Tombstone Tuesday

This is the plot of the family of Harvey K. Bailey in Rockford Cemetery, in Rockford, MI. The stone in the foreground is that of his wife Rachel C. Deer. Today is the 101st anniversary of her death in Algoma Township, MI. She was born in May of 1830 to George and Sara (Labere) Deer and she is the sister of my 5^th Great Aunt, Sarah (Deer) Helsel. She married Harvey in Dec of 1864 in Kent County, MI. The couple had at least two children: Austen and Ella May Bailey. I detailed the Deer family back in May.

Happy hunting,

Jessica

 

Tombstone Tuesday

I love the detail in this stone—between the branch design and the square and compass symbol marking G. N. Shaw a Freemason—and the details in the picture with the tipping stones in the background.

This is the marker for the final resting place of George N. and Sarah (Johnson) Shaw in Rockford Cemetery, Rockford, Michigan.  George was the son of Sisson and Sophia (Rounds) Shaw. We’re not directly related but the Shaw family intertwines with most of the early Algoma Township families including the Helsels, Houses, Morningstars, and Rectors.

Happy hunting,

Jess

 

Tombstone Tuesday

I now feel like I have just enough of a backlog of digital images to participate in the meme “Tombstone Tuesday”… so, the next up is in honor of my Great Great Grandmother who was laid to rest 84 years ago yesterday.

This is the headstone for my Great Great Grandmother Lena Grove (Baker) Johnson. She was the 5^th child and youngest daughter of Eugene and Amelia (Grove) Baker born 16 Apr 1884. At the age of 18 she married William Amos Johnson, the youngest son of William Suffling and Mary (Gordon) Johnson. The family spent a number of years in Traverse City, Michigan where William worked as a plumber but in 1923 they moved back to Rockford, Michigan. She died five years later on 03 Sep 1928 after a six month illness leaving one grown son, Robert Eugene, and a 10 year old daughter, Betty Lou.

Lena is buried with her husband in the Rockford Cemetery, in Rockford, Michigan. When you take the main entrance to the cemetery if you follow the center path and take the next left the Johnson plot will be on the left hand side of the path. Interestingly on my last trip the stones were essentially in the right location but up out of the ground beside their normal spots. Given the tremendous shifting over the years I’m not terribly surprised.

Happy hunting,

Jess