Here’s a map of Fremont in 1920 that I put together from several scans (harder than you think!). It’s a little crooked in some places but I think it came out well overall.
I’m going to try and clean it up and use it for some visual analysis with the census if I’m able to match up the households well enough.
Compare and contrast this map with the current one at the City’s website (pdf, 1.6MB).
I just wanted to point any genealogists to a new database I discovered over the weekend. It’s called FamilySearch. I was able to find quite a bit of new information on some of the family trees I’ve been working on with it (not my own tree of course, go figure!). I found the Michigan Marriages, 1868 – 1925 collection quite useful!
If you’ve ever done family history you know that you’re going to be looking at census records for hours! I’ve never payed much attention to the names of the people that actually did the census-taking. Yesterday I happened to look at the enumerators’ names. The enumerators for Fremont in 1920 were Leah E. McCarty and Kathryne S. VanderWerp. Interesting!
Leah McCarty was married to Henry McCarty, a prominent democrat in Fremont. I think that Kathryne is Don VanderWerp’s mother.*** Don was a prominent republican in town and would later become a state representative and senator. He was also editor of the Times Indicator when it still published regular editorials so I have a lot of material on him, not much that’s very flattering (from my perspective at least, he was very far to the right).
It would be interesting to catalogue the other enumerators and see how many were politically connected.
***Correction (two minutes after posting this, haha): After searching FADL’s Local History Database I now think that Kathryne is more likely to be Don’s sister-in-law. Edward VanderWerp’s (Don’s brother) obituary in the database says he was married to Katherine Slayton. She would have been around 40 years old in 1920. The elder Kathryne (Katherine? Catherine? who knows) would have been over 60.
Don’t worry, I’m still here! I’ve been slow on the front page but I’ve been working on the sidebar links and spending time at the County Clerk’s office taking down old election results. I’m back to 1958 now on the county, state and federal elections (select races). I’d like to get them up on the website in some form in the future.
Occasionally I run across items that might be of interest to genealogists. Instead of letting them languish on paper I’ll post some of them on here. I know what it’s like to find that piece of family history you never thought would be online! 
This obituary for Sophronia Dickinson appeared in the September 12, 1912 edition of the Fremont Times Indicator:
Mrs. Sophronia Dickinson
Mrs. Sophronia Dickinson, aged 78 years, died at her home six and one-half miles east of Newaygo at 9 a.m. on September 2. The funeral service was held at the residence at 1 p.m., September 4, Rev. R.A. Thibos, of the Fremont Church of Christ, officiating.
Mrs. Dickinson, who was born in E. Canada, came to Newaygo county with her parents in May 1855. She was married to Phillip R. Dickinson in 1856. The husband, 85 years old, a union soldier in the civil war, survives her.
She was the mother of 10 children. Of these two died in infancy and one in young womanhood. Three sons and four daughters are still living. Mrs. J. Darling, of Frmeont, is a sister of the deceased. Mr. Dickinson is one of the pioneers of this section. He helped to clear some of the first land that was cleared of forest where Fremont now is.
Mrs. Dickinson has been a member of the Fremont Church of Christ since 1866. The burial took place in the Oak Grove Cemetery.
The prohibition constitutional amendment I mentioned in the previous post was on the ballot in April 1887. It passed in Newaygo County but failed statewide. Here’s an editorial written by W.D. Fuller that appeared in the Newaygo Tribune on April 6th, 1887:
VICTORY FOR THE HOME.
Newaygo County records Her Vote Against the Open Saloon.
The result of the election in Newaygo county on the amendment is most encouraging. It shows the strong moral convictions of her citizens and marks an epoch in her history.
The battle has been short, sharp and decisive. All that money and other influences could do to insure an adverse vote has been done. Men once prominent in the politics of the county – men whom Newyago county has honored with official position, have cast their waning influence in favor of the saloon, and the condition of some of them on election night should be a warning that with them at least, the restraining influence of the tax law, has not proven a success. But the battle is just begun. The present legislature will give us a strong law, as we believe, and the men who by their ballots have demanded this, must stand solidly for its enforcement. Any other course would be cowardly.
To the women of the county – Fremont, Hesperia, Newyago and Ashland, much credit is due. They labored patiently, courageously and will not fold their arms and retire to rest after teh first stronghold has been won. The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union is the strongest moral agency in America, to-day, and every state which adopts the amendment and enters upon the struggle to suppress the liquor traffic, pays a tribute to the fidelity of the grand women, who amid storm and tempest have aroused the people to earnest thought and aggressive action.
The Tribune unhesitatingly en-enlists (sic) for the war, be it longer or shorter, and here pledges its devotion and efforts to all lawful, non-partisan efforts which may be made to enforce the prohibitory principle bound up in the amendment. If this calls for sacrifice we will welcome it. If it calls for labor, it is ready, and so we say to every amendment voter: Close up the ranks and utilize the victory won.
The earliest appearance of an organized Prohibition Party in Newaygo County that I’ve found is in the April 30, 1884 edition of the Newaygo Tribune. Here is the Call to Convention that appeared in the paper:
Prohibition Convention
All persons living in the County of Newaygo, who believe in prohibition of the liquor traffic and are willing to connect themselves with the new Union (Prohibition) Party to attain that end, are earnestly requested to meet in Convention at the Village of Newaygo on FRIDAY, MAY 9th next, at 10 o’clock a.m., for the purpose of electing delegates to the State convention of said party.
J.F.A. RAIDER
Chairman County Committee
Mr. Raider was certainly not alone in his sentiments. W.D. Fuller, editor of the Tribune, was an advocate of the Temperance cause. He was also Chairman of the Michigan National (Greenback) State Central Committee at this time.
To further prove the point, Newaygo County (I’m not sure of the date on this) approved a state constitutional amendment to institute prohibition in Michigan. That amendment passed in the County but failed statewide.
Nothing new for the frontpage but I have been working on the sidebar pages! I completed the Board of Commissioners and made some additions to the Congressional District page. Eventually I plan on adding links for the state legislature.
I spent some time in the library today and printed off election results from the Indicator for the 1970s – 1980s. Unfortunately they only printed the full results during that period. I guess I’ll have to hit the books at the Clerk’s office for the rest!
Here’s some late night humor for you from 1941. Article transcribed from the Fremont Times Indicator:
May people have asked us what the NR on the 1942 Newaygo county automobile license plates signifies or stands for. It also puzzled us so we have been making inquiries around town and we are as much in the dark now as when we started. We asked Arthur Palmer of the Pioneer Drug Store and he said it stands for Nature’s Remedy. We asked Cliff Raider and he informed us that it stood for Nick Redder. We hoped to learn the truth from Erwin C. Tinney, secretary of the Democratic county committee, and he hastened to tell us that inasmuch as it applies to an election year it very definitely means “No Republicans.” To this, of course, we made violent objection. We asked Kenneth Sheppard, who drives a truck for the Canning Company, and he said it means “No Riders.” In Newaygo they tell us it stands for Newaygo Republican. At the bank they said it means “No Recourse.” We asked a good looking stenographer but got No Recognition. We sought a solution from Prosecutor J. Donald Murphy and he gave us “No Redress.”
With such a conglomeration of explanations, we are still in a state of grave perplexity.
I wrote a longer post on my experience at the Democratic State Convention over on the Newaygo Dems’ site. Check it out!
