilled to see taxidermy but I spied a raccoon in a canoe and it brought a smile. I suspect this fellow found one too many a garbage can in his day and it may have led to his current occupation as a guard of this drink dispenser.





Karen looking for maps at the library

  


Next stop was the Kalkaska Library to find cemetery maps. We were led to the basement where all the genealogical records where held. Found some information that was a great help although I didn't find everything I had hoped to. So from there we were off to Rapid River Twp. to Maple Grove Cemetery. My great grandma Ettie had 3 children that died in infancy. Grandma had told of where they were so I want to pay my respects. The town hasn't changed a whole lot since I had seen it last and Cedar St. still has some of the old buildings from long ago so that first trip though town was cool. Maple Grove was originally called 'Leetsville Cemetery' and it was the name that grandma had mentioned in her memoirs. The cemetery is very small and is a bit overgrown but not forgotten. It had a round-about in the middle with some plantings in the center of it. Also in the round-about is an old pump. We tried to see if it still worked, nothing came out so we gave up and decided to look for the Schelske babies. Looking to my left and to the edge of the cemetery I spied 3 little headstones and when we came closer I could see it was the babies eternally resting among the spring Phlox.



Arie, baby boy, and Ruby





The Phlox was everywhere and there where Lilac bushes that smelled wonderful. Among one of them I seen a headstone, I suspect from the 1870's or 1880's but I could not read what it said on it.

This cemetery has been transcribed but there are no pictures available so I took pictures of as many headstones as I could so I can submit them to Genweb's Tombstone Project. I know for me it has been a great help to find a picture or transcription of these because for someone researching their family history might not have an official record of when their ancestor was born or died...or where. 

headstone among the Lilac

I was surprised to see so many flowers growing everywhere, very pretty. At the edge of the cemetery there were Trillium and little purple flowers in the thick woods. It was so peaceful ,this place was truly a step back in time. I could imagine  the ceremony that took place here when baby Ruby died. In grandma's memoir she wrote:    "Grandma Irish told me I had a new baby sister named Ruby Odessa and she had been born two days after my birthday (June 16). Ruby was sickly and did not grow. She kept getting worse and the doctor did not know what to do for her. The doctor said she was dying of old age ( now they call it dehydration). Ruby only lived two months and I remember the long ride to the Leetsville Cemetery where she was buried beside her other little sister and brother ."



State Bank

After we had a look around and put flowers on the graves we left for town again. I had spied an antique store on the way though town so we stopped there. It was the old state bank, eh..the guy didn't have anything spectacular as far as antiques were concerned (a lot of antique reproductions) but we did find the bank volt, how cool! 





We had found another gift shop across the street but I was too lazy to take any pics and after all ,a gift shop is a gift shop. Karen bought some incense that was 10 for $1.00 and I found some earrings for a souvenir of our trip. Next stop was Big Boy's restaurant, we had the proverbial burger and fries with a soft drink, yum!



Karen robbing the bank !



About 3:30 I was ready for a rest, plus one of my favorite TV shows was on at 4:00 so we checked in to our hotel room and had a rest period until a bit after 5pm. I had promised my 3rd cousin Carol that if I ever made it to Kalkaska that I would find her great grandma Francis (Irish) Rennison in Evergreen Cemetery. (Francis was my great grandma Ettie's sister) I wasn't able to find a map of Evergreen, but I did get the section number where Francis and her husband John were laid to rest. When I got there I hadn't a clue of were to begin, it was a large cemetery. We decided to get out and walk around the grounds a bit, went thought a large portion of the rear of the place but no Francis. Even though we didn't find her it was filled with some really old burials with headstones that are superior to all of today, very artistic and conveys the dignity that everyone should have to honor the life that they lived. When 7:00pm came around my bad foot was hurting and I was ready to get dinner then call it a night. The hotel was the All Seasons Resort. It was a very nice looking room with 2 beds, TV, microwave oven, mini refrigerator. I had trouble sleeping because it wasn't my bed. And the walls were paper thin and I could hear the couple in the room next door..argh!! Other than that I have no complaints, morning included a free continental breakfast just off the lobby. At 8:30 I was ready to go back and find 'Aunt Frank'. I took one side of the cemetery and Karen tromped around on the other side. About a half an hour into that and I realized that I was getting nowhere. I heard a mower and I looked up and one of the caretakers was coming up the 2 track between the rows toward me so I waved my hand to catch his attention and he stopped.   I asked him if he knew where section 187 was and he said he didn't know but his boss would know so he went off to find the boss.  When he came back he had told me his boss was gone for a bit but he had a map in his hand and I climbed onto his little golf cart and he took me to the area where she would be.  We looked around for a while but still didn't find anything.   His boss finally came back and determined that Francis and her husband no longer have stones and he pointed to the spot where they were.   I took pictures of the surrounding area and drew my own map so that Carol would know the spot where her grandma was, I guess that's the best I can do.   My foot was sore again from all the walking on the uneven ground so we ended up at McDonald's again for a pit stop and some coffee before we head out of town to Oliver Twp.Cemetery where my grandma and grandpa are buried.  The trip out there was the long one I remember.

Cool Rd. looking east

         Cool Road is a long gravel road with rolling hills and farms.



Delilah and Oscar






Otto and Ettie

 

Delila Irish

  Also there is Otto and Ettie Schelske and Ettie's mother Delilah Irish. And also grandma's brother Lewis and his wife Norabelle. Grandpa's brother Homer is resting next to grandma Irish. Another sweet little country cemetery. So now we accomplished what we came to do and we are heading back home to Muskegon. I have seen the beauty of the land in Northern Michigan and I understand why it was so dear to Delilah. She loved the land and the people from "Up Home".

US 131 South heading back to Muskegon

Ettie Schelske

When I set out to find my genetic past 4 years ago I only knew what my mom had referred to my great grandparents as "Etta n' Otto", like they were Siamese twins, or one person...almost (it sounded like 'bread n' butter' to me). So I joined Ancestry.com and started a tree, first me, mom, grandma Nichols, and then great grandma "Etta". In looking for records to find out who this woman was I came across census reports that had her name listed as Ettie, Addie, Etta, and added them to my collection of information. Then I was directed toward something that suggested that her name was something else. On Ancestry.com they have a 'One World Tree' that you can check out. It directs you to other genealogy sites on the web. I came across 'Jane's Genealogy Jigsaw' on the free pages at Genweb.There I found an 'Amy Amoretta "Ettie" Irish who was the daughter of Justus and Delila, and she had been married many times...but no Otto, hmmm. Then I looked at the other children listed for Justus and Delila and found two names that I remembered was mentioned in my grandmother's memoirs, Francis "Frank" and Fanny (thank you, grandma and also to my cousin Geraldine for organizing grandma's hand written notes into a book). So decided to contact Jane and discuss the information she had there and it turns out indeed it was the 'Ettie' I was looking for! Most of the information I have about the Irish family came from her. Thank you, Jane. :)

Amy Amoretta Irish was born in Orleans Co., New York on May 26, 1854. She had 5 siblings. A brother named Eugine, born about 1846 and a sister Amanda Elizabeth born about 1848 (Not much is known a them, I assume they died young. They are found in the 1850 federal census New York, but disappear after that). A sister Mary Adelaide, born in 1852, New York. She died when she was 19 of Lung Fever. Francis Arabella, born in 1857, New York, died in 1927. And Fanny Sylvanna, born in VanBuren,Michigan in 1859, died in 1941.

Harry Slack

Ettie was married several times before she found Otto. Her first marriage to Arthur Everett in 1871 at the age of 16. They had twins, Isadore and Elanora Everett. They died young, Isadore at 6 mos., Elanora just short of her 2nd birthday. Ettie and Arthur divorced in 1875. Ettie's second marriage to Lorenzo McDougall in 1877, they had a daughter named Mertie in 1878 and after her birth she disappears, no death record found yet. And I don't know when Ettie and Lorenzo divorced yet. Another marriage in October of 1882 to Benjamin Slack, they had a son named Harry born in 1885. Nothing is known yet about Harry beyond 1930, he was last found in Washington state. Ettie's last marriage was to Otto Schelske in March of 1889.They remained together until Ettie's death of a heart attack on November 21, 1921. She is buried in Kalkaska Co., Michigan, Oliver Twp. Cemetery next to Otto who died in 1938.