Sunday, May 17, 2015

Jesse Carley (1883-1958) and Carley migration to Michigan


Jesse Carley was born this day, 17 May 1883 in Henrietta Township, near Munith, Michigan.  Today would have been his 132nd birthday.  Jesse was born on the Carley farm on Sayers Road where he lived his entire life.

This wonderful little portrait of Jesse was made by the Novelty Studio Co. in Jackson, Michigan and probably dates to about 1900, just five years before his marriage to Annie Smith (hope you read yesterday's post).

Now how do you suppose the Carley family came to settle in Michigan?

Jesse's grandfather, James Carley immigrated to the United States from Hastings in southern England at the age of 15 aboard the Obit, and arrived in New York on April 30, 1830 with his parents, James and Elizabeth Carley, his grandmother Mary Hunt Carley, and 5 or 6 of his siblings (only three are listed on the ships manifest, younger children were not always listed).

The Carley's would settle for the next 20 years in the Syracuse, NY where James would learn his fathers profession as an upholsterer.  It is probable that other Carley relatives immigrated and settled there prior the family of James and Elizabeth's voyage across the Atlantic.  But the family would not remain in NY, rather they all emigrated to Sacramento, California following the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill.  Sacramento at the time was called Fort Sutter.  By this time James, the younger, had become a man and married a neighbor, Ms. Julia Ann Hoyt and had started a family of his own.  By 1850, all the Carley's, including James, the younger, had left for California.  However, Julia Ann remained in Syracuse with her parents and her children for a short time.

Family tradition states that James did well in the gold fields, and wished to return to the east to be with his wife and five children.  He then left California, leaving his parents and his siblings in the growing City of Sacramento, where most of them would remain for generations.  In 1853, Julia Ann ventured to Michigan with her parents, children and several of her siblings to settle on property that her father, Rev. Keeler Hoyt, had purchased in the early 1840s situated in Section 19 of Waterloo Township. James would travel to rejoin his family now located in Michigan.

Within a short time of his arrival, James purchase a tract of farm land adjacent to his father-in-laws in Waterloo, not far from Portage Lake.  Judging from a 1858 plat map, it would appear that this tact would have only been about 20-30 acres of land, therefore, I would guess that was pretty small to raise enough crops to make a living for a family of seven.  By the outbreak of the American Civil War, James and his family had purchase a new farm tract only about a mile to the west, located in Section 23 of Henrietta Township.  Here, James and Julia would live out the remainder of their lives.

Oren A. Carley, Jesse's dad and James' second son, through the years enlarged the family's real estate holdings.  He would purchase an additional 50 acres from William E. Pickett and then about 40 acres across the road from Calvin Silsbee.  Ultimately, Oren Carley would own 156 acres in Section 23. The family would move to the house across Sayers Road sometime in the 1870's and this house was to become the permanent domicile for the next two generations of Carley's.  It was in this house that Jesse was born.  Oren continued to expand his real estate holdings by purchasing 80 acres in Section 14, located across Sayers road from the Kennedy School House (this would eventual be owned by Ed and Ede Carley).  He again purchased another 80 acre farm on Kennedy Road in Section 15 from C. M. Shearer (across the road from Pleasant Grove Cemetery).  In total, Oren's land holdings in Henrietta Township would include more than 300 acres.  Jesse would inherit all 156 acres in Section 23.

In England, the Carley's were considered "non-Conformists" because of they were members of the Wesleyan Methodist congregation.  When James, the elder, came to this country, he was known to have continued to preach as a laymen in what had become the Methodist Episcopal denomination in the United States.  Many of the Carley's continued to follow Methodism and were members of the Munith Church (today, its the Munith United Methodist Church).

Keeler Hoyt, the father of Julia Ann Carley, however was a reformer within the Methodist Episcopal denomination while still living in Syracuse.  An ardent abolitionist, Hoyt became a preacher in what was to become the Wesleyan Methodist denomination, a faith that traveled with him to Michigan.  It is know that a small band of Wesleyan's formed a congregation in Waterloo Township as early as 1853, but this religious society does not appear to have survived into the 20th century.  It was also during the 1850s that the Wesleyan's created a college for the education of young people at Leoni, Michigan, some 20 miles to the south of Waterloo Township.  We know from a newspaper account in 1856 of a Wesleyan Methodist preacher who was traveling through the western parts of the country met up with "old friend" Keeler Hoyt on his visit to the college at Leoni on his way back to Syracuse.  Knowing these tid bits of information, I've been on the hunt to discover whether Keeler Hoyt had any formal connection with the creation of the Wesleyan school at Leoni.

So, have we answered the question on how the Carley's came to live in Michigan?  Well, perhaps we know a little more about it, but I do wish to know what was the factors that motivated the Hoyt side of the family to relocate.  We have a good timeline here, but more digging is needed.

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Anna Smith Carley (1886-1981)

Born Annice Ann Smith on 16 May 1886 in rural Henrietta Township, Jackson County, Michigan, she would live to see more than 100 descendants brought into this world before her death at 94 years of age.  Throughout her life, she would be known as "Anna A." or simply by "Annie" to most of her family and friends, although she was named after her grandmother, Annice Ann Aldrich McCreery (1836-1924).

As a young girl, she attended the McCreery School, which was the first school in the township and built by her great grandfather, Joseph McCreery.  After her parents moved to a farm on Kennedy Road, she and her siblings would attend the Kennedy School.  Annie would become a teacher and taught for one year at the Holling School, a one roomed schoolhouse, located on Territorial Road in the northwest corner of Henrietta Township.  But her career would end when she became married to her former school mate, Jesse Carley on 16 August 1905.


Following her marriage to Jesse, Anna would reside at the Carley Farm are Sayers Road and for a time would include her in-laws Oren and Mary Carley.  Soon, Anna and Jesse would begin to have a family of their own, starting off with three daughters born in a row: Ila Pearl (1906), Iva May (1908) and Clara Bell (1909).  Soon these three would be a great help to their mother with cleaning, cooking and caring for their many younger siblings.


On the farm, the family would raise some livestock, such as cattle, pigs and chickens.  They also grew crops like corn and wheat.  Jesse's two older brothers, Edward and Alton both had farms adjacent to the Sayers Road homestead, and we assume that they all helped each other out when the time came for many hands to work the fields during harvest or with butchering.

The next four children to bless the Carley home were all boys: Oren D. (1912), Clifford (1916), J. Edwin (1917) and Lynn (1919), who undoubtedly became essential farm hands for their fathers growing farm operation.  The next decade would bring the final four siblings into the family, four girls: E. Ilene (1921), Esther (1922), Vera (1925), and Joyce (1927).

 The Carley's lived about 3 miles from the village of Munith, where uncle Ed Carley also operated a General Store and the rural telephone company.  They also attended the Methodist Church there.  To get to Munith for church activities or to see their friends they had to walk.  The most direct route to the village was walking along the Grand Trunk Railroad tracks that ran on the southern property border of the farm, only a short distance from their farmhouse.

Jesse and Anna wanted to keep their family close by and upon each of their children's marriages gave them 1 acre of land of the farm, where they could build a home and get a good start on life.  At least five of their children built homes on Sayers and Coon Hill Roads, adjacent to "Mother and Dads." 

Anna and Jesse would host many holiday's and other celebrations in their home during their lives.  But perhaps one of the most special was their Golden Wedding Anniversary in 1955.  Hundreds of their family and friends filled their home with good wishes and cheer.  Jesse would only survive three more years and died in the same home where he was brought into life in 1883.

Anna would remain in the farmhouse for a couple of more decades living on her own, but just a few years before her 90th Birthday, she found that it was becoming too difficult to manage on by herself.  Not long after she went to live with her daughter Iva, where she remained until her death as a result of a battle with cancer in 1981.

So today, we remember Anna Smith Carley on the 129th Anniversary of her birth.  Here is to a long and prosperous life!

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Farm Fires in Calhoun County, Summer of 1891.



I found a letter to James T. Grinnell of Convis Township from the Farmer’s Mutual Fire Insurance Co. of Calhoun in October, 1891.  It was a statement and bill which provided a list of farmers that had claims during the previous quarter that just happened to be the summer season. This was probably the height of bad weather that was the cause of so much damage to their homes, livestock and crops. Grinnell was insured for $750 at a cost of $75., I'm guessing that was a quarterly statement, although this is the only document from this company that I have located. 

Here is the list--

“Since the last Assessment of May, 1891, our Company has sustained and adjusted nineteen losses as follows:"

Jas. A. Kissenger, Leroy Twp., May 2, 1891—Damage to barn and carriage, Lightning
Arthur Crampton, Convis Twp., May 5, 1891—Contents of house burned. Cause unknown
Frank H. Long, Leroy Twp., June 3, 1891—Cow killed by lightning.
Robert C. Williams, Lee Twp., June 8, 1891—House and contents burned.  Supposed spark from chimney.
Norman Ellis, Fredonia Twp., June 19, 1891—Colt killed by lightning.
John H. Spencer, Leroy Twp., July 13, 1891—House burned.  Suppose spark from chimney.
H. W. Backofen, Lee Twp., July 18, 1891—Stack of wheat burned.  Incendiary
Chas. E. Woodliff, Homer Twp., July 29, 1891—Horse killed by lightning.
I.D. & B.F. Warner, Homer Twp., July 29, 1891—One cow and two sheep killed by lightning.
W.W. French, Tekonsha Twp., July 29, 1891—Three horses killed by lightning.
Wm. Krenerick, Clarence Twp., July 29, 1891—Horse killed by lightning.
Geo. R. Sanford, Tekonsha Twp., Aug. 1, 1891—Rooking chair and tidy damaged by fire.
Geo. W. Mellen, Athens Twp., Aug 2, 1891—House and contents damaged by fire.  Unknown.
G. W. Davis, Leroy Twp., Aug 7, 1891—Barn damaged by lightning.
Myron Snyder, Clarence Twp., Aug 9, 1891—Straw burned by lightning.
W. E. Thompson, Sheridan Twp., Aug. 9, 1891—House damaged by lightning.
J. C. Gutekurest, Fredonia Twp., Aug. 17, 1891—Colt killed by lightning.
P.I. Simons, Athens Twp., Sept. 19, 1891—Cow and calf killed and barn damaged by lightning.
W. B. Shepard Estate, Battle Creek, Sept. 22, 1891—Barn and contents burned. Incendiary.


Saturday, May 2, 2015

Mystery Photograph Revealed!

 Joseph Grinnell (1798-1883) with his daughter Caroline Grinnell Stone (1839-1921)



Elma L. Grinnell (1841-1923), the youngest daughter of Joseph and Sylvia Grinnell

These two photographs have been somewhat of a mystery to me for sometime.  I received them about 1983 from Ed Grinnell of Medina, NY, who was sent a small package of Grinnell Family photographs from Lawrence H. Walkinshaw of Holt, Michigan.  Walkinshaw was my dad's cousin.  Ed sent them to me because the photographs were generally of my direct line of Grinnells and the Grinnell Family Association wasn't really in the business of collecting photographs.

The images were identified, but at the time I wasn't sure how they were related to me.  My first Grinnell ancestor to migrated from New York to Michigan was Ezra Grinnell (1817-1897).  Turns out the guy labeled "Uncle Joe" was in fact his older brother Joseph Grinnell.  Uncle Joe was one just a few of Ezra's siblings that would remain in New York and not migrate to Michigan.  He lived in Wethersfield, Wyoming County, NY.  But, two of Uncle Joe's daughters did.  Elma was his youngest daughter and following her mothers death in 1864, she became the homemaker for Uncle Joe.  Following his death, Elma moved to Michigan to be close to the remaining members of her immediate family.

For a longtime I speculated that the women in the picture with Joe might have been Elma.  But, she was definitely older than the other pic of Elma and this just didn't seem possible.  Also, the image that was labeled "Uncle Joe and Daughter" was taken by a studio in Hastings, Michigan.  Hmm? that was puzzling, at least until today.  I did some searching on Joe and Sylvia's oldest daughter, Caroline.  Caroline married James M. Stone and moved to Michigan sometime after the Civil War.  It appears that James Stone became a minister in the Church of the United Brethren In Christ denomination and the family spent the remainder of their lives in Sunfield, Eaton County, Michigan.  Well, pulling out some maps this all began to make sense.  Sunfield was a neighboring community to Hastings, Barry County, Michigan.  So, I'm pretty sure that the "daughter" must be Caroline M. Grinnell Stone.

Its such fun putting these puzzles together.