Richard Dixon's Probate

Wayne County, Michigan

Probate File# 19837

Image 595 coversheet

Richard Dixon

Died: 16 March 1894

In Greenfield Township, Wayne, Michigan

Will Dated: 14 June 1893

Codicil Dated: 20 September 1893

Estate: 1894

Dixon, Sidney B. (Son and Executor) Detroit, Mich.

" , Melvin D. (Son) 643 Williams St., East Buffalo, NY

" , Peter (Brother) Saginaw, Mich.                   

McLean, Mary Jane (Sister) Nee Dixon, Lockport, NY

Grandchildren and Children of Sidney B. Dixon

Dixon, Sidney R.  Detroit, Mich.

"  , Edward M.  Detroit, Mich.

", Maud Mary  Detroit, Mich.

", Frederick S.  Detroit, Mich.

            

Census 1880

Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States

Sidney B Dixon Self M 39 New York, United States

Catharine Dixon Wife F 37 Michigan, United States

Sidney R Dixon Son M 17 Canada

Edward M Dixon Son M 14 Michigan, United States

Maud M Dixon Daughter F 6 Michigan, United States

Fred S Dixon Son M 3 Michigan, United States

Rosa Froo Other F 17 Germany

Richard R Dixon Father M 65 England

Husted Sisters Charlotte And Sally

 Charlotte Husted, daughter of Stephen & Elizabeth (Soule) Husted married 1st Joseph Jennings and 2nd John Warner.  Living with Charlotte Husted Jennings Warner in 1880 was Sally Howland.  Was she related?

1880 MI Census, Saginaw, Maple Grove
 John WARNER      Self  M      Male  W  52  CAN  Farmer  CAN  CAN
 Charlotte WARNER  Wife      M  Female  W  61  NY  Keep House  NY  NY
 Sally HOWLAND  Other      W  Female  W  81  MI  NY  NY
 Frank JENNINGS  Other      S  Male  W  13  MI  NY  NY

The "Husted-L" Rootsweb site had a family tree with a Sarah Husted, daughter of Stephen Husted & Elizabeth Soule, who was born in 1799.  It was likely that Sally Howland was Charlotte Warner's sister. [Information found at FindAGrave corroborated most of this]

This site (large pdf file), "Descendants of Abraham Sampson," stated that Sarah Husted, b. 1799, married a Howland (first name unknown).

In 1850 in Oakland County, Michigan (where it was said that Stephen Husted died), Sally Howland, age 50, born in NY, was living with Jedediah Howland, age 39, and also Hiram Howland, age 19, Henry Howland, age 8, and Mary Jane Howland, age 7.

In  Oakland Co. in 1860, Hiram Howland, age 29, was the head of the household; living with him was Sally Peck, age 61, born in NY, as "governess of family."  There was no other family listed.  However, next door was William Howland, age 34, b. NY, and with him was Clarissa Bradley who was also listed as "governess of family" and three children (Wellington, Meloin?, and baby Arabella).  I believe it was Clarissa who was the governess and Sally was possibly the former Sally (Husted) Howland.

How And Why I Started Researching My Great-Grand Uncle's 1st Wife's 3rd Husband

The twists and turns of a typical search or how I got from here to there!

As I was browsing posts in the Google Reader, the updated online databases at FamilySearch.org were mentioned.  Hmmm....time to check out the list.  The update that caught my eye was Illinois probate but it was too labor intensive at that late hour, so I landed on Minnesota instead (no, I wasn't playing Monopoly).  After finding a couple of miscellaneous items, I started searching for Ingeborg Peterson in Minnesota.  Ingeborg was married to my great granduncle, Harry Gilman Powers, as his 2nd wife.

Hmmm...perhaps it was time to search at GenealogyBank.com for information about Uncle Harry's first wife, Lillian Cramer*.  Issues of the Flint [Michigan] Journal newspaper are online there and browsing through issues of the Journal is one of my favorite pasttimes.  It was late and getting later, but what the heck.

Lillian, who married Harry G. Powers in 1898, married John Baird in 1901**.  Lillian wasn't done marrying yet.  On February 19, 1908, she married David Delton Foerch*** (whom she later divorced).  Foerch struck me as an interesting and fairly unusual surname.  David Foerch was born in Canada and his mother was a Butler; was there a connection to Butler's Rangers?  Inquiring minds want to know.

My search has taken me way beyond the parameters of the Powers genealogy, but has now piqued my interest.  Could I justify continuing with David Foerch because the Butlers might take me back to the Niagara Peninsula where my Powers family used to live?  Okay, I'll go with that.

Because of the links I found researching my great granduncle's first wife's 3rd husband (David Foerch), he and his family will be the featured on a separate blog post.

*Marriage Record

Groom name: Harry G. Powers

Groom age: 21 years

Groom birth year: 1877

Groom birth place: Canada

Bride name: Lillian M. Cramer

Bride age: 17 years

Bride birth year: 1881

Bride birth place: Genesee, Michigan

Marriage date: 15 Mar 1898

Marriage place: Flint, Genesee, Michigan

Father of groom name: John N. Powers

Mother of groom name: Agnes Kennedy

Father of bride name: Dennis Cramer

Mother of bride name: Rellie H. Green

Collection: Michigan Marriages 1868-1925

**Michigan Marriages, 1822-1995

Groom's Name: John Baird

Groom's Birth Date: 1873

Groom's Birthplace: Saginaw, Mich.

Groom's Age: 28

Bride's Name: Lillian M. Cramer

Bride's Birth Date: 1880

Bride's Birthplace: Genesee, Mich.

Bride's Age: 21

Marriage Date: 30 May 1901

Marriage Place: Flint, Genesee, Michigan

Groom's Father's Name: Hamilton Baird

Groom's Mother's Name: June Brown

Bride's Father's Name: Dennis R. Cramer

Bride's Mother's Name: Nellie Greene

***Groom name: David D. Faerch [Lansing resident]

Groom age: 24 years

Groom birth year: 1884

Groom birth place: Ontario

Bride name: Lillian Cramer

Bride age: 25 years

Bride birth year: 1883

Bride birth place: Flint, Michigan

Marriage date: 19 Feb 1908

Marriage place: Lansing, Ingham, Michigan

Father of groom name: Andrew Faerch

Mother of groom name: Susanna Butler

Father of bride name: Dennis Cramer

Mother of bride name: Nellie R. Moss

Collection: Michigan Marriages 1868-1925

P.S. I marvel at genealogists who stay on point!

Family Of Melvin N. Fowler From Conesus, New York

A Fowler from Conesus, New York, found in American Ancestry:

FOWLER CHARLES GAYLORD of Saginaw Mich...and brother EDWARD WADE Fowler...sons of Melvin Nelson Fowler of Randolph, Wis. b at Conesus, NY July 18 1831, d...La...1866... m Marcia O dau of Harvey R Gaylord*...son of Joslah...m Oct 5 1818 Dorothea... .  *Note: Married Stella Atkins in 1830 in Ashtabula, Ohio.

Melvin N. Fowler, attorney at law, born in New York, was living in Fox Lake, Dodge Co., Wisconsin, in 1860, with wife Marcia and sons Charles and Edward.

Melvin N. Fowler in a Civil War index and in a pension file here (both links reference Fold3 paid site).  His widow filed February 28, 1894, for a pension.

The widowed Marcia Fowler was living with her parents in Saginaw County, Michigan.

United States Census, 1880

name: Marcia O. Fowler

residence: Saginaw, Saginaw, Michigan

birthdate: 1833

birthplace: Ohio, United States

relationship to head: Daughter

father's name: Harvey P. Gaylord

father's birthplace: New York, United States

mother's name: Stella M. Gaylord

mother's birthplace: Ohio, United States

martial status: Widowed

  Household Gender Age

parent Harvey P. Gaylord M 74

parent Stella M. Gaylord F 71

  Marcia O. Fowler F 47

Charles G. Fowler M 22

Mary A. Fowler F 18

Elizabeth Frank  F 22

Index: SAGINAW DAILY COURIER

Wednesday, December 12, 1883

Thursday, December 13, 1883 (7)

Name: GAYLORD, HARVEY R.

Spouse's Name: STELLA M. ATKINS

Married: 05/05/1830

Spouse's Death: 00/00/1881

Child Of: LEVI & LYDIA (SMITH)OF DELAWARE CO.

Birth Date: 07/25/1805

Birth Place: HARPERSFIELD, NY

Death Date: 12/11/1883

Death Place: SAGINAW, MI

Cemetery:  BRADY HILL

Misc: ABOLITIONIST/FATHER OF HON. A.S. GAYLORD

Church: PRESBYT.

There is a guide to the Atkins family papers at the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Melvin Nelson Fowler was born in Conesus.  Was he related to my Elizabeth (Fowler) Richmond who lived in Conesus as a married woman?  I don't know.

Charlotte Husted, Mother Of Eveline (Jennings) Barnum

A BARNUM researcher (Sharon) told me that she sent the Calvin Barnum family tree to the Montrose [MI] Historical Society and generously offered to help me update my research. Calvin Barnum's father, Joshua, bought property in Erie County, New York; Joshua's birthplace has not been determined.  Calvin moved to Michigan; his brother Joshua (Jr.) moved to Missouri and another brother, Leonard, stayed in Erie County, NY.  (My paternal aunt married Ray Barnum, one of Calvin's descendants).  Calvin (1836 - 1891) is buried in the Montrose Cemetery.

Calvin Barnum was married to Eveline Jennings (1842 - 1928), daughter of Joseph & Charlotte (Husted) Jennings.  After being contacted by Sharon, a closer look was in order for my Barnum/Jennings file.  It was time to resolve the question of whether or not Charlotte (Husted) Jennings had married John Warner.  The question was implied when a Frank Jennings was found living in the household of John and Charlotte Warner in 1880. Who was Frank Jennings and what was his relationship, if any, to the Warners? 

1880 MI Census, Saginaw, Maple Grove
 John WARNER Self  M  Male W 52  CAN  Farmer  CAN  CAN
 Charlotte WARNER Wife  M  Female  W  61  NY  Keep House  NY  NY
 Sally HOWLAND  Other W  Female  W  81  MI  NY  NY
 Frank JENNINGS  Other S  Male  W  13  MI  NY  NY

There was a marriage between John Warner and Charlotte Jennings on 29 August 1879 in Saginaw Co., Michigan; was the bride Charlotte (Husted) Jennings?

My notes reflected that Joseph & Charlotte Jennings and their children Evaline (who married Calvin Barnum), Margary, age 11, and Susan, age 3, were living in Atlas Twp., Genesee County, Michigan in 1860: 

Jennings, Joseph, 52, b. NY
  "  , Charlotte, 42, b. NY
 "  , Evaline, 18, b. MI
"  , Margary, 11, b. MI
" , Susan, 3, b. MI

In 1870 Joseph & Charlotte Jennings were still in Atlas Township and were joined by their daughter Mary (Margary), her husband, George Thorett, and their son, Franklin.  The Jennings' son Eli, was living next door with his family:

1870 MI Genesee Co., Atlas
Jennings, Joseph, 50, farmer, NY
", Charlott, 41, NY
", Susan, 14, NY
Thorett, George, 24, MI
", Mary, 19, MI
", Franklin, 3, MI
Next Door:
Jennings, E. J., 33, MI
", Nancy, 32, MI
", Ulysses, 4, MI
", Ettie, 7/12, MI
Dillenback, Winston, 24, VT
Dillenback, Hattie
", Alice

Franklin Thorett, age 3, was the right age to be Frank Jennings in the 1880 census living with Charlotte; but his surname was Thorett, not Jennings.  However, when Frank J. Jennings married Mrs. Electa (Bassett) Bennett, his parents were listed as Geo. Thorett and Margery Jennings.

Groom's Name: Frank J. Jennings
Groom's Age: 33 years
Groom's Birth Date: 1865
Groom's Birthplace: Mich. Genesee Co.
Bride's Name: Electia C. Bennett
Bride's Age: 32 years
Bride's Birth Date: 1866
Bride's Birthplace: Mich. Genesee Co.
Marriage Date: 20 Jul 1898
Marriage Place: Saginaw, Saginaw, Michigan
Groom's Father: Geo. Thorett
Groom's Mother: Margery Jennings
Bride's Father: Wm. Bassett
Bride's Mother: Not Given
Film Number: 2342510
Digital Folder Number: 4208266
Image Number: 223
Reference Number: v 4 p 105 rn 8180
Collection: null

 Based upon the records above, Frank Jennings enumerated in the 1880 census was the son of Margery Jennings and the grandson of Charlotte (Husted) Jennings.  Charlotte (Husted) Jennings married John Warner based upon said records.

There was a record of Charlotte's death, but her parents were not listed.  According to this site, her parents were Stephen Husted & Elizabeth Soule.

Charlotte Warner
Death Date: 25 Jun 1895
Death Place: Maple Grove, Saginaw, Michigan
Age: 78
Birth Date: 1817
Birthplace: New York
Marital Status: Married
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: B53224-6
System Origin: Michigan-EASy
Source Film Number: 967174
Reference Number: v D p 8
Collection: Michigan Deaths and Burials, 1800-1995

Obituary of Maxine (King) Hill

Published in the Flint Journal, Monday, April 19, 1948:


HILL--Maxine E. Hill, 2218 Levern St., age 39, died April 18, 1948, at Saginaw, Mich. Funeral services will be held at 1 P.M., Wednesday, April 21, 1948. Further arrangements will be announced later by the Reigle Funeral Home, 2417 S. Saginaw. Death was due to an auto accident. Surviving are: Husband, Howard; 3 sons, Lorne, Richard and Robert Cudney, all of Flint; 2 daughters, Jean Cudney of Stark, Fla., Mrs. Margaret Kennedy of Brown City, Mich.; father, Loren King of Indiana; mother, Mrs. Sarah Hill of Florida; 3 grandchildren; 2 sisters, Mrs. Retha Henderson, Mrs. Glennis Horner; brother, Petty Officer John Hill of Guam; several aunts and uncles and cousins.

1920 MI Genesee Co., Flint
Earl, Clifford, 30, WI Eng NY
" , Elizabeth, 34, IN IN IN
", Wretha, dau, 8/12, MI WI IN
King, Maxine E., step-daughter, 11, IN IN IN

1930 MI Census, Genesee Co., Flint Twp.
Cudney, George, 29, married age 23, Can Can Can, toolmaker - auto factory
", Maxine E., 21, married age 15, IN IN IN
", Margaret M., daughter, 5, MI Can IN
", Loren W., son, 4, son
", Robert G., 2, son
", Jean B., daughter, 1
Hill, John M, [listed as son], 1, MI MI IN

Maxine was buried in Lakeside Cemetery, Michigan.

Not related; no further information.

Michigan News - Including A Murder Trial

Ionia [MI] Sentinel Thursday, June 9, 1881
[Extracted Items]

NEWS OF THE WEEK - MICHIGAN

The trial of Dr. Hall of Davisburg, for the murder of his wife (Anna Clough Hall), has been commenced in the Oakland Circuit Court. [Ionia Sentinel, 9 June 1881]

He (Dr. Nathan C. Hall) apparently married 2nd Sarah (Wright) Murgittroyd, widow of Edward Murgittroyd. This report by the Michigan prison system stated that he (Dr. Hall) "Dis. by order of the Supreme Court for new trial June 22, 1882". Apparently there were three trials; he was convicted on November 7th [1882?]. The legal reasons for a new trial or trials can be found here.

His name (Nathan Christopher Hall) was found in the University of Michigan's Necrology File Index here and online here in the University of Michigan's General Catalogue.

1880 MI Census Oakland Co., Springfield Twp.
Nathan C. HALL Self W W 29 MI Doctor NY NY
Mary HALL Sister S W 16 MI At Home NY NY

In other news:

A soda fountain at St. Joseph's exploded nearly killing one man. [Ionia Sentinel]

Charles A. Richmond, of Saginaw, has sold the Jewell House at Vassar to Detroit parties, who occupy immediately. [Ionia Sentinel]

A boy named Willie Richmond, twelve years old, was drowned while playing on the logs in Hoyt's mill boom at Saginaw. He was an only son. [Ionia Sentinel]

The Saginaw Public Library hosts a City of Saginaw Cemeteries search. The following was found for Willie Richmond:

William Richmond
Cemetery Brady Hill
Section 3E
Lot 28
Space N Line of S 1/2
Date of Birth Unknown
Marker No
Age at Death 13
Cause of Death Accidentally drowned
Date of Death May 30, 1881

There was an Ann Richmond, age 32, buried 3E, Lot 28, 2nd N Line of S 1/2, in Brady Hill Cemetery, who died 16 June 1882.

Robert McFadden, a circular sawyer at the Bliss mill, East Saginaw, was killed, having his left leg cut off by being thrown on to the saw. [Ionia Sentinel]

Mrs. Sarah McGraw, who lives at 159 Fort street west, Detroit, was strangled to death by being caught between the door of the house and a shelf of a dumb waiter, while trying to go from the basement to the first door. She had been out calling, and on her return to the house found that the family had retired. So she tried to gain entrance to the house in this way. [Ionia Sentinel]

A John Backus of Saginaw, Michigan, Who Was Born In Germany

John Backus & Gottfried Backus, both of Saginaw, Michigan, were found in the "Acts of the legislature of West Virginia." I found this information while doing a "Google" search for my ancestor, John Backus, a lineal descendant of William Backus of Saybrook, Connecticut, who was an early New England ancestor. John & Gottfried were born in Germany and therefore I knew they were not related to me. However, I found the combination of "John Backus" and Michigan irresistible.

Gottfried Backus, born in 1841 in Germany to John & W. (Browell) Backus, according to his Michigan marriage record (where he married 2nd Anna Boelke). His mother was "Mina Backus" in the 1880 MI Census taken in Saginaw Co.:

John J. BACKUS Self W W 35 BREMEN Lumber BRE BRE
Gotfried BACKUS Bro M W 39 BRE Lumber BRE BRE
Helena BACKUS SisterL M W 25 MI PRUSS PRUSS
Mina BACKUS Mother W W 74 BRE BRE BRE
Emma ROESER Other S W 20 MI PRUSS PRUSS

Source Information: 4th Wd, Sag., Saginaw, Michigan

John's wife, Alma Backus, who died in 1880, was found on the Saginaw Library's Obituary database website:

Index: SAGINAW MORNING HERALD
Monday, April 26, 1880
(2) Name:BACKUS, ALMA
Spouse's Name:JOHN
Death Date:04/00/1880
Death Place:SAGINAW, MI
Misc:FUNERAL FROM HOUSE ON STATE ST.
John Backus named as a competitor in a Michigan Legislature election can be found here.

Also found in the West Virginia legislature records with the Backus brothers were Willie Binder of Saginaw and William Binder of Saginaw. An obituary for William Binder was found in the Saginaw Library database:

Index: SAGINAW COURIER HERALD
Wednesday, March 10, 1915 (5)
Name:BINDER, WILLIAM
Age:90
Death Date:02/07/1915
Death Place:HERSAU, WURTEMBERG, GERMANY
Miscellaneous Misc:ONE TIME PROMINENT LUMBERMAN AND SALT MANUFACTURER

Tracking The military.....

Tracking The military…

The historical framework of the United States military begins with the Revolutionary War, followed by the War of 1812, Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. So what was the military doing when not fighting these wars? There were the conflicts during the colonial years; there were also other wars, battles and imminent threats threaded throughout its history.

One Of Many Missions…..

The Territorial Government determined that their new acquisitions on the Saginaw would be utterly worthless unless the articles of the Treaty of Saginaw could be carried out in full. [History of Saginaw County, Michigan,1881]

The Sac and Fox Indians had for years annually made visits to Malden [near present day Windsor, Ontario, Canada], where they received thousands of dollars in presents from the British agents, and it was no infrequent occurrence for them to commit depredations upon the property of the whites as they passed to and fro along the route from Wisconsin. This annual tribute of the British had a tendency to strengthen an attachment between the Indians and British. It therefore became obvious that measures should be taken to stop the custom.
[www.rootsweb.com/~wijuneau/Star4.html]

The Legislative Council asked for special powers from the United States, which, being conferred, a detachment of U.S. troops was ordered to proceed from the military outpost at Green Bay en route for the treaty grounds of the Saginaws in 1822. [History of Saginaw]

Why The Military in 1822……

An historical account of Genesee County noted the following about the 3rd U.S. Infantry: “The first road leading to Flint was cut through the forest from the Saginaw river to the Flint [river] by two detachments of the 3rd U.S. Infantry under Lieutenant Brooks and Bainbridge in 1822-23. It was little more than a bridle path. From the Flint river to Royal Oak [north of Detroit] the Indian trail was used and from there to Detroit a corduroy road was built across the swamps and low lands. [Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, Vol. 35, 1907]

That surprised me; I just hadn’t thought about a military presence (albeit brief] in Flint. I then wondered about the 3rd; who they were, why troops were in the interior of the peninsula, and why they were building a road in that location.

The 3rd Infantry….

Officers of this garrison were Major Daniel Baker, Captains John Garland, S.H. Webb; Lieutenants, Otis Wheeler, Edward Brooks, Henry Bainbridge, Charles Baker, William Allen, and Surgeon Zina Pitcher. The last named officer joined the command in October while the Surgeon, accompanied by Whitmore Knaggs, arrived overland from Detroit on July 25, 1822. The families of Major Baker, Captain Garland and Lieutenant Brooks accompanied the command, as also John Dean, sutler; Chauncey Bush, Elliot Gray and T.C. Sheldon, army contractors. [History of Saginaw]

Of the men who lived to reach another station [after leaving the Saginaw post], there are only a few survivors. All have served with the U.S. Regiment in the Mexican campaign. [History of Saginaw]

Why The 3rd Needed The Road….

Major Whitney, U.S. Quartermaster stationed at Detroit, needed to get supplies to troops stationed in Saginaw…after eight days of hard labor, the mission was successfully accomplished, by fording the Clinton river five times, the Thread, Cass and Flint rivers as well as Pine and Elm rivers, too. [History of Saginaw]

Moving On….

The following fall they abandoned the fort at Saginaw and moved to Detroit, by water, in two schooners. What did Major Baker, whose brother * [and other family members] died in Saginaw, think of the Saginaw valley? Baker reported that nothing but Indians, muskrats and bullfrogs could possibly exist there. [History of Saginaw]

*October 13, 1823 Baker, Lieutenant Horatio N. died 13th; Saginaw; of prevailing fever; 3rd US Infantry; Buried Detroit - Detroit Gazette, October 31, 1823

September 27, 1823 Baker, Frederick Sidney died 27th; age 14yrs; youngest son of Major Daniel Baker of the US Army post Saginaw - Detroit Gazette. Ibid

October 17, 1823; Baker, Gerusah M. died 15th; aged 24yr 6mth, daughter of Major D. Baker of US Army - Detroit Gazette, February 18, 1825. Ibid

Business Moves In….

The American Fur Company established a post in 1824 at the abandoned Saginaw fort. [History of Saginaw]

The Saginaw Valley Today….

SAGINAW 2005