What is the history on the Ionia Furniture Company? I have a relative that worked there around the 1890's. What kind of furniture did they make? Is there a history written on this subject? Where in Ionia was this Furniture Company located? Thanks, Genie

Hi, I am researching the Hancorne family who emigrated to Michigan from Birmingham, England, before 1848. The family consisted of George Hancorne and his wife Ann and their children George (born 1834), Thomas Walter (born 1835), Jane ( born 1837) and Edward (born 1838). I have not been able to find a ship's passenger list for them. Would they have arrived in Michigan by ship or overland from New York? Can anyone help? On 1st June 1848 George Hancorne bought forty acres of land in Ionia, possibly in Orleans Twp. I found this on the Land Patent website at www.glorecords.blm.gov/PatentSearch A great site covering many states. I believe George (the father) and his daughter Jane returned to England before 1860 as they are not on the 1860 Census, but Jane had married a Joseph Ballard PITT and had a child in Brooklyn NY in 1860 before returning to England. The sons George, Thomas Walter and Edward remained in Ionia, George died in 1860, Thomas Walter moved to California possibly with a wife and son, and Edward remained in Ionia. Can anyone help with any information about the family's arrival in Ionia and any births, marriages, deaths, etc. Ros. England.

Hi all! Happy Spring! Wish I could say that, we got 4.7 inches of snow yesterday. Was down in Ionia and they had none. Only 20 miles away!!!!! Anyway, I am looking for Ionia Co. cemetery pictures. Anyone who would like to share please contact me at tree@pathwaynet.com. If you have them and can scan and send e-mail that would be great. If you have them and would like to send them or the negative contact me and I will send you my regular mailing address. I am putting together a CD of Ionia Co. cemetery stones for people that want to reseach them. I now have a new scanner that can scan negatives, positives, and even microfilm! Does a wonderful job. I will get all pictures back to you but please leave me a name and address to do so. I have been working on this project for a year and still am working on this. I have learned a bit of special tips while doing this: --make sure when you photograph your picture that your shadow is not on the stone. Stand back as far as you can so the shadow is not on the stone and zoom in. If you can zoom so there is not much background it helps to see the old writings better too. --best if pictures are taken on an overcast day, this helps keep the glare on the stone down and better to read. --take a soft brush and clean the moss and weather off the stone. If you take a spray bottle of water to clean it make sure you clean the whole stone or you will have water streaks in the picture. If you have more than one stone to photograph, clean them all and then go back to the first then it will be dry --If you use an instamatic like a 110 or others remember that your pictures do show farther away on the picture when you have developed it. --Remember if you are doing your pictures in black and white that they come out darker when developed. Just a few tips that might help you. WISH FOR SPRING!!!!!! Teresa Leak Sweet Member of Ionia Co. Genealogical Society, First Families and Sebewa Association of Ionia Co., MI tree@pathwaynet.com or sweets@pathwaynet.com Researching: BAILIFF, CARPENTER, CURTIS, DAVIS, GRAY, LEAK, MAKIN, SHIPMAN, MEYERS AND MYERS in Barry, Eaton and Ionia Co., MI and other places of the past!

Hi! Looking for info on any of the descendants of Asa ARNOLD and Rosette FERGUSON. These would be Annie (whom I think is the Annie listed who married Rueben E. VAN), Willie E., died Dec 31 1928, Daisy, married April 5, 1893 (don't know to whom)possibly a James, born 1869, Eddy/Eddie(died at the age of one year), Edna, born Sept 4, 1878, married April 22, 1897(to whom, unknown) Sally

If you can help this person, please contact her directly. Thanks! Pam Swiler, President Ionia County Genealogical Society >From: "dotys" <doty@ccountry.net> >To: <pkswiler@voyager.net> >Subject: shellenbarger family >Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 06:50:48 -0800 >X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2600.0000 > >i am looking for information on solomon shellenbarger. father abraham >do you have and census records ? they were some of first families of ionia co. >please if you have any information on these families email me at ><mailto:doty@ccountry.net>doty@ccountry.net >thank you........glenda

This is not really Ionia County, but it is an item of interest. You just never know what stories are behind some of those old quilts! Pam Swiler Thank you to Shirley Hodges for sharing this... >Thanks to Bev Hart for sharing the following with us. Since I know that >many of you are quilters or have friends who are, I want to share the >following with you. > >Shirley > > > > > Shirley, here is the contents of that GL newspaper article which I thought > > was interesting. > > > > Internationally recognized quilt and women's historian Linda Otto Lipsett > > will present a program entitled "Two Pioneer Women and Their Quilts" > > Thursday, April 25. > > > > The first quilt to be shown is a friendship quilt made in Ludlow, Vermont. > > Linda will portray nineteen year old Ellen Spaulding Reed, who received > > the quilt as a combination wedding and going away gift. The program tells > > of her plight out west and reads a letter Ellen has just written to her > > parents in Vermont. Although Ellen dies tragically, her quilt and the > > story continue as her husband remarries and country plunges into the Civil > > War. > > > > The second part of the presentation features Elizabeth Roseberry > > Mitchell's graveyard quilt. Linda shares with the audience the results of > > five years of research and extensive travels to tell how the quilt was > > made. The original quilt is part of a collection of the Kentucky > > Historical Society. Linda does a first-person presentation in period > > costume telling Elizabeth's pioneer story gleaned from an original letter > > and the Mitchel family bible. > > > > Linda is the author of five books and immediately following her > > presentation she will be on had to to a book signing as well as answer > > questions. > > > > The program begins at 7 p.m. in the courtroom of the historica courthouse, > > 100 W. Lawrence Ave. Charlotte. Admission $8. Tickets available at the > > Courthouse Square Office (5l7 543-6999) or from ticket chairperson Ruth > > Hankins 5l7 327-6207.

The Ionia County Genealogical Society is looking for a volunteer to proof read the every name index for the 1881 History of Ionia and Montcalm Counties. We have a copy ready to go to print, but need someone to check it against the book to make sure we are not missing anyone and that the names are spelled as they are in the book. Anyone interested in doing this must already have a copy of our reprint. We have a tight turn around timeline on this, so this is not a project for BUSY people! If you are interested, contact Pam Swiler at pkswiler@voyager.net Thanks! Pam

There are now 1254 obituaries on line thanks to our many volunteers. If you have not visited our site - consider this an invitation to do so! Pam Swiler, President Ionia County Genealogical Society http://www.rootsweb.com/~miionia/

Dear Mr. Boggan, Are the names WANDEL or Martha M. MEYER and Montcalm County in your list? Martha may be Margratta Martha and the spelling of the last name varies. There was also a Azina WANDEL in Ionia County, but unsure of relationship. Marg

R.Don Boggan, I am the president for the Ionia County Genealogical Society. I just recently had major surgery of which I am trying to recover. I apologize if I didn't get back to you, but frankly, I don't remember talking to you. I recommend that you contact one of the following people who MAY have Myers connections: 1. John Waite jrwgen@mvcc.com 2. Teresa Leak-Sweet tree@pathwaynet.com You will probably receive some responses from the mail list, which is a good start. One thing that genealogists learn in this hobby is patience. I wish you much success in your research. Pam Swiler, President Ionia County Genealogical Society

fast-spreading e-mail worm, possibly from Japan, is encircling the globe and flooding e-mail servers with excessive messages. Fbound (w32.fbound.c@mm, also known as Zircon.C, DotJayPee, Fbound.b) is 12,288 bytes in length, and, unlike other recent worms, does not install itself on the infected machine but instead runs from memory. Mac and Linux users are not affected. Fbound is capable of sending large amounts of e-mail but does not damage or delete files on the infected computer. Because of the increasing reports of this worm around the world, Fbound currently ranks a 6 on the ZDNet Virus Meter. How it works Fbound arrives by e-mail with the subject line "Important." If the recipient's computer language is set to Japanese or if the recipient's e-mail address ends with .jp, the subject line is chosen from 16 Japanese-language subject lines contained within the worm. There is no body text associated with this worm. The attached file is named patch.exe. If the attached file is opened, Fbound locates the infected user's SMTP server and e-mail address. Then the virus loads itself into memory and sends copies of itself to addresses found in the Windows Address Book. Unlike many worms, Fbound doesn't install itself on an infected computer, nor does it add or change any registry files. Once the worm has been run, it will not run again. Because Fbound encodes all of its code into one line and does not comply with SMTP encoding, it may sometimes bounce e-mails it sends or arrive as a noninfectious e-mail. Code within Fbound contains the following message: "I-Worm.Japanize." Prevention Users of Microsoft Outlook 2002 and users of Outlook 2000 who have installed the Security Update should be safe from the attached EXE file in Fbound. Users who have not upgraded to Outlook 2002 or who have not installed the Security Update for Outlook 2000 should do so. In general, do not open e-mail attachments without first saving them to hard disk and scanning them with updated antivirus software. Contact your antivirus vendor to obtain the most current antivirus signature files that include Fbound. Removal Almost all of the antivirus software companies have updated their signature files to include this worm. This will stop the infection upon contact and in some cases will remove an active infection from your system. For more information, see Central Command, Computer Associates, F-Secure, Kaspersky (known here as Ziron.c),McAfee, Norman, Panda, Sophos, Symantec (known as Dotjaypee), and Trend Micro (known here as Fbound.b).

If anyone has information that will help this person, please respond directly to her. Thanks! Pam Swiler, President Ionia County Genealogical Society >Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 23:18:46 -0500 >From: "The Donathan's" <bdonathn@crosstel.net> >X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.77 [en] (Win98; U) >X-Accept-Language: en >To: pkswiler@voyager.net >Subject: Barlow > >Pam, I am researching the Barlow name. They started in CT, moved on the >NY and then I find them in Ionia County, MI, in Belding. >My grandmother was Nora Barlow Jenks, her dad was Myron H., son of >George W. and Lucy Barlow. >Barb

I have an 1873 plat map of the Ionia, Ionia County. It does not include the small portion of the very south part of the city. I would like to donate it to the Ionia County Historical Society. How would I go about that? thanks, dale willett@willett.org www.willett.org --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.332 / Virus Database: 186 - Release Date: 3/6/2002

Found this on e-bay. It is a 1910 postcard to Alma Shepard of Lake Odessa. Anyone interested can find it there at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1081010636 Published by Ionia Post Card Col Ionia, MI.....Used, PM 1910.....Message reads: "THIS IS WHERE THEY TOOK ME THE FIRST THING. YOU HAD BETTER BE SOMEWHERE IN SIGHT ABOUT 7:00-7:30".....Clean, cnr. bumps, Very good condition.....Email me if you have questions..... Terms: Please add $1.25 for S/H, US/Canada Postage. Insurance optional......International Postage is $2.00 for one to five postcards..... Combine auctions and save on postage..... Bid with confidence..... Unconditional guarantee on all my auctions..... We accept PayPal, Money Order, Pers. Check or cash..... Mail payment to: Mel Harvey, P O Box 1048, Floral City, FL 34436......CHECK MY OTHER AUCTIONS FOR MORE

Currently on eBay there is an 1880s autograph book from the Saranac/Lowell area. It doesn't list each individal autograph in the book, but someone with a connection to this area or the Merriman family may be interested. It will be selling in 7 days and has one bid on it, currently priced at $24.00. The item's description is below. Deb Eddy Charlotte, MI Description: Beautiful Victorian Gold Embossed Album Caption: "Floral Album" Age: Earliest entry dated 1881 Size: Approximately 7"x4 1/4" Condition: Very Good More regarding condition: This little autograph book is in great shape! It is not without some wear to account for its age, but is in quite remarkable condition. It features beautiful embossed gold leaf leather and gold edging on the paper. There are some scuffs in the leather along the edges and the corners of its spine. The back cover has minor but notable scuffing and scratched, all typical of an item this old. All of its pages are intact, and many of them feature beautiful floral prints. The owners name, "Mr. Bert Merriman" is also nicely printed inside. The album was a gift from her mother at Christmas. I would estimate 30-40% of the approximately 110 pages, (55 leaves front and back), are written on. I think this may have been owned by a school teacher in the Lowell/Ionia area of Michigan. http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1711125235

The records on the website have not been updated since the 1970's. We at ICGS are working on updating and correcting the MANY errors and omissions but this is a very slow process. If you are interested in working with a committee to update Ionia County records, contact Janis Kenyon at (517) 647-4245. She is the Committee Chairperson and welcomes volunteers! Thanks! Pam Swiler, President Ionia County Genealogical Society At 12:28 AM 3/5/2002 -0500, ValerieCurren@aol.com wrote: >In a message dated 3/4/02 7:04:28 PM Eastern Standard Time, >MIIONIA-D-request@rootsweb.com writes: > > > > My question is: is there a complete record anywhere of burials in Easton > > > >Here's one possible source of info <A >HREF="http://www.rootsweb.com/~miionia/sextons.htm">Ionia County Cemetery >Sextons</A>. Hope this >may help. > >Valerie (Stoddard) Curren >ValerieCurren@aol.com > > >==== MIIONIA Mailing List ==== >Threaded Archives - http://archiver.rootsweb.com/ >List Mom for Ionia County, MI is Jan Cortez. My email is >ionia@jansdigs.com. Spaming, flaming and profanity are not allowed. This >is strictly a genealogy list! If you have any >concerns, send me a note, otherwise enjoy the list and post often. It >helps get your message out. > >============================== >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, >go to: >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

In a message dated 3/4/02 7:04:28 PM Eastern Standard Time, MIIONIA-D-request@rootsweb.com writes: > My question is: is there a complete record anywhere of burials in Easton > Here's one possible source of info <A HREF="http://www.rootsweb.com/~miionia/sextons.htm">Ionia County Cemetery Sextons</A>. Hope this may help. Valerie (Stoddard) Curren ValerieCurren@aol.com

According to the death certificate of William OMANS, who died in Alma MI 3-13-1937, he was buried in the Easton Twp. Cemetery in Ionia County. A walking search there last summer failed to find a marker for him, but we did find markers for his parents (Stephen and Louisa Rand OMANS). Much to our surprise, there was also a marker dated 4-22-1865 for Sarah OMANS, mother of Stephen. Previous information had indicated that she died in NY state. My question is: is there a complete record anywhere of burials in Easton Twp. Cemetery? The limited database online containes no OMANS, but we know they are there because we saw some of them. We would like to verify the death certificate information re the burial of William OMANS, and would also like to verify (if possible) that Sarah OMANS is actually buried there, rather than the stone being only a memorial. Thanks to anyone who can answer my question. Bev bwoodaz@yahoo.com --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - Sign up for Fantasy Baseball

The Canadian National Archives is looking for input on making their holdings more accessible. They have posted a questionnaire @ http://accessible.archives.ca/01/11_e.html The ending date for this is March 1, 2002

Dear Friends, I have received several requests as to where the ICGS newsletter is - I thought I should try to reach as many of you as I can, so I am using the Ionia County Mail list to get the information to you. Dottie Piechocki, our editor, lost her father after a long illness and that delayed the newsletter through the first week of February. She mailed the final draft to me to take to the printer, and BAM, I ended up in the hospital. I just got home on Monday and will have to recover for a couple of weeks....however...the board members have risen to the occasion and the newsletter is finally at the printer, and hopefully will be ready to go out in the mail on Friday. I sincerely apologize for this delay and will try to work out an alternative plan for future issues so that you receive your newsletter in a timely manner. Hopefully we won't have any other delays and we will all remain healthy. I thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. The newsletter will be worth the wait.... Pam Swiler, President Ionia County Genealogical Society