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

The "Dutch" Germans are real. The country of Germany is "Deutschland" The language they speak is "Deutsche", which when spoken in English sounds like "Dutch", therefor, the Germans were and are in many cases called "Dutchmen", though, in fact they are not from the Netherlands (which means "lowland". Remember what "nether" means in English. A direct steal from another language. Also the German/Dutch(Netherlands) border is a common one and the language (dialect) spoken from Amsterdam to Bremen is understandable to almost all the people in the area. The dialect of the Germans near the Baltic Sea through Schleswig-Holstein is "Plattdeutsch" a very near sound to English (Anglo-Saxon) and Dutch (Netherlands) speech. Jim Blass

Could they be some of the Palatine Germans? See all books concerning the migration of the Palatine Germans onward to this country by Henry Z. Jones (should be copies in most genealogical sections of public libraries - he is highly respected and regarded as "the source" on this subject). If not, go to HankJones.com for a listing of all his books. Most helpful... Kathy in MO

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/kFB.2ACE/4170.1 Message Board Post: Metcalf & Jonkhoff Funeral Service 4291 Cascade Rd. SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546 616-940-7333

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/kFB.2ACE/4173.1 Message Board Post: Yes, the VanderWal family was from Germany, but they were of Dutch decent. There were many others. Germans lived in Holland also. Best wishes, K.L.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/2302.1 Message Board Post: I know and converse regularly with the living descendants of John W. Shisler. I don't think that they have seen this book(?) that this material came from. I would really like and appreciate further contact with you so that we can talk freely. There is a PRIVATE Shisler website that I'll give to you afterward. It is NOT shisler.com. That particular site is a wonderful Jewish family, and the son Geoffrey is a Rabbi in London, UK. They just lost a tiny baby and there's a huge loss as a result. You can feel their great pain. I've been conversing with Geoffrey's father, as well. I have their history, but there is apparently NO connection to the Shislers of the Conrad Schissler b.1758 in Lancaster, PA, who's the ancestor of J.W. Shisler. However, Geoffrey's grandfather came from, or through Poland, and his name was originally Schissler, just like ours, and that's what led me to him. Interesting.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/kFB.2ACE/2847.1 Message Board Post: Would you know if Mrs. Henrietta Cross was married to a Wm. Cross and had a sister Bertha nee Zaagsma Cross who md. Wm. brother Clarence ??? Betty

The Western MI Genealogy Society site online lists an obit for Charles Timm Wed 10 Oct 1934 GR Press. If that is your fella you can get a copy from them. Beverlee ----- Original Message ----- From: <phreplogle@attbi.com> To: <MIKENT-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, February 25, 2002 3:46 AM Subject: [MIKENT] Charles Timm Sr.- d. 1935 at Caledonia, MI > This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. > > Surnames: Timm > Classification: Query > > Message Board URL: > > http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4166 > > Message Board Post: > > Looking for names of parents of Charles Timm Sr., d. 1935 at Caledonia, MI. Where could I get an obit. on his death? > > > ==== MIKENT Mailing List ==== > Problems, questions or concerns with the mail list? Contact the listowner, Debbi Manni, at Debbi116@aol.com > > ============================== > 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 >

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: PENNELL, GREEN, MCCROSSEN, HAZEN, AYER Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4175 Message Board Post: In the death of John Wesley Pennell, Kent County lost another of that generation of agriculturists upon whose energy, industry and foresight so much of the material greatness of the county was builded. He, with other men of his day, passed through an important period of the country's growth and assisted in the establishing of high agricultural standards and principles. Courage, faith and will belonged to the men of that day and John W. Pennell shared those manly virtues fully. His reward was success in a measure than any man might hope for and the respect of his fellow men which all men covet. He was born at Richmond, Ontario County, New York, April 21, 1832, son of John and Sallie (Green) Pennell, natives of Massachusetts and Vermont respectively, and farming people of New York who died at Richmond, to which place the paternal grandfather had removed from Colerain, Mass., many years before. John Welsey Pennell was reared and educated in the town of Richmond, N.Y. He followe! d farming about a year near Canandaigua, and in December, 1856, came to the West and located in Kent County, taking up his residence on a farm one mile south of the present city limits of Grand Rapids, in April, 1857, and on this farm he continued to be engaged in agricultural operations until his retirement in November, 1893. At that time he settled down to quietly enjoy the evening of his life in his comfortable home at Burton Heights, where his death occurred, Oct. 15, 1915. In spite of all that he accomplished as a successful agriculturist, Mr. Pennell was prouder of the fact that he had accomplished all this by himself than of his material success. He knew the struggles and hardships of his early days and what he had overcome, and so he appreciated what he had acquired more as a triumph over difficult circumstances than as a mere accumulation of means. He was a Republican, but did not seek public office, and his religious relations were with the Universalist Church. Mr.! Pennell was married March 29, 1855, to Celia D., daughter of Isaac D. and Susan (McCrossen) Hazen. She was born, reared and educated in the town of Richmond, N.Y., where her father was a merchant. Her parents came to Grand Rapids in 1855, both Mr. and Mrs. Hazen dying in this city after some years of retirement. She survives her husband and resides in an attractive home at No. 1839 Division Avenue, South. Mr. and Mrs. Pennell became the parents of the following children: John W., a resident of Irvington, Ala., and the father of two children – Susan Hazen, deceased and Mrs. La Myra P. Ayer, of San Francisco, Cal.; Harriet P., of Boulder, Colo., who is married and the mother of three children – Jessie H., Gerald Leroy Weatherwax, and George W., deceased; James H., deceased; Jessie E., who is unmarried and makes her home with her mother at Grand Rapids; Charles G., of Bay City, Mich., who has five children – John W., Hamilton Adams, Elizabeth, Janet and! Charles G., Jr.; and Don Hazen, of Irvington, Ala., who has three children – J. Hazen, Roderick Pratt and Helen Adalaide.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: GORDON, WINGARD, THOMPSON, HART Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4174 Message Board Post: It is a fact worthy of note that the agriculturalists of any community who conduct the best and most profitable farm are those who have the best interests of their community at heart and take the most active in the upbuilding and development of the section in which they reside, and this is true of the farmers of Kent County. In this class of men in Nelson Township is found William J. Gordon, who has always been in the leading ranks of any movement likely to prove of benefit to his locality, and who is the owner and operator of a handsome tract of land which he has made profitable by his industry and intelligent application of modern methods of agricultural work. Mr. Gordon was born in County Dundas, Ontario, Canada, May 21, 1864, son of William Gordon. As the name would suggest, the family is of Scotch origin, William Gordon having been born in Scotland, from which country he emigrated in young manhood to Canada. Embarking in the mercantile business, he was engaged therein s! uccessfully for a period of thirty-six years, during which time he built up a reputation for fairness, integrity and honorable dealing that was on a par with his standing as man of sound business judgment, industry and foresight. He was married in Canada to Martha Wingard, who came from an old and honored Pennsylvania family of sturdy Pennsylvania-Dutch, a daughter of Peter Wingard, who was a life-long farmer. Of this union were born the following children: Isabel, Alice, Sarah, Ida, Anna, Alma, Martha and William J. The youngest child and only of his parents, William J. Gordon received his education in the district schools of County Dundas, Canada, and was a young man when he came to Michigan, where, for a short time, he served as a clerk in the mercantile establishment of Cody & Moore, and for other concerns. He was thus engaged until the time of his marriage, when he transferred his activities to farming, and this industry has since received his attention and been the med! ium through which he has worked out his success. He is at this time the owner of a well-cultivated property, located in Nelson township, where he has model buildings, splendid equipment, and improvements of a modern character, all installed by himself and all illustrating the industry and energy which have combined to make his work a success. He has made a study of his vocation in all its departments and keeps fully abreast to the changes which are constantly being made in methods and procedure, and when new movements have been found practicable is one of the first to adopt them. As has been noted, he takes an active part in the movements in his community and has been a friend of the institutions of Nelson Township, where he served for several years as a member of the board of school directors. Politically he is a Democrat, and is fraternally well known and popular, belonging to Cedar Springs Lodge No. 213, F. & A. M., the Knights of Pythias, and the Order of the Eastern Sta! r, to the last named of which the members of his family all belong. His eldest son also belongs to the Masonic Lodge. Mr. Gordon married Anna J., daughter of Horton Thompson, a farmer of the Solon Center community of Kent County, and of this union there have been born four children: Lillian, who is the wife of Fred Hart, a farmer of Nelson Township, and has an infant child, Fay; Fay Thomas, in Company 120, Field Artillery, Battery B, Thirty-second division National Guard; Maud, a teacher in the schools of Kent County, now in charge of District No. 1, and Raymond, assisting his father on the homestead.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4173 Message Board Post: Hello, I have a number of Dutch ancestors, and some that "spoke Dutch" as I'm told, but they were from "Osterwald, Hannover, Germany" and "Binnenborg, Germany". Were there Dutch Germans, or "ethnic Dutch" in Germany? My family settled in the Grand Rapids area, and in Missaukee county, so I thought I'd ask here and see if anybody was familiar with this. Thanks!

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: OWEN Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4172 Message Board Post: I am looking for any info on EARL OWEN, b. 1880 Cortland County, New York. He left NY around 1910 and died in Grand Rapids, probably around 1940. He worked at the Calvinator Refrigerator Plant in Grand Rapids, (was a foreman there). His second wife was MINNIE ???, and they had a daughter, MARY LOU OWEN. Any info is appreciated!!

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4171 Message Board Post: I am looking for a directory of churches in Kent Co. in or around 1861. And if possible narrowing the list to the church that Lauren Lovjoy presided over. He was the minister for my Great Great Grandparents marriage in Kent Co. on Nov. 6, 1861. If it helps, my GG Grandfather was from Berlin Twp., Ionia Co., and my GG Grandmother was from Cascade Twp., Kent Co.. Any help would be great. Thank You, Rick

Jean, My father was born in 1928 and named Donald. I have a feeling, nothing more, that he was named after his grandfather, who had the very Dutch, and for some, unpronounceable name of "Douwe". My father was the oldest boy in his family and it was customary among the Dutch to name the oldest after a grandfather. According to both my mother and father, the Dutch at this time were trying to distance themselves from appearing too "just the boat off"(meaning newly arrived in the States, which they were), and went for "American" names in a big way. Now, with this latest generation, I see a lot of babies named once again for their ancestors or their ethnic backgrounds. Joanie Rosema >From: MIKENT-D-request@rootsweb.com >Reply-To: MIKENT-L@rootsweb.com >To: MIKENT-D@rootsweb.com >Subject: MIKENT-D Digest V02 #56 >Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 20:01:06 -0700 > ><< message2.txt >> ><< message4.txt >> ><< message6.txt >> ><< message8.txt >> ><< message10.txt >> _________________________________________________________________ Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/kFB.2ACE/4170 Message Board Post: Is Metcalf Funeral Home in Grand Rapids, Michigan still in operation? Would appreciate address and or telephone # if available.Thank you !

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: MARSHALL, BARNES, BUTLER Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4169 Message Board Post: By birth, training, education and business experience, Harry D. Marshall is a Grand Rapids man. He also belongs to the class of busines workers who have found in this city the opportunity to develop their own fortunes and to bring about a standing and position for themselves while still in the prime of life. Ten years have served to bring Mr. Marshall from a salesmanship to the dual office of secretary and treasurer of the Rathbone Manufacturing Company, a concern which is listed among Grand Rapids' most prominent business organizations. Harry D. Marshall's birthdate was March 11, 1879, when he came to grace and bless the home of Joseph and Estelle (Barnes) Marshall. His parents gave him a public school education, and the youth started his business career with the Alabastine Company. During the twelve or fourteen years that he was connected with that firm he arose from office boy to the position of traffic manager. In 1907 he transferred his services and allegiance to the Ra! thbone Manufacturing Company, which concern had offered him a position as salesman. He at once justified their confidence in his ability by displaying a proper amount of ability and energy, and in 1917, after a number of other promotions, he was chosen as secretary and treasurer. Mr. Marshall is a business man and nothing else. He has had his time fully occupied in earning his advancement and establishing his position, therefore he has not been able to figure prominently in public affairs; nor has it been his desire to do so. He is known as a good citizen, who withholds his support from no movement promulgated for the public welfare, but his co-operation is given as an individual, not as a seeker for official honors. He is not so busy, however, that he does not care to mingle with his fellows in a social way, and is one of the popular members of the Peninsular club. Mr. Marshall was happily married, Sept. 10, 1913 to Miss Edith Butler, of St. Louis, Mo. They have one child, ! Harry D., Jr.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: HOLLISTER, CLAY, MEDBURY, MERRICK Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4168 Message Board Post: Clay Harvey Hollister was born at Grand Rapids, Mich., Oct. 7, 1863, son of Harvey J. and Martha (Clay) Hollister. He received his preliminary education in the education in the schools of Grand Rapids and taking a literary course in Amherst College graduated in that institution with the class of 1886. After some preliminary business training he came through the different official places until he became president, the position he now occupies. Mr. Hollister was married Dec. 19, 1888 to Miss Justina H. Merrick, daughter of Timothy and Susan (Medbury) Merrick, of Holyoke, Mass. Of this union there have been born four children: Paul M. is in New York City, Martha C. is at home; George M., is a soldier in the French Army, having been a student at Harvard College prior to the great world war, and Clay H., Jr. is at home. Mr. Hollister is a Republican in politics, but has filled no official positions, other than member of the school board, which he has been the incumbent of during ! the past eight years. He is a member of the Park Congregational Church and is at present time chairman of its board of trustees. He is a member of the Peninsular, Kent, O-Wash-ta-nong and Colonial clubs, and of the Association of Commerce.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Sawyer, Burton, Brown, Moore, Jewell, Scott, Bailey, Powell, Tiffany, etc. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/626.1 Message Board Post: Since August 2000, I have learned the following about the Sawyer family. Ransom Sawyer migrated to Grandville, Michigan about 1836. He probably had three wives--_____, Mary and Mary Leocadia Trompe. He had the following children: Chancey, John, Joseph B, Mary Sawyer Moore, Lucy Sawyer Burton, and Betsey Sawyer Brown. I have information on many of these families and the families they married into. Contact me at Psked@hotmail.com.

Hello Jean and List, Yes , I notice this also in my own line. My Dad was named John (after his Dad) and Donald after no one I can find in our line. Verrry Strange!!! His last name was Powers from Macomb County and St. Clair County. But he had an Aunt and Uncle from Kent Co.-Edward and Pearl Shantz-Moline Michigan circa 1930-1980. Elly ----- Original Message ----- From: <SwimBails@aol.com> To: <MIKENT-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2002 3:15 AM Subject: [MIKENT] Donalds and Arthurs > I am rather shy in asking this because I know it seems like a silly question. > > I have noticed in my family tree and those of others that suddenly there > appears a number of given names Donald and Arthur around 1900-1935 in Grand > Rapids. > > Also, there were absolutely no Donalds or Arthurs in the families before that > time. > > So I was curious to know if there were some famous or highly respected > persons named Donald and Arthur in Grand Rapids or Kent County or Michigan or > even a US figure around 1900 to 1935--someone so impressive that people would > name their sons in tribute to them? > > Jean > > > ==== MIKENT Mailing List ==== > Visit the Kent Co. Michigan GenWeb Project: www.rootsweb.com/~mikent > > ============================== > 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 >

I am rather shy in asking this because I know it seems like a silly question. I have noticed in my family tree and those of others that suddenly there appears a number of given names Donald and Arthur around 1900-1935 in Grand Rapids. Also, there were absolutely no Donalds or Arthurs in the families before that time. So I was curious to know if there were some famous or highly respected persons named Donald and Arthur in Grand Rapids or Kent County or Michigan or even a US figure around 1900 to 1935--someone so impressive that people would name their sons in tribute to them? Jean