2024 Prompt - Heirlooms - Blanche L. Wilcox

Heirlooms that were Blanche L. (Wilcox) Miller 1881-1961

 

*Nancy A. Simmons

**Josephine Blanche Martin - mother

***Edward J. Martin - grandfather

****Nina P. Wilcox - great grandmother

**** Blanche L. Wilcox- Nina's sister, my great-great aunt

 

Antique Mission Rocking Chair

I consider my Wilcox family Bible and my many old family photos my heirlooms. treasure them. But I have two precious heirlooms I really value. I received an old mission rocking chair from my mother and an antique chocolate carafe from my grandfather. They are two very treasured heirlooms that both belonged to my great-great-aunt Blanche Wilcox. 

 

Blanche L. Wilcox
Picture taken about 1900

The rocking chair belonged to my great-great-aunt Blanche. My mother, Josephine Blanche Martin, was named after her great aunt. My great-great aunt Blanche was the youngest child of Jacob and Margaret Wilcox, born September 15, 1881. She had three older brothers: Hubbard, Isaac, and Harry. And three sisters; Nina Pearl, my great grandmother, Theresa, and Eunice.

Blanche(Wilcox) and George Miller
50th Wedding Anniversary Announcement
October 1952

At the age of twenty-one, Blanche married George Dale Miller, October 22, 1902, in Dundee, Michigan.  Blanche's mother died January 26, 1900, and her father died June 23, 1901. She was just in her early 20s when her parents died and was very close to her older sisters, Nina and Teressa. After they married, Blanche and Dale moved to Detroit where her older sisters lived, and Dale got a job as a machinist in the auto-industry. On June 29, 1909, Blanche gave birth to their only child, a son Clyde Osborne who later died in 1955.

Blanche with sisters Teressa and Nina and son Osbourne, also several cousins
picture taken about 1915

 

I am not sure how or when my mother ended up with the rocker since I don't remember it in our home when I was growing up. I do remember my great aunt sitting in it when we would visit her. My earliest memory of my aunt is about 1957 when I was ten years old. My mother took me and my two sisters to visit Aunt Blanche and Uncle Dale. I was so impressed because they lived on the second floor in an old apartment house at 3935 Porter Street near Clark Park in Detroit. We walked down a long hallway and entered their apartment and saw them sitting in chairs overlooking a bay window that looked out on the street. One of those chairs was the mission rocker. The apartment consisted of a small living room, a small bedroom and a very small kitchen. My mother did the talking and my sisters and I sat on the floor and just observed. They had no television and would spend the day watching people out on the street. I believe the rocker was purchased in the early 1900s, maybe shortly after Dale and Blanche were married.

 

Antique Chocolate Carafe

The antique chocolate carafe also belonged to my great-great aunt Blanche. When she and her husband passed away in the early 1960s my grandfather was the administrator of their estate. My mother and my sisters returned to the apartment in 1961 to help my grandfather clean out the apartment. When my mother was about ready to leave my grandfather asked my sisters and I to pick something out of Aunt Blanche's china cabinet. I selected a tall pink floral chocolate carafe. It now sits in my china cabinet and reminds me of many memories of my mother, grandfather, and my great-great aunt.

The Christmas of 1974 I was married and 6 months pregnant with my first child, my mother gifted me her aunt's old mission rocker. I covered the 16-inch spring seat and added a matching cushion to the back of the rocking chair. I rocked all three of my babies in that rocking chair in the coming years and my daughter rocked her babies in it for several years. The chair now graces my living room and I find myself gravitating to it to read a good book. I can sit in this beautiful 110-year-old mission rocker and admire the chocolate carafe on a shelf in my china cabinet! I treasure these two heirlooms since they remind me of many sweet memories.

2024 Origins - Nancy Ann Simmons Family Origins

 2024 - Origins

Origins of Nancy Ann Simmons' Families

As a family researcher, it is not uncommon for someone to ask, "Where is your family from." And I usually respond, "What part of my family? " My father's Simmons, Rexroad, Michael, Moyers, Huffman, Propst, Voeglin, Heavener, and Arbogast families are all German but other families are also French, English, and Scottish. My mother's Martin, Larkins, Cronin, and Stackpole families are  Irish, but other families are English, and a wee bit of German.

 

To find your family's origins you must find the immigrant ancestor. To find my father's Simmons immigrant ancestor I had to research back many generations. My father's Simmons family is from Germany, but I had to research back seven generations to reach my 5th great-grandfather, Leonard Simmons, to find that he was born in Germany. 

Pedigree Chart
Nancy Simmons to Paul Simmons to Walter Simmons to Andrew Simmons to Peter Simmons to Henry Simmons to Immigrant Leonard Simmons; my 5th great-grandfather from Germany 

Leonard Simmons was born about 1738 in Germany. At this point, I am still searching for the name of his village. Leonard Simmons was on the South Branch of the Potomac River in Virginia by 1753 and claimed 257 acres of land. My father's immigrant great-grandfather, William Henry Leeton, was born in 1839 in France, and his wife, Margaret Newland was born in 1845 in West Virginia but her immigrant parents, William Newland and Elspeth Hall, were born in Scotland.

1880 U.S. Federal Census Wood County, West Virginia
Immigrant - Leeton, Henry 41 born in France, father born in France, mother born in France
Leeton, Margaret, 35, wife, born in WV, father born in Scotland, mother born in Scotland
Henry and Margaret are my great-great-grandparents

My father's mother is June Elizabeth Putman. I have traced the Putman line to 1747 in Culpeper County, Virginia, and from there back to Thomas Putnam born in 1646 in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England. June Elizabeth Putman's grandmother was Catherine Deck who comes from German stock. I have traced the Deck family back to immigrant, Johannes Nicholas Deck, my 6^th great-grandfather, born in 1695 in Germany.

Pedigree Chart
Nancy Simmons to Paul Simmons to June Putman to Cora Wilson to Catherine Deck to Jacob Deck to Christian Deck to Johannes Heinrich Deck to Immigrant- Johann Nicholas Deck; my 6th great-grandfather

 

Turning to my mother’s family, we have a dominance of Irish origins since her maternal grandparents, Denis and Bridgette (Stackpole) Cronin were both born in Ireland in the late 1850s. They both emigrated from Ireland to Detroit, Michigan in the 1880s.

Pedigree Chart
Nancy Simmons to Josephine Martin to Mary Cronin to Denis Cronin and Bridget Stackpole
Dennis Cronin born in County Cork, Ireland; my great grandfather
Bridget Stackpole born in County Kerry, Ireland; my great grandmother

 

My mother's paternal grandfather was Francis Arthur Martin, and his grandparents, Edward and Julia Martin were born in Ireland and married in 1829 in Kilmactranny Parish, Sligo County, Ireland. They emigrated from Ireland to Wayne County, Michigan in 1843. Since they are of the protestant faith, they are most likely Scotch-Irish.

But Francis Arthur Martin's maternal grandmother was Margaret Ann Davis, and she leads us back eight generations to immigrant Thomas Rogers, a Mayflower passenger who was born in England and married in 1597 in Northamptonshire, England.  

Pedigree Chart Nancy Simmons to Mayflower Ancestor
Nancy Simmons to Josephine Martin to Edward Martin to Francis Martin to Elizabeth Larkins to
Margaret Davis to Deborah Stephens 

Cont. Pedigree Chart Nancy Simmons to Mayflower Ancestor
Robert Stephens to Thomas Stephens to Josiah Stephens to Remember Tisdale to Anna Rogers to John Rogers to Immigrant Mayflower Ancestors - Thomas Rogers; 11th great grandfather from England

 

Based on my research, my origins are strongly Irish with heavy English and German lineages. There is also a small percentage of Scottish and French through my father's line.

 

I have tested my DNA with Ancestry and love their circle graphs. According to Ancestry's database, my father's origins are predominantly from England and Northwestern Europe, then from Germanic Europe, Sweden & Denmark, Scotland, and a trace of Wales. My mother's origins are over 50 % from Ireland, then England and Germanic Europe. The circle graph on the right shows my origins from Ireland, England, Germanic Europe, Sweden & Denmark, Scotland, and a trace of Wales.

Ancestry.com Circle Charts of Origins
Father's origins from England & Northwestern Europe, Germanic  Europe, Sweden & Denmark, Scotland and Wales
Mother's Origins from Ireland, England & Northwestern Europe, and Germanic Europe
My origins from Ireland, England & Northwestern Europe, Germanic Europe, Sweden & Denmark, Scotland, Wales

My Origins 
Ireland, Great Britain, Scotland, France, Germany, Norway and Denmark

 

My disclaimer on my research is that I have not been able to trace back far enough to find the source of my origins from Sweden & Demark or Wales as revealed in my DNA. But based on my research, I can state my origins are Ireland, England, Germany, Scotland, and France.

 

 

2024 Family Lore - Mary Catherine Cronin

Mary Catherine Cronin 1895-1952

Nancy Simmons

Josephine Martin - mother

Mary Catherine Cronin – grandmother

Blarney Castle, home of the Blarney Stone

 

Family lore has it that my grandmother, Mary Catherine Cronin, kissed the Blarney Stone on a trip she took with her parents in 1909 to visit relatives in County Cork.  As family lore, you wonder how true this family story is.

 

“The Blarney Stone (Irish: Cloch na Blarnan) is a block of Carboniferous limestone^[1] built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney, about 8 kilometres (5 miles) from Cork, Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of the gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). The stone was set into a tower of the castle in 1446. The castle is a popular tourist site in Ireland, attracting visitors from all over the world to kiss the stone and tour the castle and its gardens.”  Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blarney_Stone

 

My grandmother, Mary Catherine Cronin, was born on the 27th of October 1895 in Detroit Michigan. She was the fifth child and third daughter born to Dennis Cronin and Bridget Johanna Stackpole. She was probably christened at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Detroit where her parents were married. She made her first communion in 1907 when she was 11 years old.

 

Mary Catherine Cronin - First Communion about 1907

Family stories state that Mary Catherine had rheumatic fever and St Vitis Dance, known today as Sydenham Chorea (https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23077-sydenham-chorea), as a child, and it caused her to have heart damage. Due to her ill health, her parents decided in 1909 to take her with them on an ocean voyage to visit relatives in Ireland. Her mother was born in County Limerick and her father was born in Coolinarna, County Cork, Ireland. Coolinarna is less than an hour from Blarney Castle, so it is very possible that the family visited Blarney Castle and Mary kissed the Blarney Stone. The passenger list on their return trip states his daughter as Bridgette and is eleven years old when in fact she was 13 years old. Her father's passport lists her as Mary but also lists her as eleven years old.

 

Ancestry - UK and Ireland, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960

Ancestry - U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925

I have no documentation about where Mary attended school in Detroit, but the 1940 federal census states she attended four years of high school. She would have graduated from high school in 1912 and five years later the 28th of June 1917 she married Edward Jacob Martin at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church.

Wedding Picture June 28, 1917
Standing- Mary Ellen O'Rourke and Hubbard Walter Martin
Seated- Mary Catherine Cronin and Edward Jacob Martin

                                    

Mary and Edward had four children: Edward born in 1918, Nina born in 1920, Josephine born in 1923 and Beatrice born in 1929. Mary and Edward lived with his parents for the first couple of years of their marriage. Mary's mother died in 1924 and her father in 1925 leaving them a house on Bostwick Street where they lived for many years. In 1939, due to Edward's parents' failing health, they moved to Vinewood Avenue and lived in the flat above his parents. In 1948, due to Mary's heart problems, they moved to a garage home on Steadman Street in Dearborn. Unfortunately, Mary suffered a stroke on the first of October and due to her weak heart died on October 13, 1952. Mary Catherine is buried in Holy Sepulcher Catholic Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan.

Denis Cronin, Mary's father, Mary Catherine holding Josephine, my mother
Picture taken about 1924

Unfortunately, I was only five when my grandmother died and the only picture I have with her is a Mother's Day photo taken May 1952. I only have the stories that my mother shared with me about my grandmother. And one of those stories is that my grandmother, Mary Catherine Cronin, kissed the Blarney Stone! Based on the documents and the story, I do believe my grandmother, Mary Catherine (Cronin) Martin kissed the Blarney Stone on her trip to Ireland in 1909.

 

Mother's Day 1952
Mary Catherine, daughter-in-law, Julie (Marko) Martin, my mother, Josephine (Martin) Simmons
Mary's grandchildren: Edward Timothy Martin, Cathy Jean Simmons and Nancy Ann Simmons

Addition Family Photos of Mary Catherine (Cronin) Martin and her family

About 1921 at Belle Isle
Son Edward William 3 years, husband Edward Jacob Martin,
Nina Marie 1 year and Mary Catherine (Cronin) Martin

 

Sister Johanna (Cronin) O'Grady and Mary Catherine (Cronin) Martin

Martin Family about 1944
Daughters and son with his son and wife
Josephine Blanche, Mary Catherine, Edward Jacob, Beatrice Mary, and Nina Marie
Edward William holding son Edward Timothy and Julie (Marko) Martin

2020 Prompt - Middle - Edward Jacob Martin

Edward Jacob Martin (1895-1966) 

my maternal grandfather

Nancy Simmons to Josephine Martin to Edward Jacob Martin

Edward Jacob MARTIN  1895-1966

 The middle child! According to child psychologist, Dr. Kevin Lehman, the middle child tends to be the family peacekeeper often developing the trait of agreeableness and compassion and because middle children are stuck in the middle, they tend to be great negotiators and compromisers.[1] My grandfather, Edward Jacob Martin was the middle child and seemed to understand and empathize with children that were middle children. 

Edward Jacob MARTIN about 1898
Victorian Era - Little boys in long curls & ruffles

Edward was born in Jan 7, 1895[2] in Detroit on Southern Avenue to Francis and Nina (Wilcox) Martin. He was the second child of Frank and Nina, their first child, Hubbard Walter, born September 7, 1893[3] was 16 months old when Edward was born. Nina certainly had her hands full with two baby boys 16 months apart. Edward was the baby for five years when his youngest brother, Orville Ellis, was born on February 10, 1900[4] in their home on Welch Street in Detroit and firmly established Edward as the middle child of three boys. 

MARTIN Brothers
Edward on the left, Orville in center and Hubbard on the right
Picture taken about 1903

 I do not know much about my grandfather's childhood other than the family moved several times within the same area of Detroit. His father, Frank, was an engineer for the Michigan Central Railroad and they always lived close enough for him to walk to work every day. 

Edward J MARTIN about 1908 when he would have finished 8th grade

As I studied the 1940 federal census it stated the highest grade of school completed for Edward was 8th grade as well as his father and mother.[5] 

1940 Federal Census
The column that is titled Grade is highest grade level attended
H4 is 4 years of high school and C1 is one year of college

 He married Mary Catherine Cronin June 28, 1917 by Rev Andrew Browne, a Catholic priest at the Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church[6] on Junction and Vernor Avenue. 

1917 Wedding picture
Seated Mary Cronin & Edward J. MARTIN
Standing - Mary Ellen (O'Rourke) and Hubbard MARTIN

The witnesses for the marriage were his older brother Hubbard and his wife Mary Ellen, best friend of Mary Catherine.

Edward J Martin & Mary Cronin Marriage Certificate
June 28, 1917 in Detroit, Michigan
Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church

Edward and Mary lived with his parents after their marriage and were listed in the 1920 federal census living at 312 Vinewood Avenue with their first child, Edward William who was born September 16, 1918 probably in that home.[7] They are living with Edward's parents, Frank and Nina, and his youngest brother Orville who is 19. Edward is listed in the census as a laborer working for the auto industry.[8] According to my family he worked for Ford.

1920 US Federal Census Detroit, Michigan
Frank Martin Family in downstairs flat and George Miller in upstairs flat

What is amazing at this time is how many family members lived in the house on Vinewood.  Edward and Mary with their young son, Frank and Nina and Ellis and a 28-year-old boarder lived on the first floor with only two bedrooms. Living in the upstairs flat with only two bedrooms were Nina's sister, Blanche, her husband George, their ten-year-old son, Osborne, Nina's sister Thressa and a boarder. Multigenerational living has been a practice for centuries.

Edward and Mary eventually moved into their own home on 6767 Bostwick street where my aunt Nina and my mother were born. My mother being the third child or middle child of three girls. My mother and her siblings attended All Saints Catholic Church Parochial School. My grandmother, Mary Catherine, came from a strong Irish Catholic family and raised her four children Catholic while my grandfather was a proud Irish protestant.  So, when my mother married a Methodist boy in 1946 my grandfather and according to my mother even her Irish Catholic mother were very compassionate and accepting of my mother's marriage. This was not common in the mid-1940s. And for a side note Mary Catherine was also a middle child.

Edward J. Martin and his wife, Mary Catherine (Cronin)

Back to the 1930s when my mother and her siblings were attending All Saints her grandparents, Frank and Nina started having serious health issues. So, my grandfather packed up his wife and four children, sold the house on Bostwick, and moved into the upper flat above his parents on 1118 Vinewood. Avenue. By this time Detroit had adjusted the house numbers of homes to a new numbering system, 312 Vinewood was the same home as 1118 Vinewood. About the same time Edward’s parents were failing in health my grandmother Mary was starting to have health issues. As a child she had rheumatic fever and as she aged her heart started to weaken. My compassionate grandfather was taking care of his parents and helping his wife, Mary as much as he could. Edward was a US postal carrier and only worked 40 hours a week which was quite unusual for men at that time. This allowed him time to care for his family.  

A recent picture of the 1116 & 1118  Vinewood Avenue house
Captured from Google Earth

In 1940 Edward and his family suffered their first family crisis. His younger brother, Orville Ellis, died at age 40 leaving a young wife and three children. Four years later, his mother Nina who had been suffering from dementia died leaving Edward to taking care of his father. On March 7, 1947 his father Frank suffered a stroke and died[9] and the very next year June 1, 1948 Edward's oldest brother, Hubbard died.[10]  Four deaths in seven years and my grandfather had lost his entire immediate family. I cannot imagine his grief. Then if that was not enough, four years later my grandmother died on October 13, 1952.[11]  At the age of 57 my grandfather had lost both of his parents and his two brothers. 

Edward's Family 1945
Back Row - Josephine, Mary, Edward, Beatrice & Nina
Front- son Edward, his son, Edward Timothy & Julie

As a child I never saw my grandfather melancholy or sad. He was so compassionate and endearing as I believe all the men in our family with Martin blood seem to be. My grandfather loved to square dance and met a divorcee while square dancing and remarried Leda Shaw Fast in 1953. I have a cousin who told me my grandfather planted a garden out behind her house in the 1950s and would call square dances at their home on the weekends.

Leda (Shaw) Martin & Edward about 1957

My grandfather kept busy visiting his children and his grandchildren. He traveled to New York City to visit his youngest daughter Beatrice whose husband was doing his medical residence practice there. She lived on the ninth floor of an apartment building with two young children and another one on the way. In Detroit, my grandfather would come to visit us and always slipped a dime into our hand as we hugged him and then we would take off for Frankie's Sweet Shop to buy a bag of penny candy. I think it was a tactic to get us out of the house so he could visit with my mother.

  

Edward walking with his grandson William pushing Mary Ellen in the stroller
AUnt Nina & Ted also traveled with Edward to New York City summer 1958

After our family moved 40 miles south of Detroit in 1960, he would drive out to visit and as we played in the yard my mother and grandfather would play cribbage. One of my favorite memories of my grandfather’s visits was the August of 1960 when my grandfather came to Monroe to take us to the county fair. It was my first ever trip to a county fair and we were so thrilled to see all the animals and exhibits. But my best memory of the fair was he paid for all of us to ride the bumper cars and we had a blast as he stood there and watch us.

Edward J. MARTIN about 1955

I recall my mother talking about the trials of being the middle sibling and that her father also showed concerned about his grandchildren who were middle children. I guess he could relate since he was a middle child. But what a wonderful gracious man he was and maybe what the world needs is many more middle children with the trait of agreeableness and compassion. Since middle children are stuck in the middle, they tend to be great negotiators and compromisers, just what we need to make this world a better place.

My grandfather died unexpectedly on September 21, 1966[12] at the age of 71 from a heart attack.

Edward J. MARTIN - Death Certificate
Died September 21, 1966

---

[1] Gregoire, Carolyn, "How Being an Oldest, Middle or Youngest Child Shapes Your Personality", HuffPost blog, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/birth-order-personality_n_7206252; Lehman, Dr Kevin, The Birth Order Book.

[2] Ancestry, World War I Draft Registration Cards, https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/12129622/person/-329815627/facts

[3] Ancestry, World War I Draft Registration Cards, https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/12129622/person/-329815629/facts

[4] Ancestry, Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952, Wayne, Certificates, 1921-1944, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60872/images/44471_354750-01347?pId=990179&backurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ancestry.com%2Ffamily-tree%2Fperson%2Ftree%2F12129622%2Fperson%2F-329815628%2Ffacts

[5] Ancestry, 1940 United States Federal Census, Detroit Ward 14, Wayne, ED 84-758, 

page 3A, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/M-T0627-01863-00197?pId=80845284&backurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ancestry.com%2Ffamily-tree%2Fperson%2Ftree%2F12129622%2Fperson%2F-329815627%2Ffacts%2Fcitation%2F25280721488%2Fedit%2Frecord

[6] Ancestry, Michigan, Marriage Records, Wayne, 1867-1952, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9093/images/41326_342329-00213?pId=462462&backurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ancestry.com%2Ffamily-tree%2Fperson%2Ftree%2F12129622%2Fperson%2F-329815627%2Ffacts%2Fcitation%2F122824169040%2Fedit%2Frecord

[7] Ancestry, 1920 United States Federal Census, Detroit Ward 14, Wayne, ED 410, page 5B, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4311651-00090?pId=25911345&backurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ancestry.com%2Ffamily-tree%2Fperson%2Ftree%2F12129622%2Fperson%2F-329815630%2Ffacts%2Fcitation%2F24624299554%2Fedit%2Frecord

[8] Ibid 1920 US Federal Census

[9] Find A Grave, Memorial # 23372470, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23372470/mart

[10] Find A Grave, Memorial # 20742562, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20742562/mart

[11] Find A Grave, Memorial # 17037877, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/17037877/mart

[12] Death Certificate, State of Michigan, Dept of Health, Lansing, MI Certificate #13500