Journey to His Past

The above chart is a color coded pedigree chart of Kirk's ancestry.  It starts with Kirk and has his father, James Leyndyke, ancestry across the top.  His mother, Elizabeth Leyndyke, ancestry across the bottom of the chart.

FACT	DATE	PLACE OF RESIDENCE	ENUMERATION DISTRICT/PAGE ID./DWELLING
Birth	29 Oct 1863	Havana, Schuyler, New York, United States
Census	1870	Grand Rapids Ward 3, Kent, Michigan, United States	/61/477
Census	1880	Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan, United States	139/324A/223
Marriage	3 Oct 1885	Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan, United States
Census	1900	Lowell Township, Kent, Michigan, United States	94/13B/293
Census	1910	Lowell, Kent, Michigan, United States	0128/1B/20
Census	1920
City Directory	1921	Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan, United States	p384
Census	1930	Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan, United States	79/7A/81
Census	1940	Lowell, Kent, Michigan, United States	41-23/15A/Line 27
Death	28 June 1940	Lowell, Kent, Michigan, United States

The Grand Rapids Public Library has 3 x 5 cards filed alphabetically by last name in an old card catalog file.  These surname card files have been a wealth of information for Kirk's Grand Rapids roots.   The information that I found for Corcoran, Timothy F. is a funeral notice.  In addition to the funeral notice being on the card, they put the name of the newspaper and date of publication.  I have found this to be a very useful source to check.  If you have Grand Rapids and surrounding area research to do, I recommend checking out this resource at the Main Grand Rapids Public Library on Level 4.

CORCORAN, TIMOTHY F
GR HERALD 20 APRIL 1952

CORCORAN- Requiem High Mass for Timothy F. Corcoran will be sung at 10 a.m.  The Holy Name society, relatives and friends will recite the Rosary Sunday afternoon at 4 o'clock at the O'Briens Colonial Home, where Mr. Corcoran reposes.  Interment Rest Lawn Memorial Park.

Howard James Corcoran, son of Timothy Corcoran and Helen Corcoran, nee Schmitt was born 9 Feb 1907 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.  He died 21 May 1960 in Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan. Howard is buried in Restlawn Cemetery, Grand Rapids, Michigan next to his parents.

You have probably heard of high school's that vote for Most Likely to Succeed, Most Talented or Most Popular, but have you ever heard of the Class Optimist?  I hadn't, but Kirk's grandfather, Bert Corcoran, was voted that in his senior year.

27 members of Grand Rapids, Michigan Boys' Catholic Central High School held a mock election.  A newspaper article reported the election results in the Grand Rapids Press 25 April 1922 edition on page 11; column 4 and 5.

Can you imagine being voted as the shark, rough neck, woman-hater, or baby?  Things have certainly changed since 1922.  High school's today would never be allowed to use derogatory labels.  The teacher in me noticed that six of the students weren't voted for anything.  I guess it isn't as noticeable in a larger school, but I wonder how they felt about being left out.  Another thing that time has changed, I guess.  They probably didn't give it another thought.


  Here is the clipping:

Transcription:
CATHOLIC CENTRAL HAS SENIOR MOCK ELECTION

Twenty-seven members of the junior class of Boys' Catholic Central High school learned Monday how classmates regard them when the annual mock election was held.  The results include:

Most Popular, William Grant;
handsomest, Ronald Chinnock;
shark, James Withey;
class pet, Harold Myler;
class pugilist, Ralph DeVries;
optimist, Bert Corcoran;
pessimist, Charles Guinon;
athlete, Francis Slattery;
fashion plate, Edward Symanski
cutup, August Annerino;
dancer, Michael McCue;
farmer, John Collins;
rough neck, Frank Holland;
woman hater, Joseph Zematis;
bluffer, Wilson Madden;
artist, Leo Van Gorp;
poet, Francis Manikowaki;
chauffeur, Gerald Joyce;
baby, Joseph Morrison;
musician, Archie Foster;
wit, Bernard Morrisey,