#52ancestors- Invite to dinner

I was thinking about who I would like to "invite to dinner"and James Chapman is one who came to mind. Mainly because I know so little about him and have so many questions about his life.
  Our dinner conversation would include asking him how, where and when he died and where he is buried?
I would also ask if am correct in assuming that his parents were Thomas Chapman and Martha Delap?  And who were the parents of Thomas Chapman ? And finally, were Martha Delap's parents, James Delap and Catherine Grimes?

Here is how I am related to  James Chapman. My maternal Grandmother was Dorothy Louise Marlin (Boorsma) daughter of Mamie Lavonde Chapman, daughter of Cassius W Chapman, son of James Chapman and Susannah Haynes (Haines).
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 James was born in Henry County Indiana around 1831. According to a Find a Grave story, posted by Trevis Tuell, his parents were Thomas Chapman and Martha DeLap or DeLapp.

 Thomas and Martha were married 21 December, 1826 in Wayne County, Indiana which is one county to the east of Henry county.
Recently, on another person's family tree they listed the parents of Martha Delap as being James Delap and Catherine Grimes.The tree owner had no source listed, so I have no clue where this information came from in the first place. 

 I found a rootsweb Land index possibly about  Thomas Chapman. This is it below.

  NAME                           DATE                        OFFICE         DOC#          ACCESSION/SERIAL#

CHAPMAN, THOMAS                     8/5/1834                      Indianapolis     12111              IN0580__.329

CHAPMAN, THOMAS                     9/2/1834                      Indianapolis     13334              IN0610__.058

So, that puts Thomas and James in the same county and around same time. They could be father and son. If  this is the same Thomas that married Martha DeLap then that would make her James mother.

I next see James in  the 1850 Wayne County, Indiana census,in Centro Township. I am having trouble finding that place but I did find a Centerville. Perhaps that is the current name.

You can see James highlighted in yellow, 19 years old, male, teacher,born in Indiana. He is living with the Stiggleman family. Father Philip,mother Susan ,children  Hamilton,Samuel Mary,Nancy, George John Lydia,James and my James Chapman. Right below James Chapman on the census form is another household with a 24 year Stiggleman as head, most likely, another son of Philip.

The next event in James life was his marriage to Susannah Haynes on 30 January 1853

I found  this on ancestry.The information comes from page 150 of a book called,

 Historical Southern Families.Volume XVIII

Haynes of Southside Virginia with Related Families. I do not know which son was the printer,

Moving forward in time we now find our teacher, James in the Iowa State Census Collection 1836-1925. This census was taken in DeMoines,Dallas County ,Iowa in 1856. But he is not teaching, he is listed at a merchant. Also we see his wife :Susanna' Haynes Chapman and their 2 year old son Robert

Then in 1860  we see  James is listed as 29, school teacher born in Indiana. Susan is 28, born in Indiana. Robert is now 5 years old, CW ( Cassius W) is 3, mistakenly listed as female and is the first member born in Iowa. Finally,3 month old Flora E, also born in Iowa.

Here is where his trail ends. He is gone.

 It is noted on his Find A Grave site that;

"Susannah presented the will of James Chapman in Wayne Co., IN on April 21st, 1866. "

So something tragic happened to James and I would like to find out more details. I have found on Ancestry.com, a James Chapman of Wayne County, in the  Indiana, Wills and probate records (Will records, Vol 1-4 1812 - 1865)

Also from the Find a Grave site

" Susannah, married A.J. Stigleman some time between the summer of 1866 and 1870" 

This also supports that James is deceased. 

Here is the last I can find on Susannah (Susan) Haynes Chapman Stiggleman. 

In this 1880 US Census from Pipe creek,Miami County, Indiana.

  Andrew J. Stigleman, 55 years old, Miller

Susan Stigleman, wife, 48 years old

Arthur Chapmn, step son,18 years old, laborer, born in Iowa

James Chapmn, step son,14 years old, laborer, born in Indiana.

It is Interesting to note that James D. Chapman Jr.  was  born in 1866 the same year that James Sr. died. So I took a look on his  find a grave site. It states he was born March 19, 1866.

That is the story of James Chapman as far as I can tell. I hope to someday have many more details to fill in the gaps of his story. 

#52Ancestors - Longevity

These wonderful people whom I never met are my great grandparents. Jan Jan (John) Boorsma was born 17 September 1877 in Kollum, Kollumerland,Friesland, Netherlands. Grietje (Margaret or Maggie) was born 30 July 1876, Netherlands. They are my mom's paternal grandparents.  These pictures were taken at their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 1954

Margaret and her family departed from Rotterdam, Netherlands on the ship Rotterdam. They  arrived in New York probably 15 June 1888. She was about 10 or 11 years old.

Jan (John) arrived 16 Aug 1886 on the ship Schiedam from Amsterdam. He was about 7  years old on the ships manifest. It looks like it is just the three of them, John, his  father Jan and sister Willemke,    aka Minnie. My great grandfather's mother, Tryntje Kracht and some siblings did not come along.
Jan and Margaret were married 24 July 1904 in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan

Front row, left to right Theresa Boorsma Robinson, Jan John III Boorsma, Margaret Bont Boorsma, Angeline Boorsma Wademan
Back row, left to right Dena Boorsma, Louis (my grandfather), John IV (aka Shorty), Earnest, Edward, Henry, Wilhelmina (aka Wilma & Babe) Boorsma Boersen

The picture above includes all the children minus one son, Mike (Menno), whose photo is on the table to the left in the picture. Mike was killed and an industrial accident at the Continental Motors plant in Muskegon, Michigan in 1943.
  Continental made huge engines for World War II vehicles. He and my grandpa both worked there. My grandpa was coming onto his shift, when he heard about the engine accident involving his brother. He told my mom that when he got to the hospital, Mike was still alive but the explosion had taken off his arms and legs. He would not live long. Grandpa described it this way. "what was left of him could be put into a basket". It was a terribly site to see. Mike had a wife Marie (VanderLaan) and two small boys, Roger and David, at the time of his death.
  Great grandma Margaret died on 1 July 1955 and Jan (John) lived for three more years without her. My mom told me he that my grandpa picked him up a few times so he could take him to church. Great grandpa John died 18 February 1958.
My mom was getting married in July of  1958 so she was sad that her grandpa would not be there for her wedding.
They had 51 years of marriage together...their love and longevity is a blessing to our family.

52 Ancestors- Favorite Photo

This is one of my favorite photos. It is of my Grandmother Dorothy Louise Marlin Boorsma, my favorite Uncle, Wayne Boorsma and my youthful mother, Marilyn Lou Boorsma Utter.

In talking with my mom about it she thought it was their Easter Photo and based on my uncles possible age, I think it was taken circa 1946. My mom would have  been about 11 but her height in the picture made me wonder if I got the year wrong.

 I asked her about her size and she said " I was the tallest and boniest girl in elementary school". She stopped growing in junior high but all the other kids did and caught up to her.

The picture was probably taken in their backyard at their home They lived at 4268 Buchanan Ave SW. in Wyoming, Michigan.

 Grandma Boorsma lost her mother when she was 6,in 1919, to Tuberculosis and Influenza. Sometime after that the house they were living in burnt to the ground.
As a teenager, Grandma cleaned house for the wife of the owner of Kamp Oil company. It was located at 310 eastern ave, Wyoming, Michigan.
When my mom was in high school, my grandma went back to work at Herpolsheimers in the drapery department. Also working in the same department was man by the name of Art Gritter.
After a while Art and a friend Bill Westveer decided to start their own custom drapery business called Gritter and Westveer. They asked my grandmother to join them as an in home sales lady.  She would bring in drapery samples book, measure the windows, write up orders and take deposits from clients.
 She started circa 1952 and continued for over 20 years. She had an accident on the job circa 1965. She was measuring windows at a clients house, the chair she was standing on gave way and she fell backward onto the floor. Both of her wrists were broken. My Mom had to help care for her during the day. It was a concern and hardship for my mom as she was several months pregnant, had one (me) in school all day and my brother (Steve) was in half day kindergarten. We did not ride buses,so she had drive back and forth from Kentwood to Wyoming a couple times as day. Also they were a one car family as most were in the 1960's
  My Dad was able to get work at Gritter & Westveer as a drapery installer. Eventually that would lead him into starting his own  company, Jamestown Draperies.

My mom's first job was at the Ferguson Droste Ferguson hospital. She would take the bus after school and worked for the kitchen delivering meals to the patients. The hospital was well known for its colorectal floor but they also had a plastic surgery floor. My mom heard rumors of stars like Bing Crosby and others may have come to this out of the way hospital to get some surgery done.

Grand Rapids in Vintage Postcards: 1890-1940
By Thomas R. Dilley





  Her second job was working for Bell Telephone. She was about 18 years old at this time and was a sorter for long distance calls, later to be moved to the foreign calls.
   In the 1970's, she took a job at a local nursing home. She liked working with the patients quite a bit and remembers many stories about several of them.
 Eventually she was working with my dad in the drapery business, doing customer in home sales, ordering fabric,rods and blinds,handling the billing,even making drapes for people.
  Shortly after I was married in 1982 there was a situation in the family that forced her to look for other employment. She ended up at D&W Grocery store in Jenison as a deli clerk. Later she was able to get a position in the pharmacy. She took some classes and become a Pharmacy Technician. I think this must have been her best job and it brought out the best in her. She was good at it and got along with people very well. She worked hard all her life and is now enjoying retirement. I'm glad.Thanks mom for taking care of our family.

52 Ancestors in 52 weeks- Start

My grandmother was Dorothy May DeArmond Utter. Grandma lived at 163 Holly Street in Wyoming, Michigan.She was born in 21 May 1911 in Ionia, married Earl Howard Utter in 21 Jun 1929,but had a rough marriage and they were divorced 1 Dec 1947,in Kent county, Michigan. She mostly raised her children alone. Her three boys were Earl Jr. born 12 February 1930, Allen Foster (my dad) born 23 November 1932 and Gordon Fredrick born 1 October 1937.

Earl Jr. had child onset diabetes and died of it on 20 June 1964. Gordon died 22 February 2017.
 Grandma Utter worked at A&P Bakery in her early days and later on was a alterations seamstress for Herpolsheimer's store in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was very skilled with all things domestic... cooking, crochet, sewing, gardening. She attended a Wesleyan church.

When I would go to visit her,I was drawn to a special photo in a silver frame of her parents. She had it on her TV and I thought Grandma's mother was so beautiful!  Her mother's name was Clytie Agnes Harris and her father's name was Camlin Foster DeArmond.Clytie was a female barber in Greenville, Michigan and Camlin was a mechanic in the same area. I wonder if they met because he had come to her for a haircut? Camlin was 39 and marrying for a second time when he wed 17 year old Clytie on13 September 1905 in Greenville, Michigan.

My Grandma (Dorothy Utter) told me that her mother Clytie would tell her about coming up from Indiana to Michigan in a wagon.  I had only ridden in cars so I thought that was a magical story!

I remember meeting her once as a child, at a family reunion. She was horrified that my mother had painted my nails red and warned that I might " go to hell". My mother was equally horrified at that statement. My dad remembers being forced by Grandma Clytie to be baptised several times in the Grand River in Ionia, Michigan. She had some strong religious opinions, that is for sure.

 As I got older I told my Grandma that I would love to have that photo someday. She died 22 Aug 1986. When we cleaned out her house, I came across that photo and asked  if I could have it and that is how it became mine. It is a painted photo and some of it is flaking off so I need to get it restored. I will try to get that done in the next 52 weeks as well.
These were the people that gave me a "start" in my interest in genealogy and photo preservation. #52ancestors