A Busy Day for Weddings in the HOLST and ROBBINS Families

I've been busy cleaning up items in the Downloads folder of my laptop.  In many cases, I downloaded an image of a record from a genealogy or historical newspaper site and then used my photo editing software to make a copy of it, clip or resize it, rename it to fit my digital filing conventions, and then file it in the appropriate genealogy folder.  But sometimes I didn't delete the original image.  Other times, I downloaded an image but forgot to clean it up and move it to a folder.  My Downloads folder was very full at over 1400 items, but it is slowly getting cleaned out and is down to about 550!

Today I once again came across the October 17, 1940 edition of the Coopersville (Michigan) Observer that published my paternal grandparents' wedding announcement on page 8, column 3:

Grandma and Grandpa had a simple wedding in the Methodist pastor's parsonage on a Saturday morning.  They wore their Sunday best outfits, as seen in the photo below.

Their best friends, Geneva Parish and Raymond Adams stood with them during the ceremony, although my Great-Grandmother Nellie Holst signed the marriage certificate rather than Geneva. I know that Geneva would have been about 16 years old, just like my grandmother, so she would not have been of legal age to sign the marriage certificate. I don't know if my Great-Grandfather Alfred Holst or my Great-Grandparents Robbins (Bill Sr. and Marie) attended the ceremony.

After the ceremony, they had a "dinner", probably held at noon, at my Great-Grandparents Holst's home with immediate family.  I'm guessing that would have been both sets of parents of the bridal couple, my grandfather's four younger siblings (Bill Jr, Shirley, Jack, and Joyce) and perhaps my grandmother's older married sister and brother-in-law, Lucille and John VanderHorn.

When I was double checking to make sure that I had clipped, renamed, and copied the announcement into both my grandparents' genealogy documents folders, the surname Klinger in column 2 of the same page caught my eye.

I knew that my Great-grandfather Holst had a sister named Margaret ("Maggie"), who had married Johan H. Klinger.  Taking a closer look, I realized that Margaret and Johan's daughter Ethel Klinger, who was my grandmother's cousin, got married to Steve Hulka on the same day that Grandma did, only in the afternoon in Muskegon, rather than in the morning in Coopersville:

While Grandma and Grandpa had a simple and informal wedding, Ethel and her groom Steve Hulka, had a more traditional church ceremony at a Lutheran church.  Ethel wore a "...white satin gown with train and fingertip veil...."

I was able to identify everyone in the article.  Mrs. Theo. Klatt was Jennie (Holst) Klatt, another sister of Alfred Holst, and Mrs. William Scheile was Jennie's daughter, Ellen.

Next mentioned were my grandparents' wedding party and immediate families!  Miss Geneva Parish, Miss Shirley Robbins, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Robbins (my grandparents), Mrs. Alfred Holst, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Adams (so Ray's wife would likely have been at my grandparents' wedding, too) and Mr. and Mrs. John VanderHorn were all named.

It sounds like nearly the entire two families and wedding party left after dinner at my Great-Grandparents Holst's home and drove up to Muskegon, about 25 miles north, to attend Ethel and Steve's wedding and reception.  I did notice my Great-Grandfather Holst was not mentioned, nor three of my grandfather's siblings: Bill Jr, Jack, and Joyce.  We don't know if Bill had to work that day; he was an 18-year-old young man.  Jack and Joyce were 13 and 7, respectively.  Perhaps they stayed home, or perhaps they weren't mentioned due to lack of print space.

Also, one member of the Klinger family was not mentioned.  Joh(a)n and Maggie had at least three children: Earl, Jennie, and Ethel.  Jennie was mentioned as the maid of honor, but Earl is not mentioned.  

At any rate, it would have been an extremely busy day for both the Holst and Robbins families, and an especially busy day for my grandparents to get married in Coopersville, have a family dinner, drive to Muskegon, attend another wedding and the reception, and then set off for their honeymoon!

A New Blog: Shirley's Diary: A Depression-Era Girl's Story

Today I started a new blog.

Yes, I can hear what you're thinking!  "She hasn't kept up with her original one, and she's starting another?!"

Life has calmed down a bit (knock on wood) since my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in June 2019, followed by his death five months later, caring for my mom, and a pandemic.  Several months ago, I came across the diary of my paternal grandfather's sister, Shirley Robbins, in the things we had packed up from my parents' home.  I had to share it, not just with family members and close friends, but with those who are genealogists, family historians, general historians, and descendants of the friends and community members mentioned in the diary.  It's a wonderful perspective of Depression-era life through the eyes of a 10- and 11-year-old girl.  It reminds me of the Kit books my daughter used to read from the American Girl series. It's real, and it will be unedited, although it will be published with comments and clarifications.

Please join me over at Shirley's Diary: A Depression-Era Girl's Story.

Sister Trip to Michigan: Part III

Monday, May 6, 2019:  Our third day of our trip and second full day in Michigan.  And what a day it was!

We checked out of our hotel in Grand Rapids and headed to the public library.  As we were leaving the hotel, I walked across the street to photograph this historic site marker, as Grand Rapids was once known as the "Furniture Capital of America."  Several of our ancestors worked in furniture factories in Grand Rapids.

(Click photo to enlarge)

The downtown branch of the Grand Rapids Public Library is a beautiful building. It was built in 1904 as a gift to the city by Martin A. Ryerson.  The library has been in existence since 1871.  In 1967, a wing was added to the back, and in 2001 it was completely renovated.  When I first approached the entrance, I wondered how many of our ancestors had entered this building and enjoyed the pleasure of reading.

Detail of the masonry above the main entrance of the GRPL
(click to enlarge)

My sister photographed me on the steps of the GRPL.
Photo courtesy of Katrinka Phillips.
(click to enlarge)

We headed to the Grand Rapids History & Special Collections department, which includes genealogical resources, on the fourth floor.  My goal was to locate some newspaper articles about our 3rd-great-grandfather, Charles H. Robbins, a Civil War veteran; an obituary of our 2nd-great-grandmother's sister, Nellie (Ton) Houseman; and some school census records featuring our adoptive great-grandmother Nellie M. Concidine, a school teacher, and our great-grandfather William James Valk and his sisters, Jennie and Gertrude.  While I obviously could spend days or weeks in Special Collections with all our Western Michigan ancestral records, these were a list of items I knew were reasonable to research with the little time we had to spend there.  I had found references to many of these items in the online databases of the Western Michigan Genealogical Society ahead of time.

We had located two of the articles and the obituary by the time my genealogy friend, Chris Korstange, arrived.  This was the first opportunity to meet in real life after being online friends for about 10 years.  Chris and I had connected through the old Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness website when he asked for a lookup to resources I had at my disposal.  In turn, he has done lookups for me at GRPL and local cemeteries. Chris is also a genealogy blogger, and with similar Dutch immigrant ancestry in Grand Rapids, it is pretty likely we will someday find an ancestral connection, either by being related to each other, or discovering our ancestors lived near, worked with, or worshiped with each other.  After a welcoming hug and introducing him to my sister, he helped us by looking up and making scans of the Kent County School Censuses while we finished looking for the rest of the articles.

Chris and I at the entrance of the Special Collections room
Photo courtesy of Katrinka Phillips
(click to enlarge)

Chris then drove us through the Heritage Hill Historic District with its grand homes (see what I did there?!) to what had once been the Delos A. Blodgett Home for Children, an orphanage where our paternal grandmother, Jane Marie York/Jeanne Marie Holst and her brother, and our maternal grandfather, William Valk, and his siblings, had once lived for short periods, at different times.

I had done some research in the past year, contacting the D.A. Blodgett - St. Johns non-profit organization to try to obtain records on our York and Valk families.  Although the full records have since been destroyed, I was able to receive scans of the index cards listing our families, with just enough information to confirm some of the theories I had made regarding their stays, as well as new information.  I will be blogging about this at a later time.  My inquiries to ICCF, the organization that currently occupies the Blodgett building, were never answered.  I had hoped to be able to tour the building's interior while we were in Grand Rapids. However, were able to get some good exterior photos.  As we wandered the front courtyard, I thought about the sad circumstances that had brought two of our grandparents and their siblings to this building.  Every family story I have ever heard on both the York and the Valk sides about Blodgett Home had the same theme:  it was not a nice place to be.  Whether it was because of the situations that led to their placement or their treatment while there, or a combination, I could feel the sadness of this place.  And yet, I felt personal gratitude, as well, because despite whatever occurred within these four walls, it was a place that filled a gap in family care that otherwise may have brought on worse trauma than what was already experienced.

The former D.A Blogett Home for Children, built 1908
920 Cherry St., NE
(click to enlarge)

Detail of the three-story pillars and balconies
(click to enlarge)

My sister and I in front of an ancestral home, of sorts
Photo courtesy of Katrinka Phillips
Taken by Chris Korstange
(click to enlarge)

Next stop, was Oakhill Cemetery, where our 3rd-great-grandmother, Maria Marina (Van Klinken) Ton Bijl, and very likely her husband Pieter Ton, are buried in unmarked graves in the Potter's Field. Chris helped us to locate the unmarked plot where Maria's brother Johannes "John" Van Klinken was buried. By then, it was starting to rain pretty hard.

Somewhere in this corner of Oakhill Cemetery, our 3rd-great-grandmother, Maria Marina (Van Klinken) Ton Bijl is buried.  Her husband Pieter Adriannse Ton is also likely buried here.
(Click to enlarge)

While these tombstones do not belong to our ancestors, I photographed them to show the condition of the few marked graves in Potter's Field (Permit Grounds) of Oakhill Cemetery: broken, dilapidated, uncared for.  These graves aren't even listed on the cemetery's map. You can see that they are inscribed in Dutch.
(click to enlarge)

We were able to identify this spot as the resting place of Maria's brother, Johannes "John" Van Klinken (1840 - 1913) using Oakhill Cemetery's grave mapping website.  We used some sticks to dig down to see if there was a gravestone covered by dirt, but were unsuccessful. It likely was never marked.
(click to enlarge)

This grave of Peternella de Jongh just south of Johannes Van Klinken's grave helped us to locate his grave, as the Oakhill Cemetery's grave mapping site listed hers as being in the same lot.
(click to enlarge)

This marker was in Potter's Field, next to the cemetery road.
It made me very sad to look at, as there is no information as to how many Blodgett Home children there were buried here, or who they were.
Photo courtesy of Katrinka Phillips.
(click to enlarge)

Chris returned us to the library parking lot where our rental car had been parked.  There we discovered that we had lost our rental car keys!  At this point, the rain was absolutely pouring down, so after quickly searching Chris' vehicle, the parking lot, the steps of the library, and the courtyard in front of it where we snapped photos, we reentered the library, dripping wet, to see if they had been turned in to the front desk.  They had not.  Our next search was the elevator, Special Collections room, and restrooms.  We quickly determined that they probably had been dropped at the cemetery.  Chris was kind enough to not only take us back out there, but tromp around in the downpour to help us find them.  After about 10 minutes, they were located, and he returned us to our rental car.  Thankfully, he did not need to drive us out to the airport to the rental car office get another set of keys!

After parting ways with Chris, we headed to west of the river to a cafe to dry off and grab a cup of coffee.  After the cloudburst ended, we headed over to the John D. Widdicomb Furniture Factory where our step-great-grandfather, George DeVries, had worked. It's business complex now, but we got some great photos of the four beautiful yellow brick buildings located on both the west and east sides of Seward Avenue, parallel to the railroad tracks.  I could just imagine how noisy and busy it was in its heyday, with the busy railroad bringing in lumber and shipping out completed furniture.

The southwest building, from the south
(click to enlarge)

The southwest and northwest buildings, from the southeast
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The southwest building, from the east
(click to enlarge)

The southwest building, from the northeast
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The northwest building, from the southeast
(click to enlarge)

South end of the southeast (original) building, from the west
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Detail of the old doors of the southeast (original) building, from the west
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Detail of the corner stone, east building"Widdicomb Furniture Co. 1877"
(click to enlarge)

North end of the southeast (original) building and south end of the northeast building
(click to enlarge)

North end of the southeast (original) building and south end of the northeast building
(click to enlarge)

North end of the northeast building, from the northwest
(click to enlarge)

North end of the northeast building, from the west
(click to enlarge)

Then we headed west to Coopersville in Ottawa County, where our dad and his siblings grew up. After checking in at our hotel, we met our dad's brother and youngest sister at her place, which just happens to be across the street from the home our grandfather built and where they all grew up.

The house and auto body shop our Grandfather Robbins built
Coopersville, Michigan
Photo courtesy of Katrinka Phillips
(click to enlarge)

Our dad's brother and youngest sister
Photo courtesy of Katrinka Pillips
(click to enlarge)

While visiting with them, sharing photos with each other of our of children and grandchildren and looking at old family photos, I held my own little Scanfest on my Flip-Pal scanner, scanning our Robbins great-grandparents' little memo book from 1938.  I also took this photo of Aunt Jo's artwork.  Josephine Rebecca (Huff) Robbins was married to our Great-grandfather Robbins' brother Lloyd.  She was the Robbins family genealogist for many years before she passed away in 1987.  I had forgotten that she was also interested in art.

After a long, full, busy day, we crashed in our hotel room.  More adventures awaited us the next day!


Sister Trip to Michigan: Part I
Sister Trip to Michigan: Part II

Proving the Generations 4: Robert Louis Robbins

In the first post of this series, Proving the Generations, I wrote how my goal is to use the Genealogical Proof Standard to show my ancestry through my great-great-grandparents' generation.

In this fourth post, I will be proving that my paternal grandfather, Robert Louis Robbins, is the son of William Bryan Robbins, Sr. and Marie Lewis.

My grandfather, Robert Louis Robbins (holding the kitten), with his parents, Marie (Lewis) and William Bryan Robbins, Sr, and his younger brother, William Bryan Robbins, Jr.
Taken c. 1924-5, probably in Muskegon Heights, Muskgeon Co., Michigan.
Digital copy held by Miriam J. Robbins, Spokane, Washington, 2018.

I was personally acquainted with my grandfather, as well as my great-grandmother (I met my great-grandfather at least once, maybe twice, but I was so young I don't remember him).  My grandfather told me that he was born on 21 September 1920 in Muskegon Heights, Muskegon Co., Michigan.  However, none of us are expert witnesses of our own births, since although we were there, none of us can remember the event!

Besides my own memories of my grandfather and his mother, my dad, aunts, uncle, and a great-aunt all have shared their memories of my grandfather and his parents.  Additionally, I have original and digital copies of many photographs of my grandfather with his parents.  Most importantly, my grandfather's birth to his parents has the following documentation:

1. A Certificate as to Birth issued by the County of Muskegon on 3 July 1942*, certifying "upon a careful examination of the original records on file in the office of the Clerk of said County and Court" a record as to the birth of Robert Louis Robbins, born 21 September 1920 in Muskegon Heights, whose parents' names were Wm. S. [sic] Robbins and Marie Lewis (maiden), the latter of Muskegon Heights.  It also states the original record was recorded with the county on 1 November 1920 in Liber 10, page 40.[1]  I have a copy of the index page of the liber, microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, which corroborates that his birth was recorded in Liber 10, page 40.[2]  You can view the Certificate as to Birth in this post.  The liber record is not yet available to the public, and will not be until 2020 or later.[3]
2. A birth announcement published in the local paper, The Muskegon Chronicle, on 2 October 1920, stating: "ROBBINS--To Mr. and Mrs. William B. Robbins, 1134 Hoyt street, September 21, a son, Robert Louis."[4]
3. My grandfather appears with his parents, three younger siblings, and a paternal uncle during the enumeration of the 1930 U.S. Federal Census.  They were living on East Broadway in an unnumbered house (but not a farm) in Norton Township, Muskegon County, Michigan and were enumerated for the official census day of 1 April on 6 May 1930.[5]
4. My grandfather appears with his parents and four younger siblings during the enumeration of the 1940 U.S. Federal Census.  They were living on a farm in Wright Township, Ottawa County, Michigan and were enumerated for the official census day of 1 April on 11 April 1940.  Unfortunately, the enumerator did not mark who provided the information at each household that day, as required.[6]

*At the time of all four of my grandparents' births, the law regarding birth registrations that was in place in the state of Michigan was Public Act 330 of 1905, which required the attending physician or midwife to file a certificate of birth with the local registrar within 10 days of the birth.[7]  Now filing a certificate of birth and issuing a copy to the family are two different things.  It's apparent that my grandfather did not have a copy of his birth certificate until he was almost 22 years old.  The date of 3 July 1942 coincides with his registering for the draft for World War II, for which he would ask a deferment due to his daughter's (my aunt's) impending birth in August[8], after which he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps on 13 October 1942.[9]

Additionally, DNA tests results from FamilyTreeDNA for my father and me show matches consistent with the degrees of relationship to a Robbins cousin who is a descendant of my great-grandfather's youngest brother, Don.  Also, my test results from AncestryDNA show a match consistent with the degree of relationship to another descendant of Don Robbins, as well as to a Lewis cousin who is a descendant of my great-grandmother's younger brother, Percy.

My grandparents, Robert Louis Robbins and Jeanne Marie Holst, on their wedding day,
12 October 1940, Coopersville, Ottawa Co., Michigan.
Original photo held by Miriam J. Robbins, Spokane, Washington, 2018.

Finally, I am providing some information on my grandparents' marriage, even though I am not using it to prove my grandfather's parentage.  My grandparents' Marriage License/Certificate of Marriage[10] states my grandparents obtained their license and married on the same day, 12 October 1940.  The license would have been obtained at the Ottawa County Courthouse in Grand Haven.  They married in Coopersville in the Methodist parsonage[11], and my grandfather's best friend, Ray Adams, and the minister's wife were the witnesses.  I know that my grandmother's best friend, Geneva Parrish, stood with her[12], but like my grandmother, was underage, so she would not have been able to sign the Certificate of Marriage.

Marriage License and Certificate of Marriage of Robert Louis Robbins and Jeanne Marie Holst.
See footnote 10.

Conclusion:

Family stories and photographs, documents created at or near the time of birth or referencing an original record created shortly after birth, and DNA test results all provide conclusive evidence that my paternal grandfather, Robert Louis Robbins, was born 21 September 1920 in Muskegon Heights, Muskegon County, Michigan to William Bryan Robbins, Sr. and Marie Lewis.

Sources:

1. Muskegon County, Michigan, Certificate as to Birth, citing county birth liber 10, page 40 (1920), Robert Louis Robbins; Muskegon County Clerk's Office, Muskegon; original document held by Miriam Robbins [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Spokane, Washington, 2018.
2. Muskegon County, Michigan, Index to births L-Z, 1867-1949 continued: 1920, Robbins, Robert L.; FHL microfilm 1,320,091, item 1.
3. Carol McGinnis, Michigan Genealogy: Sources & Resources, Second Edition (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2005), 50.
4. "Heights Births," birth announcement, Muskegon (Michigan) Chronicle, 2 October 1920, p. 14, col. 3.
5. 1930 U.S. Federal Census, Muskegon County, Michigan, population schedule, Norton Township, enumeration district 42, p. 21A, dwelling 416, family 442, William Robbins household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 November 2008); citing FHL microfilm 2,340,750.
6. 1940 U.S. Federal Census, Ottawa County, Michigan, population schedule, Wright Township, enumeration district (ED) 70-45, p. 5B, dwelling 97, household of William Robbins; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 March 2013); citing NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 1809. 
7. McGinnis, Michigan Genealogy, 49.
8. Bryan H. Robbins, interview by Miriam Robbins, undated (between 1996-2018).  Bryan stated that his father had received a deferment to enlist until after his daughter was born; at which time, he persuaded his brother, William Bryan Robbins, Jr., to go to Kalmazoo to enlist with him.
9. Access to Archival Databases, "World War II Army Enlistment Records," database, U.S. National Archives & Records Administration (http://aad.archives.gov : accessed 22 Apr 2005).
10.  Ottawa County, Michigan, Marriage License and Certificate of Marriage, no. 527, Robbins-Holst, 1940; duplicate document held by Miriam Robbins [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Spokane, Washington, 2018.
11. Robert Louis Robbins, interview by Miriam (Robbins) Midkiff, 1989.  Bob stated that he and Jeanne were married at the Methodist parsonage.
12. Bryan H. Robbins, interview by Miriam (Robbins) Midkiff, 1990.  Bryan stated that at Bob and Jeanne's 50th anniversary celebration which he attended, Ray Adams and Geneva Parrish, who were introduced as the best man and maid of honor, were also present.

Richard V. Robbins of Pennylvania and Michigan: Is He Related to One of My Robbins Ancestors?

Michigan Department of Community Health, “Death Records, 1921-1947,” database with images, Seeking Michigan (http://cdm16317.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/search/collection/p16317coll1), entry for Richard V. Robbins, 20 May 1921, certificate no. 41 355.
(click on image to enlarge)

One year ago today, I made a discovery on one of my Robbins lines (I have two).  I have known from one of my cousins that there was a land transaction between Richard Robbins and my 4th-great-grandmother, Marinda (Robbins) Robbins in Oceana County, Michigan in the 1880s.  I have been trying to figure out if Richard was a relative of Marinda, or of her husband/my 4th-great-grandfather Joseph Josiah Robbins.

As I've mentioned often, my 4th-great-grandparents both had the last name Robbins.  They married each other.   They don't seem to be related, or if so, not closely. Joseph was born in Otsego County, New York and his father's name was George.  Marinda was born probably in Broome County, New York or Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania (they border each other), and her father was Uzza Robbins.

So one year ago, I took another look at Richard's death certificate.  He was young enough to be Marinda's son, so it was doubtful he was her brother (we haven't identified all her siblings).  Perhaps he was a nephew?  I saw his parents were Stephen Robbins and Sarah Wright, and he was born in Pennsylvania.

Looking through old notes and family tree info that was exchanged between myself and other Robbins genealogists, I saw that Stephen Van Rennselaer Robbins married Sarah Wright, and was a son of George Washington Robbins and Abigail Hicks, the couple I am 99% sure are also the parents of Joseph.  Although most of George and Abigail's children moved directly from the Town of Westford, Otsego County to the Town of Carroll, Chautauqua County, New York, Stephen followed the same migration trail as my Joseph:  living first in Elkland Township, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, then Liberty Township, McKean County, Pennsylvania, and then probably on to Oceana County, Michigan (I say "probably" because I don't know if Stephen did for sure...but his son Richard definitely did!).

Stephen also joined the same unit that Joseph did during the Civil War:  the 58th Pennsylvania Infantry.  In their forties, they both would have been considered "old men" at that time.

Joseph and Marinda's son Charles, my 3rd-great-grandfather, once declared in an newspaper interview before he died in 1934, that the family moved from Pennsylvania to Hesperia, Oceana County, Michigan near "where his aunt was living near Martin's lake in Newaygo county."  I have long been trying to identify this aunt. Was she Sarah (Wright) Robbins?

Also, Stephen's brother, George Robbins, Jr., bought land in Oceana County, and lived in Newaygo County, Michigan (the counties border each other, with the village of Hesperia lying on that border).

It looks likely that Richard V. Robbins was Joseph's nephew, not Marinda's.

The indirect evidence is mounting that Joseph Josiah Robbins was the son of George Washington Robbins and Abigail Hicks.  I haven't found the direct piece of evidence; I may never find it.  But the puzzle pieces are fitting together better than ever.  It's time to find a direct male descendant of George and Abigail and (Y-DNA) test him against my dad!

My Top 10 Brick Walls - Dad's Side

Image courtesy of GenealogyInTime Magazine www.genealogyintime.com

Several people have been posting their Top 10 Brick Wall Ancestors, so I decided to do so as well. The trouble was, when I started looking through my family tree, I realized I had a lot more than ten (don't we all?). So this post is about my top ten brick wall ancestors on my dad's side. Which, of course, means there'll be a post on the ones on my mom's side.

I've written about some of these folks before, but not all of them. Those that have previous blog posts have been linked. Do YOU have the answers to my brick walls?

My Top 10 Brick Walls - Dad's Side

1. Are the parents of Joseph Josiah ROBBINS (1820 - 1905)--of Oceana Co., Michigan, McKean Co., Pennsylvania, Tioga Co., Pennsylvania, and Otsego Co., New York--George Washington ROBBINS and Abigail HICKS?

2. Nelson H. PECK (b. c. 1819; d. 15 Apr 1849, probably in Potter Co., Pennsylvania) - when and where was he born, where did he die, what was his cause of death, and who were his parents? There are a lot of PECKs in Potter County, Pennsylvania around the time he lived there...but how do they connect?

3. Who were William KIMBALL's parents? He was b. c. 1806 in Vermont, moved to Cuyahoga Co., Ohio; and later removed to Kalamazoo and Newaygo Counties in Michigan.

4. Who were Cynthia PHILLIPS' parents? She was b. 10 May 1802 in Sharon, Litchfield Co., Connecticut; m. Ezra DICKINSON 12 November 1820 in Trumbull Co., Ohio; and d. 21 March 1852 in Hicksville, Defiance Co., Ohio after giving birth to 12 children.

5. Who are Richard WILKINSON's parents? He was b. c. 1815 in Yorkshire England; and m. Mary LAMOREAUX/TERRY before 1842, probably in York Co., Ontario. When and where did he die? He was last noted on the 1881 Canadian Census in Whitchurch, York Co., Ontario; and in 1891, his wife is a widow. He does not appear in the death records.

6. Why do we have two surnames for Mary LAMOREAUX or TERRY? Was she adopted? Who were her parents? Was she born (c. 1818) in Ontario or New Brunswick (I have both locations as birthplaces, from various documents).

7. When and where did John Henry SAYERS and his wife, Mary CAHOON, die? They are last found on the 1871 Canadian census in Cavan Twp., Durham Co., Ontario. They don't appear in the Ontario death records, nor the Michigan ones (a number of their children emigrated to Western Michigan around 1880-1881).

8. Were Stephen YORK and Amy FRANKLIN of the Town of Clarence, Erie Co., New York the parents of Jeremiah Franklin YORK (1791 - 1876)? I'm 99% sure that they were. I just need to find that one document with the evidence.

9. James W. BARBER (1841 - 1912) of England, Bruce Co., Ontario, and Lapeer and Genesee Counties, Michigan: Who were his parents?

10. Were William CLEVELAND and Lydia SHAW of China Twp., St. Clair Co., Michigan the parents of Clarissa CLEVELAND (c. 1832 - 1877)?

Signature Sunday: Robert Lewis (or Louis?) ROBBINS

Genealogy has this way of surprising you by undoing what you know--or thought you knew.

My paternal grandfather, Robert Lewis ROBBINS, was named for his mother's side, the LEWIS family. We always knew this. My father told me so.[1] My grandaunt, my grandfather's youngest sister, told me so.[2] My sister gave her youngest son the middle name of Lewis, because he was born on Grandpa's birthday, the first birthday after he passed.[3]

My grandfather was a wonderful man. Most of you would agree you had a wonderful man for a grandfather, but mine was special. I never knew anyone who didn't immediately fall in love with my grandpa's gentle spirit, his sense of humor, his work ethic, his homespun wisdom, or his incredible faith. He loved people, and people loved him. Little children especially loved him. He could perform magic tricks, ride a unicycle, and tell funny stories, you see. Neighborhood kids would knock on door of my grandparents' house, and if my grandmother answered, they would ask, "Can Mr. Robbins come out and play?"[4]

He was a hero. As a volunteer firefighter, he saved lives and homes. We were never allowed to play with balloons as small children, because grandpa had a sad story of a life he didn't save: a young child who sucked on a balloon until it popped, the force of the burst causing the fragments of balloon down the windpipe, suffocating the child.[5]

As a flight mechanic in the U.S. Army Air Corps, he saved the lives of the crew on his flight by disobeying the pilot's order to only fuel one of the plane's fuel tanks, in order to reduce weight of the transport. The plane was part of the Alaska Division, Air Transport Command which flew military supplies and mail from Canada to Alaska and then again from Canada to Minnesota and North Dakota. On that particular flight, the pilot got lost. He ran out of the fuel for the one engine. If Grandpa hadn't used his common sense that day and fueled both tanks, I wouldn't be here, nor would over 30 of my family members.[6]

He was definitely a LEWIS. He was on the short side, just like his mother, who was only four feet, eleven inches tall. He might have had the ROBBINS ears, but he had the LEWIS nose, just like my dad and my siblings do. He was inspired by his own Grandpa LEWIS, a quiet but spunky carpenter who encouraged Grandpa when he started his own business as an auto body repairman after the war.[7]

Originally from Michigan, the fingers Grandpa had frozen flying near the North Pole during the war could not handle the cold Midwest winters. When the children left the (ROBBINS') nest, he and Grandma started spending winters in Texas, where his brother and sister-in-law lived and where his own parents often visited (my great-grandfather also couldn't handle Midwest winters, having served in North Russia during WWI).[8] My grandparents eventually retired in Rockport, Texas, but always visited their children and grandchildren and later, great-grandchildren, in long road trips to Florida, Michigan, and Washington.[9] We mourned his loss when he passed away on 29 December 2003.[10] As a veteran, he was entitled to a free burial at a National Veterans Cemetery, and so he was buried at Fort Sam Houston.[11]

After he passed, I created a memorial page for him on Find A Grave,[12] and submitted a request for a photo of his tombstone, which was soon fulfilled:

Later, I found his listing in the Nationwide Gravesite Locator[13] for Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery, a Veterans Administration project:

What was this? His name was spelled wrong on the veterans website! The military had it wrong! Ugh!

After a few years of scratching my head and wondering what I could do to submit a request of change, I was given the following document[14] from my uncle:

More head scratching ensued. Now, I know this document above was not an original record of birth. At the time my grandfather was born, a certificate of birth was required to be filed by the attending physician or midwife, or in their absence, the father or other competent person, within 10 days of birth.[15] The birth was also recorded in Liber 10 on page 40 of the county birth libers (huge official record books).[16] This certificate was filled out by using the information in the liber. My guess is that the original certificate of birth was either lost by my family members, or was never actually issued to them when my grandfather's birth was recorded. You'll note that this copy was created on 3 July 1942, when my grandfather was getting ready to enlist in the Army Air Corps.[17] He would have had to have a record of his birth to show upon his enlistment.There are at least two errors in the above certificate: the first is that my great-grandfather's middle initial is given as "S." His middle name was Bryan [18], so likely the handwritten liber entry was misread. The second error is a corrected typo where my great-grandfather's last name was spelled "Ribbins." If there could be these errors, there could be more. Perhaps the clerk glanced at the liber entry and assumed the handwritten "Lewis" said "Louis," just as they mistakenly entered "Wm. S. Riobbins" for "Wm. B. Robbins."

This prompted my next question: did Grandpa acknowledge this spelling of his name? Did he really believe it was "Louis" rather than "Lewis"? Every other document I could find for him from his marriage record to his driver's license, every signature I found from his youth to old age, simply stated "Robert L. Robbins."[19]

Just a couple of weeks ago, my father brought by some documents for me to scan. They included his birth certificate and a Report of Change of Status and Address from the War Department[20], reporting the birth of my father so that my grandfather's family allowances could be upgraded. At the bottom of the document was the following:

So there was the answer to my question: Robert Louis ROBBINS did indeed acknowledge this spelling of his name. I still don't know if this spelling was intentional or accidental. Only a look at the county liber book to determine with my own eyes what was written there will satisfy me somewhat that it may have intended to be "Louis." It won't completely erase all doubt, as I don't know what the original certificate issued close to birth said (if there was one), nor do I know my great-grandparents' intentions.

Regardless, my grandfather was both a ROBBINS and a LEWIS. And genealogy will continue to send many surprises my way, which is part of the addiction of it all!

SOURCES

     1. Robbins family traditions regarding Robert L. Robbins (1920-2003), Miriam Robbins, compiler (privately held by M. Robbins [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Spokane, Washington.
     2. J. Sanders, Tulsa, Oklahoma [(CONTACT INFO FOR PRIVATE USE),] to Miriam J. Robbins, private Facebook message, 28 April 2013, no subject; privately held by Robbins [(CONTACT INFO) & STREET ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Spokane, Washington.
     3.  Robbins family traditions about Robert L. Robbins (1920-2003).
     4.  Ibid.
     5.  Ibid.
     6.  Ibid.
     7.  Robert L. Robbins (Coopersville, Michigan) to "Dear...Miriam...." [Robbins Midkiff]. Letter, 28 August 1991. Privately held by M. Robbins, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Spokane, Washington. 2014.
     8. Miriam Robbins, "1. A Polar Bear in North Russia," AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors, 16 July 2007 (http://ancestories1.blogspot.com/2007/07/polar-bear-in-north-russia.html : accessed 15 June 2014).
     9.  Personal knowledge of Miriam Robbins [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Spokane, Washington. Robbins, the granddaughter of Robert L. Robbins, was a host of her grandparents on numerous visits.
     10.  City of Corpus Christi, Texas, death certificate no. 097490 (2003), Robert Louis Robbins; Bureau of Vital Statistics, Corpus Christi-Nueces County Health Department, Corpus Christi.
     11.  Ibid.
     12.  ---, Find A Grave, database and images (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8682931 : accessed 15 June 2014), photograph, gravestone for Robert L. Robbins (1920-2003), Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas.
     13.  United States Department of Veterans Affairs, "Nationwide Gravesite Locator," database, Nationwide Gravesite Locator (http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/ : accessed 15 June 2014), database entry for Robert Louis Robbins (1920-2003).
     14.  Muskegon County, Michigan, certificate as to birth, citing county birth liber 10, page 40 (1920), Robert Louis Robbins; Muskegon County Clerk's Office, Muskegon.
     15.  Carol McGinnis, Michigan Genealogy: Sources & Resources, Second Edition (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2005), 49.
     16.  Muskegon Co., Mich., certificate as to birth (1920), Robert Louis Robbins.
     17.  Access to Archival Databases, "World War II Army Enlistment Records," database, U.S. National Archives & Records Administration (http://aad.archives.gov : accessed 22 Apr 2005). Database entry for Robert L. Robbins, Army serial no. 16086708.
     18.  Michigan Department of Public Health, death certificate 129632, local file no 72-1749 (1972), William Bryan Robbins; Bureau of Vital Statistics, Lansing.
     19.  Robert L. Robbins signature, Michigan Driver License, bef. 2000; privately held by Miriam Robbins [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Spokane, Washington, 2014.
     20.  Robert Louis Robbins signature, Report of Change of Status and Address from the War Department to Robert Louis Robbins, Army serial no. 16086708, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 20 June 1944; digital copy held by Miriam Robbins [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Spokane, Washington, 2014.

Wordless Wednesday: The ROBBINS Children, First Day of School, 1955

Four of Five Children of Robert Louis and Jeanne Marie (Holst) Robbins. First Day of School, Coopersville, Michigan. September 1955. Original photograph privately held by Catherine Robbins, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Coopersville, Michigan. 2012.

Wordless Wednesday: Joseph Josiah ROBBINS (1820 - 1905)

Joseph Josiah Robbins. Bef 1905. Original photograph believed to be privately held by Steve Robbins, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Muskegon, Michigan. 2012.