Dear Folks, Several weeks ago Valerie from Oklahoma sent me a message that she would be here this coming weekend with hopes that I or someone else could give her a guided tour around the Town of Porter and point out some of the landmarks of her Clapsaddle/Quade families. That was a tough request to fill. In the first place I'm not physically capable of giving her the grand tour but more than that, there is very little to show her of her early families. My last resort was to ask Peggy (Tower) Shear to do the honors. She agreed but admitted she knew very little about those families and she would need my help to put something together that would at least show Valerie the area and the land that the families owned. We talked again over the phone and by then we had some sort of clue what was here that Valerie would appreciate. Peggy came over to my house at 7:30 this evening and brought with her some of the information she had dug up. I, in the meantime, went through my files and cemetery records and when we sat down to my kitchen table we were off and running. We first went through the Title Search of the property Peggy and her husband bought on Brailey Rd. It started off when Wilhelm Willink (and others) granted the deed to the land to William Clapsaddle around 1837. Peggy always wondered who Wilhelm Willink was and I gave her a brief history lesson. Willink was an agent for the Holland Land Company who first sold off lots of land to settlers. When they granted William the deed to the land, it meant that he had finally paid off the mortgage. He had probably contracted with the Holland Land Co. in the very early 1800s to buy the property. Going through the Title Search was a history lesson of its own. When William died it was noted who his wife and children were and as the land passed from one to the other, we were able to identify who they were. When it came to modern times, Peggy told me some very interesting stories about the later purchasers of the land, especially the man they bought it from. I then ran Peggy through how William Clapsaddle was related to Valerie. Her ancestor was George Clapsaddle and I was able to identify their family. William was George's brother and with their brother John built the first grist mill in 1817 on what is now almost on the corner of Bailey Rd. and Porter Center Rd. I had gone through my cemetery records and found where the three brothers' parents were buried--the Tower Cemetery. Note: their parents were born in the 1700s and their headstones are still there with other Clapsaddle family members. I photocopied the names of those who were buried there and Peggy knew that she could find their graves inasmuch as she was a Tower and was very familiar with the small cemetery. Years ago when I did thorough Clapsaddle research from the local records at hand, I had a copy of an 1870 map of Town of Porter and had circled all of the many Clapsaddle families who were named on it. I made a copy for Peggy and she studied it very carefully. The map showed all of the major roads at the time and even now it looks like a modern map. The roads are still here. She knows that at least she could point out where all of the family were living in 1870. I ran off copies of cemetery records and maps and other pertinent stuff and when Peggy left here around 10:30 she pretty much had planned just what sort of a tour she could give Valerie that would give her an exciting day in the land of her ancestors--complete with a knowledgable tour guide. What more could anyone want? vee

Dear Vee, You do the nicest things! Leslie Kohler ----- Original Message ----- > Dear Folks, > > Several weeks ago Valerie from Oklahoma sent me a message that she would > be here this coming weekend with hopes that I or someone else could give > her a guided tour around the Town of Porter and point out some of the > landmarks of her Clapsaddle/Quade families. That was a tough request to > fill. In the first place I'm not physically capable of giving her the > grand tour but more than that, there is very little to show her of her > early families. > > My last resort was to ask Peggy (Tower) Shear to do the honors. She > agreed but admitted she knew very little about those families and she > would need my help to put something together that would at least show > Valerie the area and the land that the families owned. We talked again > over the phone and by then we had some sort of clue what was here that > Valerie would appreciate. > > Peggy came over to my house at 7:30 this evening and brought with her some > of the information she had dug up. I, in the meantime, went through my > files and cemetery records and when we sat down to my kitchen table we > were off and running. > > We first went through the Title Search of the property Peggy and her > husband bought on Brailey Rd. It started off when Wilhelm Willink (and > others) granted the deed to the land to William Clapsaddle around 1837. > Peggy always wondered who Wilhelm Willink was and I gave her a brief > history lesson. Willink was an agent for the Holland Land Company who > first sold off lots of land to settlers. When they granted William the > deed to the land, it meant that he had finally paid off the mortgage. He > had probably contracted with the Holland Land Co. in the very early 1800s > to buy the property. > > Going through the Title Search was a history lesson of its own. When > William died it was noted who his wife and children were and as the land > passed from one to the other, we were able to identify who they were. > When it came to modern times, Peggy told me some very interesting stories > about the later purchasers of the land, especially the man they bought it > from. > > I then ran Peggy through how William Clapsaddle was related to Valerie. > Her ancestor was George Clapsaddle and I was able to identify their > family. William was George's brother and with their brother John built the > first grist mill in 1817 on what is now almost on the corner of Bailey Rd. > and Porter Center Rd. > > I had gone through my cemetery records and found where the three brothers' > parents were buried--the Tower Cemetery. Note: their parents were born in > the 1700s and their headstones are still there with other Clapsaddle > family members. I photocopied the names of those who were buried there > and Peggy knew that she could find their graves inasmuch as she was a > Tower and was very familiar with the small cemetery. > > Years ago when I did thorough Clapsaddle research from the local records > at hand, I had a copy of an 1870 map of Town of Porter and had circled all > of the many Clapsaddle families who were named on it. I made a copy for > Peggy and she studied it very carefully. The map showed all of the major > roads at the time and even now it looks like a modern map. The roads are > still here. She knows that at least she could point out where all of the > family were living in 1870. > > I ran off copies of cemetery records and maps and other pertinent stuff > and when Peggy left here around 10:30 she pretty much had planned just > what sort of a tour she could give Valerie that would give her an exciting > day in the land of her ancestors--complete with a knowledgable tour guide. > What more could anyone want? > vee