Happy Halloween-Wordless Wednesday

Author: Brenda Leyndyke / Labels: ,

My husband, the cowboy
 
Although this wasn't a Halloween picture, I decided to share it today.  My husband wanted to be a cowboy when he was younger.  He was so proud of this cowboy outfit, hat and guns to boot. 
 
 
Happy Halloween to all the cowboys and cowgirls out there!!

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Where o' Where is Abraham Van Oeveren? Mystery Monday

Author: Brenda Leyndyke / Labels: ,

I am posting this under Mystery Monday, but it could be under the Madness Monday theme.  I have been trying for the past five years to find Abraham Van Oeveren in the 1880 and 1910 United States Census records.  Short of going through the Grand Rapids census pages one by one, I have looked and looked.  I have been known to look through page by page, but it is usually a much smaller area to look at.  I am guessing my inability to locate them is due to the last name and how it was transcribed.  I even searched for him using each of his children's names.

This is what I know:

  • Abraham Van Oeveren was born to Abraham and Neeltje (de Bruin) Van Oeveren in 1865 in the Netherlands.
  • The family came to the United States around 1871.
  • Abraham Van Oeveren married Janna 'Jennie' Kosten in 1885, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
  • Abraham and Jennie had six children:  Ada in 1890; Nellie in 1896; Jeanie in 1902; Abraham 'Bud' in 1905; Lois in 1911; and Edward 'Russ' in 1915.
  • Abraham can be found in the 1900, 1920, and 1930 Census living in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Abraham you can hide for the time being, but I will find you.  My next step is to search for Abraham using Grand Rapids City Directories to narrow down where he lived.  At least then I will have an idea of what part of Grand Rapids to look for.

Do you have a census record you have been looking for awhile? 

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Where in the World is Cornelius Luyendyk?

Author: Brenda Leyndyke / Labels: , ,

Where in the World is Cornelius Luyendyk?
 
One of the first record groups that a family researcher looks for is the census records.  Below is a table with the census records for Cornelius Luyendyk, Kirk's great grandfather.  I included how the last name was indexed, too.  It took awhile to find Cornelius in the census records with all the different spellings.  Since the 1890 census records are unavailable I used city directories to fill in the 1890 gap.
 
 
FACT
DATE
Indexed As
PLACE OF RESIDENCE
ENUMERATION DISTRICT/PAGE ID./DWELLING
Birth
15 Feb 1859
 
Owasco, Cayuga, New York, USA
 
Census
1860
Lwendeck
Owasco, Cayuga, New York, USA
/p490/132
Census
1870
Lineback
Wyoming Township, Kent, Michigan, USA
/p656A/275
Census
1880
Luyndyke
Gaines Township, Kent, Michigan, USA
131/167A/74
Directory
1890
Luyendyk
35 Ellsworth Ave.  Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan
 
Census
1900
Londyk
Paris Township, Kent, Michigan, USA
86/21A/458
Death
16 June 1900
 
Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan, USA
 


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Quirin Schmitt-Tombstone Tuesday

Author: Brenda Leyndyke / Labels: ,

 St. John Neumann Section of S.S. Peter and Paul Cemetery,
 Naperville, Illinois, United States
 
FATHER
QUIRIN SCHMITT
1852               1927
 
Quirin Schmitt is Kirk's maternal great-great grandfather.  He immigrated from France in the early 1870's.  He was a liveryman and wagonmaker for many years in Downers Grove Illinois.
 
He is buried in Row 27-Number 13 in the St. John Neumann Section of S.S. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Naperville, Illinois.  

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Timothy Francis Corcoran-Sunday's Obituary

Author: Brenda Leyndyke / Labels: ,

Source: Grand Rapids Press, (Grand Rapids, Michigan), 18 April 1952, card file clipping owned by Grand Rapids Public Library, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

Timothy Corcoran, 75, Dies; Was Millwright

Timothy Francis Corcoran, 75, of 1000 Lafayette av., SE, a native of Chicago and resident here 44 years, died Thursday night at St. Mary's hospital after a short illness.

Mr. Corcoran was a retired millwright and was a member of Holy Name society at St. Andrew's cathedral.

Surviving are two sone, Howard J. and Bert F., both of Grand Rapids; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Andrew's cathedral, with burial in Restlawn Memorial park. The body is at O'Brien's Colonial home.

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Decorating with Genealogy

Author: Brenda Leyndyke / Labels: ,

My husband and I painted our living areas this summer a rich, warm, chocolate brown.  Upon completion, my eyes rested on the hallway wall to the bedrooms.  It was the perfect place for a gallery wall.  The average person would have looked for art prints to display.  Not me, I decided to hang family pictures.

With a little help from Pinterest, a project was born!  I went through my family pictures and decided which ones I wanted to hang.  I wanted to show the Leyndyke and Glover sides of the family.  I narrowed the final selections down to 29 photographs, one marriage certificate and one FAMILY photo letters hanging.

Here is the end result.


One of the projects I saw on Pinterest was to take a copy of a marriage certificate and decoupage it to the letter of your last name.  I had Kirk's grandparent's, Peter and Nellie Leyndyke, marriage certificate-so I gave it a try.  I printed a copy onto parchment paper, bought a letter "L'and went to work.

I positioned the certificate over the L in a way that one could tell it was a marriage certificate.  A part of their names wrap around the right side of the L.  I trimmed it to fit and decoupaged it.  Here is the end product.

Next, I ordered prints to frame.  Then, I took advantage of a Michael's sale and bought a few frames.  I spent days rearranging the pictures on top of two six foot tables.  Once I was happy with the arrangement I turned them upside down, placed wax paper on top of them, and marked where the nail needed to go.  Kirk nailed the wax paper to the wall, leveled it, and pounded the nails in for me.  He tore off the wax paper and hung the pictures.  The wax paper was a great way to keep everything in order.  I only made two mistakes, the nail for the L was on the wrong side and one of the smaller pictures had to be moved up.   The following Leyndyke family pictures are hanging proudly on our wall.  It is a reminder of where we have come from.

 Twins, Kirk and Karen
 Stained Glass Window, Vierpolders, Netherlands-the Luijendijk homeland
 Peter and Nellie (VanOeveren) Leyn Dyke
 L-R Richard, Helen and Elizabeth Corcoran
 James Marvin Leyndyke
L-R Siblings Lena Luyendyk, Janie Kennedy, Peter Leyn Dyke
 Bertrand Francis Corcoran
 Helen (Schmitt) and Timothy Corcoran
 Elizabeth (Corcoran) Leyndyke and her grandmother, Frances (Denny) Dollaway
 Neeltje (van den Bos) Luyendyk Kennedy
Leona (Dollaway) and Bertrand Corcoran
Elizabeth (Corcoran) and James Leyndyke
Kirsten (Leyndyke) and Chase Agnello-Dean
 
 
Are you wondering which Glover pictures I selected?  Check out my other blog, Journey to the Past,  to see them.

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Grandpa Had a Sister?!-Wednesday's Child

Author: Brenda Leyndyke / Labels: , , , ,

L-R Lena Marie Luyendyk, Janie Haviland Kennedy, Peter J. Leyendyk (later, Leyn Dyke)
Photograph taken after Janie's birth in 1907 and before March 1910.
 
 
Kirk's grandfather, Peter Leyn Dyke, never talked about his sister to anyone's knowledge.  I was looking for Peter in the 1900 United States Census records (indexed as Lundyk) and found Peter living with his father, Cornelius; mother, Neeltje; AND sister, Lena.  I did a double take when I found that record.
 
 Source:  1900 U.S. Census, , Population Schedule, Paris Township, Kent, Michigan, ED 86, p 21, dwelling 458, Head of household Conelius Lundyk.
 
I asked Peter's son, James Leyndyke, if he knew about Lena.  He didn't and thought it may have been a cousin of Peter's.  I suppose that could have been a possibility, but I didn't give up researching her.  Eventually, I found Lena's birth record at Michigan Births 1867-1902 at familysearch.org.  She was born 30 September 1896 in Gaines Township, Kent, Michigan.  Her parents were listed as Cornelius Luendyke and Nellie Luendyke.  A visit to the Kent County Clerk's Office in Grand Rapids, Michigan confirmed that information.

It wasn't until the picture above arrived at Kirk's parent's house that the family believed she really did exist.   Peter's daughter, Betty, sent a few pictures at her brother Jim's request.  This was one of them.  What a treasure!

I was intrigued to find out more.  Why didn't anyone in the family know about her?  Why wasn't she ever mentioned by her brother, Peter? 

Unfortunately, she died at the age of 13.  Lena's father Cornelius died in 1900.  Her mother, Neeltje, remarried Addison B. Kennedy in 1903.  The family moved to Chicago and lived there with the last name of Kennedy.  Lena Marie Kennedy died 1 March 1910 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.  She is buried in Mount Greenwood Cemetery, Chicago, Cook, Illinois.  Sadly, there is no headstone.

So, why didn't Peter talk about his sister, or for that matter, his step-sister?  A few things need to be taken into consideration.  First, five months after Lena's death, Peter's mother, Neeltje, died.  I imagine this threw the whole family into a grieving state.  Peter was 15 at the time.  Can you imagine losing your sister and a few months later, your mother at such a young age?  I am sure Peter coped the best he could and it was one of those things you probably didn't talk about.

I am thankful I found Lena in the family. I only wish I had found her before Peter Leyn Dyke died, or maybe it was better I didn't.  I wouldn't want to be the one responsible for bringing up memories that Peter may have wanted to remain his own.
 

 
 

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Andrew Dollaway Revolutionary War Pension-Military Monday

Author: Brenda Leyndyke / Labels: , ,


Source:  "Revolutionary War Era Pensions," digital images, ProQuest LLC, Heritage Quest Online (Access through participating libraries : accessed 2012), From National Archives microfilm publication M805, roll 275, image 390, File W16238, Page 3 of 12.


Andrew Dollaway was a soldier in the Revolutionary War for a period of nine months.   I found his widow's pension file at heritagequest.com, which is available online through participating libraries.  Page three of the file contains information about his service. A transcription is below.

Notif. sent to W.H. Buch a leg. Esq.  Poughkeepsie, Ny 20th July 1823

16020
New York R

Andrew Dollawy of Fishkill in the state of N. York who was a private in the regiment commanded by Colonel VanSchank of the N. York line for the term of 9 mo

Inscribed on the Roll of New York at the rate of Eight Dollars per month, to commence on the 1st of March 1817

Certificate of Pension issued the 25 of Sept 1819 and sent to James ??nott, Esq.  Poukeepsie, N. York

Arrears to 4th of Sept 1819
Semi-anl. all co ending 4 Mar 1820

Revolutionary claim, Act 18th March, 1818

Continued ? (Assume it is a signature)

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DeGan/DeGanne: Surname Saturday

Author: Brenda Leyndyke / Labels: ,

The DeGan/DeGanne surname can be found on Kirk's maternal side of the family.  The spelling of the surname has evolved through the years.  It started in France as Gueneau, then Gane, DeGanne and DeGan.  The DeGan family in Kirk's family originated in France, migrated to Quebec in the early 1700's.  The first of Kirk's ancestors to arrive in the United States was Amable 'Seraphim' DeGanne, living in Onondaga County, New York.  Eventually, Seraphim's daughter, Adelia, migrated to Lowell, Kent, Michigan.

Kirk's DeGan/DeGanne lineage is:

Kirk
His mother
His grandmother, Leona Dollaway Corcoran
Francis Denny Dollaway
Adelia DeGan Denny
Amable Seraphim DeGan
Jean-Baptiste DeGanne
Jean Baptiste DeGanne
Joseph Francois Gane
Francois Gane
Germain Gane
Jean Gueneau

More research is needed on this side of the family.  I guess it is time to research more French Canadian records.

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Happy Birthday, James M. Leyndyke!

Author: Brenda Leyndyke / Labels: , ,


James Marvin Leyndyke
Age Unknown-Taken in the late 1920's
James is the son of Peter and Nellie (VanOeveren) Leyndyke

Kirk's father, James Marvin Leyndyke, is celebrating a birthday today.  Happy Birthday, Jim!  

Kirk and I are blessed that he is still in our lives.  He is a very special part of the family.  Jim is the 'go to' guy for fix it up advice.  He has incredible wood working skills.  We have many cherished items that Jim has made bookcases, benches, shelves, toys and more.  

When his grandchildren were younger, he would make wooden toys for them.  We saved every one of them.  Some of the items he made for our family include:  a cradle, a doll cradle, doll house, an adorable duck peg hanger, a pouting chair, a train, a puzzle truck, and the most fabulous rocking horse.  He made a rocking horse for each of his four children's family.

I remember our daughter, Kirsten, was almost two when Jim and Betty came for a visit.  Kirsten  was standing at the front window, her eyes barely able to see out the window.  Jim and Betty pulled in the driveway and out came this rocking horse from the back of their truck.  Kirsten squealed, and I mean squealed!  She couldn't get outside fast enough to see them (and the rocking horse.)  It was precious.

Kirsten, enjoying the rocking horse.

That rocking horse became beloved.  Both of my children, Kirsten and Travis, rode it.  They rode it so much they loosened the head of it.  Of course, Jim was there to fix it.  Currently, the rocking horse in in the family room waiting for others to use it.

Here a few pictures depicting the life of James M. Leyndyke:

James' high school graduation picture:  
James M. Leyndyke graduated from Flint Central High School, Flint, Michigan.

James M. Leyndyke entered the U.S. Navy, in the fall of 1944.  He served his country in World War II and the Korean War.  

James M. Leyndyke and his brother, John, in 1950.  James married Elizabeth Corcoran on 24 July 1950 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

James and Elizabeth Leyndyke in 1951 with their first born twins.  James is holding Kirk Anthony and Betty is holding Karen Anne.  Jim and Betty had four children:  Kirk, Karen, James Alan, and Joanne Kay.

Jim and Betty enjoying their retirement.

I hope you are having the best birthday ever, Jim.  Happy Birthday and thanks for all you have done for the Leyndyke family.

 

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