This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: HUTCHINSON, McNICHOLAS, VAN REED Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4167 Message Board Post: While he has been a resident of Lowell only since 1914, Joseph M. Hutchinson has already strongly impressed the virile, energetic personality upon the people of this thriving community, where he is editor of the Lowell Journal. Two vocations, educational and journalistic work, have occupied Mr. Hutchinson's energies during a long and uniformly successful career, and the experiences which he has gained in various parts of the country while following these professions have been of a nature decidedly interesting and at the same time helpful to him in his present capacity. Out of the adventures that have gone to make up a busy life he has been able to extract a knowledge of human nature and a keen comprehension of the responsibilities of citizenship, and with these and other qualifications he has proven a valuable asset to his adopted city. Mr. Hutchinson was born on a farm in Shelby County, Illinois, Oct. 2, 1860, son of Alfred and Mary (McNichols) Hutchinson, natives of New Je! rsey, but they were married in Illinois. They removed shortly after their union to Shelby County, where both passed away after years spent in the pursuits of the soil. Joseph M. Hutchinson received his early education in the schools of his native locality. His parents were Quakers, but he was sent for further training to Pennington, N.J., where for three years he attended the Methodist Episcopal Seminary. Returning to Illinois, in 1883, he began his career as a schoolteacher, but subsequently supplemented his former training by a course at the Illinois State Normal University. Duly graduated in that institution, he shortly thereafter became superintendent of schools at Wyoming, Ill., later at Mackinaw, Ill., then at Fort Thomas, Ky., where he spent four years, and then at Covington, Ky., where he remained during a like period. During this time Mr. Hutchinson, a man of marked literary tastes and much ability, had been interested in newspaper work and had contributed to variou! s journals in the communities in which his labors had been centered. It was at Harrisburg, Ill., however, that he really started his connection with journalism, and at that point for three years he was editor of the Harrisburg Chronicle. Subsequently he went to Plainwell, Mich., for one and one-half years, in the same kind of work, and at the end of that time came to Lowell, where, in April, 1914, he purchased the Lowell Journal, of which he has been the editor and publisher. Since its founding, July 13, 1865, by Webster Morris, this newspaper has taken an active part in the affairs of Lowell, and under Mr. Hutchinson's energetic and capable management has broadened the scope of its influence and become a decided factor in forming public opinion. Mr. Hutchinson is a Republican and a stanch supporter of his party, but endeavors to give his readers a clear, unbiased view of all public questions. He is conducting a clean, reliable paper, and is receiving gratifying support fro! m the public. Fraternally, Mr. Hutchinson is a Royal Arch Mason. He was married Aug. 3, 1899, to Edith, daughter of Mabry and Mary Van Reed, both parents now being deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson have no children.

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/4166.1.1 Message Board Post: Thank you. I will request a copy of the obituary.

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/4166.1 Message Board Post: Try: http://data.wmgs.org/ for the obit index. Looks like a Charles Timm is listed for 1934.

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?

I am trying to get around a lateral brick wall here. Does anyone know about the family Spoelstra? I have a Grace Spoelstra b. March 1877 in Michigan who married Louis J. Van der Burg(t) date unknown. In the 1900 Census, they were living at 327 Temarick, Grand Rapids with Grace 23 and Louis 25. Sometime later they moved to Holland, MI. Grace was alive at the time of her sister-in-law's funeral, February 1955. She had at least 2 sisters, Katherine and Gertrude, also a brother named Laurence. There was a neice that lived with her but she had no children of her own. Any information on this family would be welcomed and appreciated. Jean Wieland Bails SE Michigan

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: LUCE, HALL, MEHRTENS Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4165 Message Board Post: Charles M. Luce, present proprietor of the Hotel Mertens, was born at Battle Creek, Mich., Dec. 2, 1883, son of Charles A. and Ellen (Hall) Luce. After attending the public schools of Grand Rapids he went to Chicago, where he attended the Chicago Manual Training school and while there joined the Tau Delta Phi fraternity. In 1907 he started traveling on the road as a salesman of furniture, on a commission basis, but in 1910 left the road to enter the purchasing department of the American Sheeting Company, with which he was connected for one year. Mr. Luce next went to Wickenburg, Ariz., where he engaged in the general merchandise business under the firm style of Luce & Campbell until 1913, when he came to Grand Rapids and became associated with Mr. Mehrtens in the building of the new Hotel Mertens, of which he has been proprietor and manager since the elder man's death. This hotel, at the corner of Oakes and Commerce streets, was thrown open to the public, July 6, 1914. It is! a fire-proof structure, sanitary in every particular, 100x50 feet in dimensions, and has eight floors and 133 rooms, forty rooms being with bath. The house has become extremely popular among those of the traveling public who appreciates real comfort, an excellent cuisine and attentive service, and who know that their every requirement will be gladly and intelligently catered to. Mr. Luce is a Republican in his political tendencies and is fraternally affiliated with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. He has shown himself as being in sympathy with progressive movements and as a citizen has supported public-spirited enterprises. Mr. Luce was married, Sept. 10, 1913, to Gertrude Ann, daughter of Charles H. Mehrtens, and they are parents of a son, Charles Mehrtens.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: HAZE Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4164 Message Board Post: Captain William Haze was born in Grand Rapids, Feb. 17, 1885, and was educated in the high school of the city. He is one of the few Grand Rapids officers who is unmarried. For a number of years he has been a trusted employee of the Bissell Carpet Sweeper Company. His military service began with Company M, in 1903, as a bugler. He went through the line of promotion from corporal to first lieutenant of the machine gun company and was commissioned captain on May 2, 1917. He is an enthusiastic, but level-headed young man and is bound to make his company effective in this very important branch of the service.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: GUEST, MAY, SCHAFFER Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4163 Message Board Post: During a period of thirty-five years Maynard A. Guest has been a resident of Grand Rapids, having come here with his parents when a lad. He is therefore, while not a native of the city, a Grand Rapids man by education, training and preference. He is an exemplification of the alert, self-reliant, progressive citizen whose record speaks for itself, and in his capacity as secretary of the Widdicomb Furniture Company he is demonstrating the possession of a high order of executive capacity. Mr. Guest was born at Cadillac, Mich., Sept. 9, 1879, son of Chauncey and Jennie (May) Guest. He was about four years old when his parents brought him to Grand Rapids, and here he grew up, his edcuation being the ordinary one to be acquired through attendance at the graded schools. The first business experience was gained by Mr. Guest while in the employ of the G. R. & I. Railroad, but after three months with that service he resigned and transferred his activities to the Michigan Chair Company! , where his early information and later training came in regard to the furniture business. Mr. Guest remained with his concern for some seventeen years, becoming secretary and treasurer of the company, and leaving, in 1916, to become secretary of the Widdicomb Furniture Company, which position he has retained to the present time. In his political proclivities Mr. Guest is a Republican and has always taken an interest in the success of his party, although never having desired to be a candidate for public preferment. He is a valued member of the O-wash-ta-nong Club, the Highlands Gold Club and the Furniture Club, has other connections of a business and social nature, and is popular with a wide circle of friends. Mr. Guest was married Oct. 8, 1906, to Miss Rhona Schaffer, of Saline, Mich., and of this union have been born four children – Adelia Estelle, Marjorie, Donald Maynard and Jean.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: BERTSCH, WILMARTH Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4162 Message Board Post: Charles Harley Bertsch, treasurer of Barclay, Ayers & Bertsch Company, is one of the younger generation of business men and has had a career of steady advancement. He was born at Grand Rapids, July 27, 1879, a son of John Bertsch, and received his education in the public schools of the city, following which he gained his first business experience in the employ of the Michigan Leather Company, with which he remained for nine years. He then transferred his services to the Cappon & Bertsch Leather Company, at Holland, Mich., but after two years there returned to Grand Rapids to assist in the organization and to assume the duties of his present position. Mr. Bertsch is essentially one of the men of action of Grand Rapids and one who is interested in many of the city's activities. He is a member of the board of directors of the Grand Rapids Building and Loan Association, belongs to the Association of Commerce and the Builders' and Traders' Exchange, and for six years was secretar! y of the Young Men's Christian Association. He has been on the official board of stewards of the First Methodist Episcopal Church for twelve years, and in his political views he is a Republican. In Masonry he has taken the York and Scottish Rite degrees and is a Shriner, and his social connections include membership in the O-Wash-ta-nong Club and the Highlands Country Club. He was married Nov. 28, 1912, to Lucile A., daughter of Oscar B. Wilmarth, of Grand Rapids, and they have three children: Marion Louise, Ruth Adelaide, and John Wilmarth.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: BARCLAY, BIGELOW, MUNN, FELL, FLEMING Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4161 Message Board Post: Warren Y. Barclay, vice-president and general manager of the Barclay, Ayers & Bertsch Company, is one of the self-made men of Grand Rapids of whom the city has every reason to be proud. Forced to begin his battle with life at a tender age, he was denied many of the advantages which it is assumed youth should enjoy, and his success has been attained without the aid of outside influences, having been acquired in spite of obstacles and discouraging circumstances. Mr. Barclay is a product of Kent County, having been born in the little community of Smyrna, March 27, 1851. His father was Charles Barclay, who came to Grand Rapids in 1854 and established a brick yard, but in 1860 transferred his attention to agricultural pursuits and passed the remainder of his life therein with the exception of the time he spent as a soldier of the Union during the Civil war. Warren Y. Barclay was educated in the public schools, and when but fourteen years of age was compelled to give up his studie! s to work on the home farm, his father having joined the army. From 1860 until 1870 he was in the employ of W. D. Foster, and in the latter ear transferred his services to E. G. Studley as a salesman, until he was taken into partnership in the firm of Studley & Barclay, in 1890. From that time to the present his history has been that of the company with which he is now identified, and the credit for the success of which rests largely in his splendid business ability and preserving energy. Mr. Barclay is not only ranked with the able business men of Grand rapids, but stands high as a citizen who is ever ready to do his full part in constructive work. He is a Republican in his political views and an attendant of the Fountain Street Baptist Church. He was first married in 1863 to Miss Dora A. Bigelow, of Grand Rapids, and they had three children: J. Myrtle, widow of Ralph Munn, of Auburn, N.Y.; Estella B., wife of Bert Fell, of Chicago, Ill., and Wallace G., of Grand Rapids. Mr! s. Barclay died in 1889, and in 1893 Mr. Barclay married Mrs. Maude J. Fleming, of Trenton, Mich.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: ASSALEY, MALLICK, ZEKAIB Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4160 Message Board Post: Through the earnest and unselfish labors of its pastor, St. George's First Syrian Orthodox Church of Grand Rapids has been placed upon a self-supporting basis, and since its organization, in 1908, when it was an uncertain venture, has grown into a religious body that today wields a great influence for good. Rev. Philipous Abo Assaley, its pastor, was born at Rashaya-Ellwady, State of Damascus, Syria, in 1870, son of Georgious and Rose (Mallick) Assaley, natives of the same place, where the family has lived for generations. He was educated in private schools, and in his native land taught in parochial schools for seven years, then spending one year as an educator in the town of Balaabeck and nine years in Russian schools. In 1906 he came to the United States and settled in Grand Rapids, where a number of his countrymen lived. While engaged in the work of gathering together a congregation, he worked in the Sligh Furniture Company's factory, but in 1908 resigned his position an! d went to Brooklyn, N.Y. where he was ordained into the ministry. In that same year he returned to Grand Rapids and organized St. George's First Syrian Orthodox Church, and started the erection of the church edifice, at No. 219 Williams Street, the building being completed at a cost of $5,000. Each year the parish has grown, until today it includes fifty families. In Reverend Assaley is found a wholesome and human philosopher and a most courageous ethical teacher. The fragrance of his faith, the encouragement to be found in his business success, the strength and dynamic power of his utterances from the pulpit, and his maintenance of the truth in which he believes and for which he has ever been ready to make war when attacked, unite in the making of a career of more than average purpose and usefulness. Reverend Assaley was married Feb. 1, 1903, to Yamna Zekaib, daughter of Ferris Zekaib, born in the same place as her husband. They have had the following children: Olga and Geo! rge (1), who were born in Syria and died there; George (2), also born in Syria; Alexander, the first child born in the United States; Ben, who is deceased; Toofic and Shafic.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: GOOZEN Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4159 Message Board Post: The vast lumber interests of Kent County and particularly that part included in Solon township have a worthy and honorable representative in the person of W. W. Goozen, who resides in the Cedar Springs community. From the outset of his career he has been identified in one or another way with this industry, and his knowledge thereof makes him an authority on all matters connected with lumber, timber and their allied interests. He has also engaged in other occupations, but the lumber business has held out attractions for him chiefly and this has been his main occupation. Mr. Goozen was born on a farm in Solon Township, Kent County, near the village of Solon Center, where he received a common school education. Growing up among the woodsmen, he naturally took to that line of work in his youth, and his industry, energy and faithfulness, together with his ability to govern others, soon won him the position of foreman. This office he held for many years, being connected with some o! f the leading and largest dealers in this line in Kent County, but his knowledge of his business gives him a reputation that is not confined to the county of Kent, but extends to many parts of Michigan. He is familiar with the machinery necessary to the handling of logs in large quantities, a knowledge that is of great practical value to one in his line of work. Mr. Goozen is a man of reliability and public spirit who connects himself with enterprises for the welfare of his community. He is a property owner in section 18, Solon Township, and has his home at Cedar Springs. As a fraternalist he has passed through the chairs of Cedar Springs Lodge No. 213, F. & A. M., and belongs to Lodge No. 48, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, at Grand Rapids.

I also enjoy reading these messages--you never where you may find someone you are looking for. Please keep posting to the list. Thanks for all your hard work Pat Reed

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Noragong/Noraconk/Cline/Meyer Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/kFB.2ACE/1247.1 Message Board Post: Hi Kent, My great great grandfather Jacob was your Abraham brother. Buried Hamony Acres Cementery, Miltom PA Grace

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: PREISSER, FRANK Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4158 Message Board Post: The Roman Catholic church in Grand Rapids is represented by many able clergyman of such power and lives as would bring honor to any community in which they might live, men of such lovable natures as win the affections as well as the respect of those under their charge, and are consequently the better enabled to move their people along the path whose watchword is religion and whose lights are faith and morals. Of the Catholic priests of the diocese of Grand Rapids there is none of higher personal consideration among the members of his own faith, as well as those of a different religious opinion than the Rev. Jerome Preisser, pastor of St. Anthony's Church. Father Preisser was born at Albany, N.Y., April 27, 1865, a son of Joseph and Mary (Frank) Preisser. His parents were natives of Germany, his father born in Bavaria and his mother in Baden, and they came to the United States when young and married in Albany, N.Y., where Joseph Preisser was engaged in working as an employee ! of the New York Central Railway. Both parents are deceased. Rev. Jerome Preisser attended the parochial and public schools of Albany in his boyhood, and when his early training was completed enrolled as a student at St. Francis' College, at Syracuse, N.Y. Later he went to Rome, Italy, where his theological studies were prosecuted for four years, and April 12, 1891, he was ordained as a priest of the Catholic Church. His first charge upon his return to this country was at Hoboken, N.J., where he was assistant at St. Joseph's church for one year, spent the next two years as assistant at the Church of the Assumption, Syracuse, N.Y., and then went to Louisville, Ky., where he remained for eighteen years as pastor of St. Peter's Church. On Aug. 6, 1912, he was called to St. Anthony's Parish, Grand Rapids. Under Father Preisser's spiritual direction are 200 families, while there are 145 children in the parochial school, taught by four teachers from the Dominican Sisters. The new c! hurch, the basement of which is now finished, was dedicated March 7, 1915, and when completed will be a monument to Father Preisser's artistic habits and successful energy. In the prime of his life, a man of active habits and never-failing industry, Father Preisser essays nothing for his parish in which he does not succeed. Neither is there any priest in Grand Rapids who has more thoroughly succeeded in endearing himself to his parishioners.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: HEFFERAN, FULLER Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4157 Message Board Post: Among the men who represent the financial interests of Grand Rapids, one of the best known is Thomas William Hefferean, cashier of the People's Savings Bank. He came to this institution in 1900, straight from college halls, and his entire career has been devoted to its progress and the extension of its usefulness, while at the same time he has himself broadened and matured until he has taken rank with the substantial and conservative banks of the Furniture City. Mr. Hefferan was born July 22, 1876, in Eastmanville, Mich., and is a son of Thomas and Emily (Kent) Hefferan. He received his education in the public and high schools of Grand Rapids and was then sent to Yale University, where he was graduated with the class of 1900. On July 5 of that year he entered the People's Savings Bank of Grand Rapids, rose rapidly to the position of manager, and finally was made cashier, which position he holds today. He holds rank among the men who are carefully conserving the interests of ! individual and business interests, and has a wide acquaintance in banking circles throughout this part of the state. Politically, like his father, he is a Democrat, and also like the elder man has played only a good citizen's role in the game of politics. He belongs to the Park Congregational church, of which he is a trustee, is a member of the various Masonic bodies, and holds membership in the Association of Commerce and the Peninsular, Schubert and Kent Country clubs. Mr. Hefferan was married Oct. 18, 1904, to Miss Blanche Fuller, daughter of William Fuller, M.D., of Grand Rapids, and they have been the parents of five children: Margaret F., who is deceased, and Mary Eleanor, Thomas William, Jr., Robert F. and Emeline Kent.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: WURZBURG, JEWELL, CLARK Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4156 Message Board Post: Edmund W. Wurzburg was born in Grand Rapids, April 13, 1879, son of Frederick W. Wurzburg. He attended the public schools of his native city, was in school for a time in Buffalo, N.Y., and spent one year in a gymnasium in Germany, which corresponds to a high school in the United States. At the age of twenty years he entered the Wurzburg department store in Grand Rapids and there gained experience in mercantile business. He later spent two years in New York City, with the Textile Publishing Company, and then went to El Paso, Tex., where he had charge of a mercantile establishment for one year. At the end of that time he returned to Grand Rapids and again entered the Wurzburg store, becoming secretary and treasurer of the company when the business was reorganized. His father returned from active connection with the establishment about 1903, and Edmund W. is now vice-president of the incorporation. He is a member of the Peninsular, Kent Country, Highlands Country and Owashtanon! g clubs, and also of the Association of Commerce. Mr. Wurzburg was married July 16, 1904, to Miss Marguerite, daughter of M.J. and Emily (Jewell) Clark, of Grand Rapids, and of this union have been born four children – Jane, Emily, Margaret and Edmund, Jr.

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/4155 Message Board Post: Hey folks. I will transcribe biographies from the second volume of Fisher's 1918 history of Kent County and Grand Rapids. A list of names is available here: http://wmgs.org/research/biography_index_.htm Email me DIRECTLY at jengod@yahoo.com if there's a name that interests you. I am NOT on the MIKENT-L list so posting there will do you no good. ~jen

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: YEITER, REUTER, CLARK, BLOOMER, CURTISS Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/4154 Message Board Post: Orlo J. Yeiter, junior member of the firm of Yeiter & Company, was born in Lowell township, May 9, 1890, a son of Samuel S. and Caroline (Reuter) Yeiter, natives of Michigan and agriculturalists during the active period of their lives. The father died in January 1916, but the mother still survives and makes her home at Lowell. There were five children in the family: Clair D., who married Mary Clark; Orlo J.; Claud S., who married Lillian Bloomer; Lena L., and Harold G. Orlo J. Yeiter was educated in the public schools of Lowell township and the high school at Freeport, and until nineteen years of age was engaged in farming on his father's property. At that time he was married and for some years thereafter was identified with a number of business enterprises, finally becoming associated with Joseph B. Yeiter, his father's cousin, in the operation of the present house. He is known as one of the energetic and enterprising young businessmen of the city and has already made a fir! mly established place for himself in commercial circles. He is an independent voter, affiliates with Lowell Camp No. 115, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, is also a Mason, and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1909 Mr. Yeiter was married to Miss Rosella, daughter of Earl and Mary Curtiss, formerly farming people of Lowell township and now retired residents of Lowell. Of this union has come a daughter, Evelyn L., born Feb. 26, 1912, and a son, Gerald S., born Jan. 2. 1918.

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/4153 Message Board Post: Hey, I just found out that the Making of America archive has put the 1859 Directory online. This rocks! You can search the full text and view scanned pages. It's wonderful. Here's the URL -- watch out though, because it's long. You'll probably have to cut and paste the several parts and put them directly into a web browser "Goto" field. http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?sid=51f4252add3be84f140af84d9946f781&idno=AJA3147.0001.001&view=toc&c=moa This very vaguely serves as a 1870 census index substitute. Very vaguely. You can also read/search the histories posted in this book from the Kent Co. GenWeb site at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~mikent/directory1870/ Anyway, have fun. ~jen