James T. & Fannie M. (Randall) Grinnell of Convis Township

How wonderful it is to use the web when searching for information on your ancestors. You never know what you will discover.

Several months ago, I googled my great-grandfathers name--James T. Grinnell--and to my surprise I found a posting on a bulletin board. The person wrote that her family had something of interest to a descendant. So, I sent a message off to the author of the posting. Turns out that her mother had salvaged a group of correspondence from an auction years ago and were interesting in tracking down a family member to give the collection too.

I'm happy to report that Darla (the author of the bulletin board posting) directed her neice, Ashley to send the package of letters to me. They arrived two weeks ago and it has been such fun reading and sorting these treasures out. In all there are over 65 individual letters that were sent to James and Fannie over the time period of 1869 to 1892. Most of them were from relatives that moved away from their original home in Convis Township, Calhoun County, Michigan. Some of these relatives ended up in Kansas and Wisconsin. Additionally, James received letters from old school chums who were living in Oregon and Washington. Not only were there letters in the bunch but also a speech James had delivered at the Grange Hall in 1875 and a short composition on "Conversation" that Fannie had composed as a school girl.

What a treasure trove! I am so honored that Darla, Ashley and their family placed these valuable family archives in my care. I will attempt to transcribe and post some of the more interesting letters in the future. Until then, I hope you all will join in my excitement.

Pictured above is the James and Fannie Grinnell family taken about 1897. Here is a little bit about them:

James Talcot Grinnell (1850-1933), son of Ezra Grinnell and Charlotte Murray,
he married on December 16, 1875 Miss Fannie Maria Randall (1857-1933), the daughter of Theodore Randall and Maria Detterich.

Their Children were:

Eva Maria Grinnell Walkinshaw (1877-1965)
Amos Randall Grinnell (1880-1942)
Floyd James Grinnell (1882-1972)
Charlotte Arena Grinnell (1885-1938)

Harry Duane Grinnell (1892-1972)

Donald Ivan Grinnell (1895-1971)