Posts Tagged Michigan genealogy
‘Disaster’ #52Ancestors 2020 Post 9
Posted by Caroll in 52 Ancestors, Genealogy Blog on March 2, 2020
Fire Causes $4000 Damage
The fire was attributed to a passing locomotive according to the April 10, 1912, news clip. The fire caused roughly $2000 damage to three homes. One of those homes was the residence of Adam Budna, my great-grandfather.
The fire happened on a Tuesday afternoon. Was Adam at work when it happened? Two of the children may have been in school, the other three too young to attend. Mary must have been in a panic. The article states the residents were busy bringing out their furniture and belongings. I don’t know if Adam and Mary lost any possessions, important documents, or photographs. The accounts of this fire weren’t passed down to subsequent generations.
The 1912 Polk’s City Directory for Detroit lists my great-grandparents Adam and Mary (Borucka) Budny address at, 382 Poplar. There is no such address today. Detroit renumbered their streets in the 1920’s if I recall. Using Goggle Maps, I find railroad tracks on the western edge of Poplar street. I suspect the house was a multi-unit building with several apartments.
There are very few buildings now along that street. Homes and businesses long since torn down. Empty tracks of land where once a bustling city was growing. Time has done more damage then the fire of yesteryear.
52Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2020 – Post 6 – “Are My Parents Related”
Posted by Caroll in 52 Ancestors, Genealogy Blog, Uncategorized on February 10, 2020
This week’s prompt of the 52 Ancestors Challenge is, “Same Name.”
Both my maternal and paternal lines have the surname “White.” My direct maternal line descends from Elizabeth White, daughter of John White and Ann Garner. Elizabeth and her parents sailed on the Earl of Donegal to South Carolina in 1767. The ship sailed from Belfast, Ireland to Charleston, South Carolina. It has been alleged that the family may have been from Brougshane, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
My third great grandfather on my father’s maternal line was John “Chauncey” White. With no confirmed documentation, he may have come from Mollington, Oxfordshire, England. Chauncy and his family are listed on the 1851 Canada West Census in Metcalfe Township, Middlesex County, Ontario. By 1860, the family resides in Sanilac County, Michigan. Two of his sons served in the Civil War. One son, Edward White, loses his life at Jonesboro, Georgia, on July 4, 1864.
Are they two White families connected? Before genome mapping, it would have been the tedious research of records to check if the families branches where intertwined. Today, GedMatch.com can quickly determine if your parents are related to each other. In a few seconds after entering my gedmatch kit number, I quickly learn my parents are not related.
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#52 Ancestors No. 26 – James White – Michigan Thumb Fire September 5, 1881
Posted by Caroll in 52 Ancestors, Genealogy Blog on September 5, 2015
This is post 26 of the 2015 #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website. 
Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers tweeted of photo of a cartograph1 depicting the Michigan thumb area that mentions a fire that happen on this day in 1881, as a blogging prompt. Recognizing the all too familiar appendage of my birth state, I remembered that one of my ancestors lost their life during the fire.
Burnt District resulting from the Michigan Thumb Fire, September 5, 1881.
The illustrated cartograph showed the burnt district in the Michigan thumb area that resulted from the great fire on September 5, 1881. The Great Fire, as it is known, burned for three days. It destroyed a million acres of land, including forests, farms, mills, and businesses. The fire consumed the lives of over 280 people2.
James White was just five months old when he died on 16 September 1881. His death was caused by the effects of the fire 11 days earlier. It is not known if he suffered from smoke inhalation or from burns. The death was recorded in 1882 and is transcribed in the GENDIS2 database.
I have a mimeograph copy of a family history from an unknown source and date that includes two written pages of notes. The notes talk of Aunt Vi (Violet White), who would be James’ older sister. The letter mentions that Aunt Vi was five years old at the time of the Great Fire. The writer of the letter states, “Aunt Vi remembers them huddling under a quilt all but their father and one of the boys. They had to keep pulling out sparks that land on the quilt. Then all was over the quilt was full of little holes.” There is no mention of James’ death.
James’ parents are James Montgomery White and Persis DesJardins are my great great-grandparents. Th family were farmers in Minden, Sanilac County, Michigan. By the time of the fire, James and Persis had eight children. Two more children would come later. One was my great-grandmother, Minnie White.
Sources:
1http://www.geneabloggers.com/genealogy-blogging-beat-saturday-5-september-2015/#more-34852
2Wikipedia Great Thumb Fire, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb_fire
3http://www.mdch.state.mi.us/gendisx/scripts/individual.asp?UniqueID=282434
Additional resources:
http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ptruckin/greatfire.html
http://www3.gendisasters.com/michigan/5778/mi-quotgreat-thumb-firequot-sept-1881?page=0,1
#52Ancestors: Week 19 – Revisiting Doris Anderson
Posted by Caroll in 52 Ancestors on May 10, 2015
This is week 19 of the 2015 #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
In the 2014 edition of the Ancestors Challenge I wrote a blog on #52 Ancestors – No. 14 – Doris M Anderson. Doris is the sister of my grandmother Edith Anderson Budny. I discovered Doris through an old family picture. Seeking Michigan has been adding images of death certificates up to 1947 on their website.
The Anderson family lived in Bay City, Michigan. Doris’s father, Ernest Anderson, died in 1925. Her mother Minnie White, remarried to William O’Neil in December 1926.
Doris died as a child in 1927. I guessed that she most likely succumb to a childhood illness. Sadly, her death was caused by being hit by a car. She was only five years old.
Doris Anderson, 1927 Death Certificate
#52Ancestors: Week 13 – Frisky! Alex Rusenko and Nervous Nellie
Posted by Caroll in 52 Ancestors, Genealogy Blog on March 30, 2015
This is week 13 of the 2015 #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
Irene Borucki is my 1st cousin 2x removed. Irene Borucki (1916-1998), is the daughter of Ignacy (Frank) Borucki and Alexandra Lipinska. I have never met any of my Borucki cousins. The connection was lost long ago. Recently released vital records from Michigan have filled in the branches on my family tree.
Since it is usually easier to search paternal lines, I hopscotched up Irene’s husband family tree. She married Theodore Rusenko in 1935. The family home was in Hamtramck, Michigan. A city of its own that lies within the borders of Detroit. A Polish conclave that still has the best Paczki or Polish doughnuts that I remember from my youth.
This story is about Theodore’s father, Alex Rusenko. Irene and Theodore’s marriage license provided the names of the groom’s parent. Using Ancestry.com, I found the usual census, city directories, border crossings, and war registration records. The 1930 census indicated that Alex and his first wife Barbara Zawadzki were divorced.
A border crossing from on July 13, 1927 provided a curious and amusing observation. Seems that Alex crossed over from Detroit with a new wife before his divorce was final with Barbara. The passenger list doesn’t say if Alex was coming from a port outside of the US or if he took a quick visit to Windsor, Ontario. Alex Rusenko 1927 Detroit Border Crossing Manifest
The new wife’s name is recorded on the front as Nellie. On the back of the card, it is listed as Helen. In remarks section an amusing statement written by the inspector. “This man claims Helen to be his wife and admits not being legally divorced from his first wife Barbara.”
Nellie Rusenko’s manifest card from the same crossing implies that she previously arrived in the US in 1913. It is possible that the two crossed over the Detroit River into Canada for some reason. The home address listed on both cards is, 2330 Avaline (correct street name is, Evaline). The occupant listed for that address in the 1927 Detroit City Directory is Joe Dziurlikowski. This mysterious Nellie may have boarded at this address. Nellie Rusenko 1927 Detroit Border Crossing Manifest
Barbara Rusenko was granted her divorce on July 20, 1927. Eight years later, Alex Rusenko marries Louise Holjnacki, on February 12, 1935. The witnesses to the marriage, are Anna Stepchinko and Helena Gronkowski. Was Helena the woman he supposedly married before? Or, did he help a woman named Nellie/Helen enter the USA?
Alex Rusenko, born in Austria of Ukrainian descent, died 21 April 1978, in Warren, MI.
Source Citations
“Michigan, Detroit Manifests of Arrivals at the Port of Detroit, 1906-1954,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-21617-37015-76?cc=1916040 : accessed 30 March 2015), Ruselvan, Barbara – Samet, Isaac > image 10 of 7977; citing NARA microfilm publication M1478 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
“Michigan, Detroit Manifests of Arrivals at the Port of Detroit, 1906-1954,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-21598-46402-30?cc=1916040 : accessed 30 March 2015), Rayment, Cortland B. – Renoud, Joseph A. > image 7370 of 7933; citing NARA microfilm publication M1478 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
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