Monday, February 26, 2018

#52Ancestors-Heirloom

My Heirlooms
This is a Summer Girls #2 cast iron stove with the patent date of December 26 '93 (1893). My father gave this stove to me. He said it came from his grandparents home. They were Freemont Floyd Utter,1886 - 1940 and Lucina Ada Hopkins 1890 -1955.

 The little windows are made of isinglass.




These are two tea towels that my grandma hand embroidered. Her name was Dorothy Louise Marlin Boorsma 1913 - 2003. They were made circa 1945. When grandma died, we had to sort through some of her things. We found these towels. No one really wanted them except me, so now they have new life on my  kitchen wall.
(One has slipped a little, I will have to fix that)








Also handed down from my mother, is my Grandma Dorothy Boorsma's wedding ring and her art deco watch. Dorothy Marlin married Louis Boorsma July 1931.









This locket was my mothers. Her mother, Dorothy Boorsma gave it to her, and now I own it. Those two pictures in it are of Dorothy.










 In this picture is my mother's (Marilyn Boorsma) toy jacks she used to play with as a little girl, in the 1940's.

In the same picture, is a sweet little cupid jewelry box that my father bought for me, when I was a little girl. He often had to be gone for the whole week for his work. Several times, he brought home little gifts for me and my brother. It is still a special little treasure!
                                                                                       

This is my baby bracelet that was put on me by the nurses at Blodgett Hospital, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. My mother took it to a jeweler and had the beads restrung on this wire bracelet, after the original string disintegrated.                                                                         

                                                                                           


Monday, February 19, 2018

#52ancestors- Valentine

  This weeks topic is Valentine, but I am changing it to Valentines. Valentine Whitman and Valentine Whitman Jr., are two of my very early Rhode Island ancestors.


  Valentine Whitman Sr. was born in England.His father may have been John Wightman, who was the son of  Edward Wightman. Edward, Valentine Sr. grandfather, has the distinction of being last person in England who was burned at the stake for heresy.
 Valentine Sr. immigrated to the American colonies by 1648, supposedly six years before his father and brothers would arrive to New Port, Rhode Island.
For some reason, Valentine started spelling his surname Whitman as opposed the original spelling of Wightman.
  Valentine could speak the local indian language, so he became an interpreter. He assisted in communications between the local Indians and early settlers, as well as helping with transactions of the land companies of Connecticut and Massachusetts in 1658.
   In 1660, Valentine witnessed a contract between a indian chief called Ninigret and the United Colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford.
He was an industrious person serving in the rolls of:
  • Surveyor of Highways, 1656
  • Commissioner in the General Court of Commissions for Rhode Island,18 May, 1658,
  • Jury duty, 1657 - 1661
  • Rhode Island Militia, King Philip's war,14 Aug 1676 
  He married a Mary ,that some think is Mary Aldrich, daughter of George Aldrich and Catharine Seald, but for right now we have no verification of that.
  They had 9 Children: Mary who married John Inman, Elizabeth, Susanna who married James Ballou, Deborah who married Joseph Smith, Alice, Hannah, Esther who married John Steere, Grace and Valentin Jr. who married Sarah Bartlett
Valentine Sr. made some land purchases:
Jan. 28, 1655, he bought a parcel of meadow and 25 acres of upland of Robert Coles at Mashapaug
 Aug. 27,1656, of John Greene, Sen., a house lot lying between the lot of William Harris on the north and Edward Manton on the south, which was confirmed by Philipa Greene, widow of John, May 13, 1659.
  He was admitted a freeman of Providence, May 18, 1658. His name is also attached to an agreement, dated October 18, 1654, between the United Colonies and Ninegret, and upon the list of those who stayed in Providence through Phillip’s war.
  Valentine Sr. made his last will and testament on 13 Jan 1701 and on 11 Mar, 1701 his will was proven in court.
  From the Narragansett Historical Register Vol 2, page 297,  His death is thus recorded : “ Valentine Whittman Senior, of this Towne of Providence died the 26‘11 day of January 1701 about the breakeing of ye day or a little before, as his Son Valentine Whittman Gives an account.”

  Valentine Whitman Jr. was born on 25 Aug 1668. He married 12 Dec 1694, Sarah Bartlett, daughter of John Bartlett and Sarah Aldrich. Their children were Sarah, John, Henry, Abiah, Robert, Benjamin, Noah and two or three more children.

  *Their son John and his wife Sarah Sprague are my ancestors. Sarah was the daughter of Anthony Sprague,who was the son of Elizabeth Bartlett and who was the daughter of Mary Warren, the eldest daughter of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren. 

  Valentine Whitman Jr., and a group of men, met in his home on 17 Mar 1730, The meeting was to organize their future town, later to be named Smithfield, Rhode Island.

                                                 Valentine Whitman Jr. home Circa 1937
Valentine's home is called a Stone ender. This is a unique style of Rhode Island architecture that developed in the 17th century where one wall in a house is made up of a large stone chimney.The large farmhouse was built around 1694 and is the second oldest surviving building in Rhode Island
.
Valentine Whitman, Jr. House, Great Road & Meetinghouse Road, Lime Rock, Providence County, RI

Valentine Jr. died on 26 Aug 1750, Smithfield, Providence County, Rhode Island and is buried in the Whitman-Mowry Cemetery, Lincoln, Providence County, Rhode Island



Sunday, February 11, 2018

#52ancestors-Favorite name

In talking about the writing prompt "favorite name",with my husband, he reminded me about the name Foster. And I am glad he did.
 My Foster surname had become a favorite middle name for three of my male ancestors and one sibling.The first Foster in my tree is Eleanor Foster, also know as Ellen. She was born 22 February 1794 in Virginia. Married John DeArmond 21 August 1817 and died 23 Apr 1859.

Their marriage was performed by John's uncle, King DeArmond. King also married a Sarah Foster to John A George. Could Sarah be Eleanor's sister?


Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993



1850; Census Place: Division 10, Berrien, Michigan; Roll: M432_346; Page: 194B; Image: 386



John and Eleanor's son, William DeArmond, married Clarissa Brown. And their son was named Camlin Foster DeArmond.  
 I have written about Camlin in a previous post linked here :#52ancesters-Start


Camlin (pictured above) married Clytie Agnes Harris and they had several girls, one of whom was my grandmother Dorothy May DeArmond.


The picture above shows my grandparents (Dorothy May DeArmond and Earl Howard Utter) newly married, I assume.  The were married on 21 June 1929 in Steuben County, Indiana.



Allen Foster Utter

Earl and Dorothy had three boys, Earl Jr., Allen, and Gordon. My dad's,(pictured above) full name was Allen Foster Utter. I assume he was named after his grandpa Camlin Foster DeArmond.


My dad married my mom,on July 25, 1958 and had first (me), Michelle Lynne and my brother with the middle name of Allen, and third...

Christopher Foster Utter
23 Sept 1965- 11 Feb 1966


 My brother Christopher Foster was born with with more rare form of spina bifida. My mom describes it as looking like a little blister with a white cord. A few days later he would show signs of also having hydrocephalus. 
At eleven days old he had surgery to cover up his open spine and at eighteen days old he had surgery to install a Holter valve for the excess fluid on his brain.
 According to my mom the valve was the size of a car fuse and had plastic where the glass would be. The valve (Spitz-Holter shunt) was implanted behind his ear with a tube to his brain to collect the fluid. The opposite end of the valve had a tube to a main vein to take the fluid to his heart for dispersal and removal. My mom had to push on the valve to move the fluid from Christopher's brain to a vein.
 Because he kept growing he was producing more spinal fluid, so he had his third surgery just before Christmas to repair the valve.
Sadly, Christopher's spinal defect was in the center of his back and as he grew that repaired area stretched from top and bottom. His little spine severed and he passed away. My mom didn't get much time with her little boy, what with him in and out of hospitals and two older children at home needing care. And the after affects of this family trauma would span many years for her.
Today as I finished up writing this story, I took a closer look at the dates and amazingly this is the exact day my brother Christopher died, fifty-two years ago.
 After Christopher died and some years later, my parents had two more boys with the middle name of Allen.
Christopher Foster was the only and is the last Foster in our family, but maybe another generation will pick up the name and use it again.

Friday, February 2, 2018

#52ancestors- In the Census

 I have come to my senses or rather census on who to write about this week. Her name is Maranda. Maranda is my mysterious ancestor. I know next to nothing about her. I wish that was not the case. 

Maranda married Miles Hodges. You can see the couple, twice on my tree. Two of their children Benjamin and Delilah are also also shown circled in red and if you follow to the left you will end at Earl Utter, he is my grandfather. You can see that Maranda and Miles are doubly important to my research.


I have not been able to find out a whole lot about Miles but Maranda is worse. I do not know when or where she was born, married or died. I don't have one single family clue, and do not no her last name. She was either born in New York or Vermont. I cannot make any connections through their children's first and middle names. I do not have any bible information and stories. As far as I can tell she is only listed 3 times in her whole life. The 1850, 1860 and 1870 census. So sad really. I thought because she is important to me, I would dedicate this week to her.

1830 Census  Butler, Wayne, New York. Miles (bottom line) is listed but only a tic mark for Maranda.


1850 Census Dallas, Clinton, Michigan. Maranda is listed as being born in New York here.

 1860 Census, Bloomer, Montcalm Michigan. She is listed as being born in Vermont on this census.

1870 Census Bloomer, Montcalm, Michigan. They list Vermont as birth place again.

I will keep working on her from time to time. Maybe someday i'll have a breakthrough.