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Saxton-Powers- Smith-Wing Families
Mortimer Ashford Saxton
[Lavancha, Sarah, Roswell] ,
b. August 18, 1898, Arcadia, MI, a child of Lavancha Ghastin-Phelps; m. (1)
Myrtle ____ , after 1916; m. (2) Opal _____; d. March 15, 1981, Joshua Tree, San Bernardino Co., CA Mortimer’s mother died tragically in June, 1907, when he was only eight years old. “Mortie,” as he was called by his sister Edith L. Sawyer, was raised by his father and his two older sisters, who were old enough to be his mother anyway. In Edith’s 1909 diary, it appears that Mortie became rather self-sufficient, if not a little “wild.” His father appears to have been a little given to poker, too, and ended up leaving Mortie with Edith as he moved west to Oregon. When Mortie reached adulthood, though, he moved west, too. In 1915, his address was 5327 Crestline, Spokane, WA. Mortimer showed up in the 1920 census as a lodger in the hotel of John Joseph Lynch on Summit Avenue in Seattle, Washington.[1] His marital status could be either read as “S” or “D,” which doesn’t give us any idea of when he married Myrtle. Mortimer was working at the Puget Sound Navy Yard as an “Ogg autophone aprista” (yeah, illegible). In 1930, we have not been able to find him. Family records claim he lived in Baldwin Park, California. Robert R. Wing [Elmer, Sarah, Roswell] b. March, 1886, Michigan, a son of Elmer Wing and Bessie; m. Hattie ___ around 1920; Robert became a druggist’s clerk in Chicago by 1900. He was living at 3319 Marshfield Ave., Chicago, IL, in 1909. A letter dated October 26, 1909, now in the possession of Paul Stiles, was on the letterhead of C.D. Peacock, Jewelers and Silversmiths, 197 & 199 State Street, Corner of Adams Street. It reads as follows: "Dear Cousin Edith (Sawyer) Your nice and interesting letter has been received with very much interest. You speak of Aunt Vancha as having a sister in Cleveland that would make her a half sister to pa, he always has spoken of having a sister in Ohio somewhere. If you will give me their address and last name I should be pleased to learn more about them in the way of correspondence. No doubt we have other relation whom we are as yet not had the opportunity to visit. We had a cousin visit us from Ferry, Mich. His name is Charles Powers, Jr. and his father has a gristmill up there. He stayed with us a few days and we had quite a nice time together. I learned that Lizzie had been married, but did not know that she gave birth to a dead baby, and that it happened six weeks after they were married. That goes to show that her husband does not amount to much and I cannot understand how she could have been so easily misled, as she was always so particular, and I noticed that when she visited Chicago she did not feel at home at our place. I never seen a girl act so queer, and besides she didn't seem to appreciate any place we took her. I am glad you enjoyed yourself when you were here, and I am looking forward to the time when I can visit with you again. I should like to be with you in Kalamazoo. You spoke of having camped a week on Herring Lake, I wish I could of been with you. I'm sure we could enjoy ourselves, as I have as yet not had the opportunity to go camping. We are very busy at the store, head over heels in work, but I think of you very often, and write whenever I get a chance. We have all been very well so far. Sorry to hear Mortie was so sick. No wonder Aunt Lola is getting gray. She certainly has had her troubles. As I have written all I can think of at the present time I will close, hoping these few lines will reach you in good health, and hoping to hear from you in due time. I remain as ever your loving cousin, R. R. Wing 2052 Cullom Ave., Chicago
By 1920, Robert and his wife were in Owosso, Shiawassee Co., MI, with two sons, E. Elmer and H. Irvin. His father was born in Pennsylvania[2] and his mother in Germany. Ten years later, they were still in Owosso, where Robert worked as a boiler maker for a car shop. They had seven children: Elmer (15), Ervin (12), Lloyd (9), Audrey (7), Virginia (5), Clifford (2), Murton (3 months). The Wing family owned a $1,800 home on Garfield Avenue in Owosso. Hattie was born in Michigan around 1903.
Children:
William P. Wing [Elmer, Sarah, Roswell], b. September, 1888, MI; m. (?) Olga Whittman, around 1900. After 1910, we are not sure what happened to William. There was a William Wing living on Kennicott Avenue in Chicago in the 1920 census. He was born in Michigan in 1888. From the information he claimed for his parents’ birthplaces, we can see that he didn’t know where they were born. We are not completely satisfied that this was our William, even though he was the only William Wing in Chicago who was born in Michigan in 1888. William was working as a bookkeeper for a construction company. His mother-in-law, Hermina Whittman, was living with them. Olga was born in Illinois around 1889, a daughter of German immigrants. Children (alleged): Norman Wing, b. June 11, 1911, IL; d. May, 1963(?) Elvira Wing, b. around 1914, IL Lloyd R. Wing [Elmer, Sarah, Roswell], b. February, 1895, MI; m. __? around 1920, Chicago; div. bef. 1930 Lloyd was out of his parents’ home in 1920’s census, presumably married at the time. His marriage didn’t work out, and by the start of the Great Depression, he was divorced and back in his parents’ home in Chicago. William Walter Smith [Lola, Sarah, Roswell] b. January 9, 1880, a child of Lola E. Wing and Enoch B. Smith; unmarried; d. August 24, 1953, Frankfort, Benzie Co., MI; Blaine Township Cemetery, Benzie Co., MI. He was deaf and dumb. In 1913, around the age of 33, he was admitted to Hill Haven Nursing Home, a county infirmary in Frankfort. There, he remained until his death 40 years later. He never married. In 1920, the census shows “William” in the Benzie County Infirmary on Traverse Road in Benzonia. The record shows that he “prepared vegetables” there. The 1930 census shows Walter under the care of Phillip J. Pawlasky at the County (Poor) Farm in Benzonia. Phillip was the “keeper,” and his wife was the matron. Sixty-seven year old nurse, Susie Avery, also took care of the fourteen “inmates” there. Walter’s death certificate says that he died of a coronary occlusion and myocarditis at the age of 73. He died August 24, 1953. The informant on the death certificate was Mrs. James Borman of Elberta. He was buried next to his mother in Blaine Township Cemetery, Benzie County, Michigan. No children. Kittie M. Smith [Lola, Sarah, Roswell], b. 1881, Blaine Twp., Benzie Co., MI, a daughter of Lola E. Wing and Enoch B. Smith; m. Walter L. Stubbs, August 15, 1900, Benzie Co., MI; d. 1949; Blaine Township Cemetery, Blaine, Benzie Co., MI. Walter was born in Wisconsin in 1875. He became one of the first three pupils in the Rothgeb school on Herring Lake. Walter was a young boy when Benzie County was still a relatively untamed wilderness. According to “A History of Herring Lake,” when he was ten years old, scarlet fever was all over the Herring Lake region. His classmate, Anna Frederickson, died. When a schooner was wrecked on Lake Michigan in the winter of 1885-86, five crew members reached shore and found their way to the Stubbs’ house, where they were cared for. One of them, however, lost both feet from frostbite. In 1920, Walter and Kittie were in Blaine Township with eight children. Walter and Kittie were living in Blaine Township, Benzie Co., MI, in 1930. They owned a farm valued at $1,200. Their sons Brockway and Douglas were sailors. Brockway was a lookout; Douglas was a deck hand. Kittie died in 1948 and was buried in the Blaine Township Cemetery. Walter died in 1951. Children:
Bessie M. Smith [Lola, Sarah, Roswell], b. March 4, 1883, Benzie Co., MI, a child of Lola E. Wing and Enoch B. Smith; m. George Albert Edson Jr., April 30, 1904, Putney Corners, Benzie Co., MI; d. May 31, 1969, Frankfort, MI. Church records at the Blaine Christian Church at Putney Corners show that George Edson came from the Owosso/Durand, MI, region and married Bessie at Putney Corners. His death record shows he was born in Saginaw County (northeast of Owosso), May 18, 1882, a son of George Sr. He was baptized at the Blaine Christian Church in October, 1897. George and Bessie were married there April 30, 1904. Church records also show that George and Bessie moved away from Putney Corners September 15, 1928. But they didn't go far. They were living in Frankfort at the time of George's death in 1949 (October 1 at the Osteopathic Hospital in Traverse City). His body was taken to Vernon, MI, for burial. His daughter, Delia Mae Turner, was living in nearby Corunna, MI, as of 1990. Bessie died of heart failure, May 31, 1969, at the Benzie Medical Care Facility in Frankfort. She was buried near George at the Greenwood Cemetery, Vernon, MI. Children:
June E. Smith [Lola, Sarah, Roswell], b. January 21, 1892; m. Mr. Drave, after 1930 of Flint, MI. June’s mother’s death certificate names June as Mrs. Drave of Flint (informant). The only Drave family in Flint in the 1930 census was that of Bernard and Emily Drave, but Emily’s age and birth information for her parents was wrong. It is possible she was Bernard’s second wife, after the census was taken. Ona R. Powers [Herbert, Solomon, Roswell], b. June 15, 1901, MI, a child of Herbert S. Powers; m. Jesse Bunker; d. November 15, 1974, Menominee, MI Ona married Jesse Bunker around 1917. Jesse was born in 1893, probably a grandson of Jesse and Virginia Ann (Riggs) Bunker, who lived in the NE/4 SE/4 of Section 35 in Blaine Township -- about two and a half miles from Putney Corners. Jesse “Sr.” and Virginia were buried next to Jesse in the Gilmore Township Cemetery. Jesse Sr.’s gravestone says that he was a soldier in Co. F, 1st Iowa Cavalry, during the Civil War. It was thought that Jesse “Jr.” died in World War I, because the 1920 census shows Ona living in her mother's home in Frankfort, Benzie County, Michigan. Also in the home were her brother, Alton B. Powers (14), grandmother Sarah E. Pettis (63) and uncle William Pettis (19), but Jesse was not found. However, in 1930, Jesse and Ona show up in Two Rivers, Manitowac Co., WI, managing a lighthouse, with five children in the home: Pearl, Ruth, David, Junior and Jenieve. As of 1967, Ona was living in Menominee, MI. It is possible that her daughter married a Davis. There is a record of a Hilda Davis who was born November 21, 1918 and died February, 1973, in an area with a zip code of 42463. Children:
Alton Benjamin Powers [Herbert, Solomon, Roswell], b. January 21, 1905, MI, a child of Herbert S. Powers and Idell P. Pettis; m. (1) Helen Green; m. (2) Arbutus Trowbridge; d. February 4, 1967, Frankfort; Gilmore Township Cemetery, Elberta, MI. Helen was born in Michigan in 1908, a daughter of Mrs. Ida Green. In 1920, Alton was 14 and living with his mother in Frankfort, MI. Also in the home were Alton's grandmother and uncle, Sarah E. (63) and William (19) Pettis; and Alton's widowed sister, Ona R. Bunker (18) and her daughter Hilda P. Bunker (1 2/12). In 1930, Alton and Helen were in Elberta (south Frankfort) with children Alton and Herbert. Alton worked at a grain mill. It appears that they were living with Helen’s parents. Another family living there was that of William Clark, who was a sailor on the car ferry. It may have been that connection that got Alton into that line of work. He became a sailor and worked on the Great Lakes for several years. Helen died in 1946 and was buried in the Gilmore Township Cemetery. Alton died in February, 1967, of complications related to Berger's Disease. Arbutus survived him. He was buried in the Gilmore Township Cemetery, near Herbert G. Powers (MI Sgt, US Air Force, Korea, Oct 28, 1928-Feb. 2, 1962) and his grandparents, Solomon and Anna Rebecca Powers. Funeral services were held at Pilgrim Holiness Church in Frankfort. Children:
[1] He was indexed as “Morrine Saxton” in 1920. [2] Robert’s father, Elmer, always claimed to have been born in Pennsylvania, even though there is no proof he ever lived anywhere else but Michigan and Illinois.
Last update March 07, 2018 |
