Tombstone Tuesday - November 22, 2011

Rose Constance O’Malley Kaake


Born : August 3, 1911
Died : June 7, 1984

Rose Constance O’Malley was the first born daughter of Anthony O’Malley and Louise Wilson in Brown City, Michigan.  She married Charles Arthur Kaake in 1930.  They had 7 children ; Elizabeth Jean and Patricia Louise (twins), Charles Arthur Jr., John Anthony, Rose Mary,  Colin and Sharon.

Rest in Peace, Grandma Kaake!

The Perfect Grandma..….

Rose Constance Kaake or Grandma Kaake, as I called her, was a wonderful person. She was the sweetest lady and the best example of what I think a "grandmother" should be. She became a grandmother to me when I married her grandson, Gary Tietz in 1972 and she loved me like a granddaughter from the first day I met her. 

Prior to meeting her, my idea of a grandmother was different. When I was growing up, we did not live close to any of our grandparents. Our Smith grandparents live in Lapeer or Davison, Michigan which was 45 minutes to an hour away. Since my father worked retail Monday thru Saturday, Sunday was the only day we could go see them and it was no small task to cart 6 children in the cars one hour there and one hour back…and go to Church in the morning so we did not visit them very often.  Our visits with them may have been monthly and it never involved an overnight stay.  (well almost never...but that is for a different blog too.) We did see them on all the holidays but the situation was never the kind that you could drop in to see them anytime you wanted.

On my Mother’s side of the family, my Grandma Addie died a few months before I was born. Her  husband, Grandpa Andrew Anderson lived in Marine City which was about 45 minutes away situated to the east of us on the St.Clair River. He came and visited us regularly at our home. He was alone and usually stayed for a few days or as much as a week. I have written several posts about him and his visits.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Grandma Kaake was the type of Grandma who you wanted to visit regularly.  She always had a smile and a big hug for you when you arrived and when you left.  She appreciated every visit whether it was daily, weekly or less often, whether you stayed for 5 minutes or for hours.  You knew when you left how happy she was to see you. She was a patient lady who always listened to what you had to say.  She wisely offered advice when it was needed and knew how to say it so as not to hurt you or your feelings …And most important, she knew there were times when the best thing to do was to not say anything at all!   I stopped by to visit her often and there was no place in the world which felt safer or more comfortable than at Grandma Kaake’s house.  Sometimes we would sit on the front stoop and other times at the kitchen table.  There was always something cooking on the stove and an open invitation to stay a while and cookies in the bread drawer.

When I left Imlay City for Phoenix in 1981, I knew that I would miss everyone but I knew that I would miss Grandma Kaake the most!  I think of her often and have tried my best to be more like Grandma Kaake to my grandchildren even though I am not fortunate enough to live near them.

Miss you Grandma Kaake!

Love, Jan

Tombstone Tuesday - November 15, 2011

Richard Matthews

Born : November 17, 1929
Died : May 9, 2008

Uncle Dick, as I knew him, was a special man. He always had a smile on his face and if you did not have one too, he would put one on your face in a second. I will never forget the first time he whipped his tooth out at me. He was so good at it that you wondered if you just saw what you thought you saw. He had one tooth on a bridge which he would dislodge and stick it out and suck it back in place in seconds as if he never did anything!

I met him soon after I started dating Gary Tietz. All of Gary’s Uncles were pretty predictable! You never knew who would play the first trick on you but you knew that they would! They were crazy and fun. I think each of the kids wondered, ” what is going happen when I bring my new friend around for the first time?” I was warned before hand and they lived up to the warning!

Uncle Dick loved a good poker game and a cold beer. I have very fond memories of Sunday afternoon card games at Grandma Kaake’s house when all the Aunts and Uncles were in town. I watched them play for years before I joined in the game. I was scared to pieces the first time I played with them. Afraid I did not know enough yet…but as I recall they did not have enough players and the game must go on! They helped me and I had nothing to be afraid of.

Uncle Dick was a special man who was loved by everyone he came in contact with. He was a veteran who served in the Navy during the Korean War.

 Rest in peace Uncle Dick!

Love, Jan

Valentine Boyer puzzle...

Valentine, where are you? He is another hidden member of my haystack!

I have been looking or should I say, relooking at Valentine Boyer. He is my GGGGrandfather on my father’s side of the Family. Lillian Losee Smith was the daughter of Mae Evelyn Boyer Losee. Valentine was Mae’s grandfather. I have one photo of Mae sitting on her Grandfather’s lap which I used in the Tombstone Tuesday – November 1, 2011 post.

The family stories which has been shared about our Boyer Family states that Valentine came to America from Germany with his brother, Artemis Boyer. It does not say when they arrived. It is reported that they came to New York where Valentine met and married his wife, Nancy Leet. I have not found this marriage record in New York yet. It is reported that they traveled to Florida with Artemis before leaving for Michigan where they settled. They lived in Rose Township, Oakland County Michigan for the remainder of their lives. It is such a long journey to travel to Michigan by way of Florida. I keep searching of evidence to verify this story and so far I have found none.

I have repeated looked for the Boyer brothers, Valentine and Artemis, on ship passenger lists and still have not found them. I do not have firm dates of when they arrived so I have searched from the early 1800 until about just before 1840 hoping to find their names. I stop at about 1840 because I have found land grants issued to Valentine Boyer on November 1st and 10th of 1840 for land which he received in Oakland County, Michigan. The fact that Valentine seems to have settled in Michigan by 1840 can be verified by the birth record of his first daughter, Amy in 1843 in Michigan. In the all the Federal Census Records(1850, 1860, 1870, 1880), Valentine’s birth place is listed as New York. Valentines’ death record indicates that he was born in New York “about 1803” and died in Rose Township, Oakland County Michigan in July of 1887.

It is interesting that Valentine’s age is listed as 40 years old for the Federal Census years of 1850, 1860 and 1870. In the 1880 Census, his age is listed as 73 which would have meant he was born in 1807 much closer to the “about 1803” which is indicated on the death records. There is so much conflicting information that I have to continue to search to find out what is true.

I do find Boyer families in New York and Valentine was a popular given name with some of these families. I find no evidence of a brother named Artemis. None so far…Not that he did not exist…or that his name is different or Artemis was a middle name…..but so far there are no records that I have found which show me his existence. I find that to be so strange after all these years of searching…

Happy Hunting!

Tombstones Tuesday - November 8, 2011

Homer A. Quackenbush - Died : July 2, 1883
Age 36 years old

 

 
 

I love these “White Bronze Stones” from the late 1800.  They are not really stone at all.  They are made of Zinc. They were manufactured by the Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport Connecticut between the years 1875 and 1912.  While these metal monuments are not indestructible they hold up much better than some of the stone monuments of the same time period. In most medium to large cemeteries, you will see several of these types of tombstones.  I really like this one!

I am not related to this family but some day some one will do a search and be glad that I published this!  it is quite a beautiful monument.

Tombstone Tuesday - November 1, 2011

Valentine Boyer

Born: December 22, 1804
Died : July 08, 1887


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Valentine Boyer came to America with his brother Artemus. I have not found them on passenger lists yet. He married Nancy Leet in New York prior to 1843 and they lived for an undetermined amount of time in New York. It is believed that Valentine and Nancy traveled to Florida with Artemus before deciding to settle in Michigan. I have not been able to confirm this family story nor have I been able to locate Artemus.
 
Valentine and Nancy had 6 children; Amy(1843), Dennison(1846), Austin (1848), David Miner (1850), Sarah Ann (1853) and Elizabeth (1856) all of whom were born in Michigan according to census records. They lived in Rose Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Valentine’s chief occupation was making charcoal for local blacksmiths. They first lived on the West Bank of Long Lake (Tipsico Lake) until 1860 when They moved to a farm on Demode Road.

This is a photo of Valentine Boyer with Mae Eveleen Boyer shortly before his death in 1887 .  Valentine died on July 8, 1887. 

He is buried in Beebe Cemetery located on the corner of Fish Lake Rd and Rose Center Rd.