Part 793pw – Smith Groh Genealogy – Pariza Family Line – 1902 Marriage – Vina Parisaya and Fred Wallnitz – Menominee, Michigan

Good Day,

And now the fun begins… that is if you are really into genealogy search and research. The inserted image to the right is from the 1912 Edition of the San Jose Mercury of California from Genealogy Bank News, December 2011.

At this point of time, in my collection of information and data regarding the life and times of ggg-grandfather Leo Pariza, I have chanced upon a number of different variations in the spelling and idiomatic constructions of his surname. I have found Pariza, Parizo, Parasaya, and Parisaya. They certainly are unlike my surname of Smith.

Taking a cue from most experts in genealogy research, I have been searching all possible iterations of the formation of the Pariza surname. One such possibility that is presented is based on the surname Parisaya. If you have been following my posts and research, I discussed this rendition of the surname in Part 783p. It is the 1900 US Census in Guinayangan, Philippine Islands which enumerates ggg-grandfather Leo Parisaya.

In Part 782p the two Index Cards from the Civil War Pension Index indicate that ggg-grandfather Leo Pariza was also known by the name Leo Parisaya. A number of other pieces of data and documents pretty much lead us to believe that sometime after 1905 the spelling of the surname was actually changed from Parisaya aka Parasaya to the current Pariza.

A general search of Family Search database for the name Parisaya provides 827,278 results. The first result is Leo Parisaya, as mentioned above, regarding the 1900 US Census.

The next five results all reference one Vina Parisaya. It is in reference to her 24 November 1902 marriage to Fred Wallnitz in Menominee, Michigan. Menominee, Michigan is just one mile north of Marinette, Wisconsin across the Menominee River. The "Residence of Each" are given as Marinette, Wis.. Marinette was the same location provided as the residence for ggg-grandfather Leo Pariza in the 1905 City of Marinette Directory.

The Marriage Register has actually two entries for the marriage of Vina Parisaya and Fred Wallnitz. The first entry, number 362, is dated 20 November 1902 but it is then completely crossed through. In one of the columns it is noted to “See No 372”. The second entry, number 372, is dated 28 November 1902. The main difference that I can see when comparing the two entries, apart from the date is that in the first entry Vina Parisaya’s parents are listed as “Unknown”. In the second entry, the one dated 28 November 1902 her parents are written as “Timothy Parisaya” and “Catherine”, and what looks like, at first take, “Borrow”. These names almost tie to the Family Tree chart that I discovered where it is recounted that “Timothy Pariza” and “Katherine Grenier” are the parents of "Leo Pierre Pariza". (See Part 792p.)

Here is the image, number 276, of the Marriage Register from the Family Search collection “Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1825”, Digital Folder Number 4042371 and microfilm FHL [2342522].

I have highlighted both entries.

Here are the four pages of my Clooz Marriage Record M00003.

I am following this as a possible lead that Vina Parisaya may be related to ggg-grandfather Leo Pariza aka Parisaya. Who knows what I may unearth?

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 738p – Smith Groh Genealogy – 1910 Census – GGGG Grandparents William H. and Arvilla L. Placeway - Pinckney, Michigan

Good Day,

I have spent the day, apart from attacking the jungle that is slowly creeping from the conservation area behind our house, searching and researching documentation specific to our Placeway Family Line.

Yesterday's street flooding reached the highest yet. I think I have to find a deal on a good gondola.

GGG-Grandfather Brayton C. Placeway’s parents were CK’s GGGG-Grandparents William H. and Arvilla L. Placeway.

First on the docket of complimentary data and information is the 1910 US Census from Pinckney Village of Putnam Township in the County of Livingston, Michigan. GGGG-Grandparents William H. and Arvilla L. Placeway’s home was on Unadilla Street.

Not that I consider myself uninformed, I had no clue of the street name, “Unadilla”. And I had to look it up… From Wikipedia, the word Unadilla is derived from an Iroquois word for “meeting place”. How apropos… There are similar locations called Unadilla in California, Georgia, Nebraska, New York, and of course, Michigan. There is also a Unadilla snout moth.

And back to the genealogy at hand. Here is the image of the 1910 US Census in which I have highlighted gggg-grandparents William H. and Arvilla L. Placeway.

The source is The National Archives: Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1, 1,178 rolls) from the Records of the Bureau of the Census, Records Group 29 in Washington, DC. I have downloaded the actual copy from the Ancestry.com 1910 United States Census Federal Census online database.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 714p - Smith Groh Genealogy - The Mystery of Brayton C. Placeway - 1893 - There's No Place Like Home

Good Day,

I suppose I should not be surprised that something new in my genealogy search for the life and times of ggg-grandfather Brayton C. Placeway is always going to show up.

And yes I know that Michigan is not Kansas, but I didn't think I would have to stumble over an article from a newspaper from South Dakota.

From a 13 May 1893 issue of The Daily Huronite I discovered the reporting that a tornado hit in the vicinity of Pinckney in the Putnam Township.

Reading the article I immediately focused on the surname Placeway. It was William Placeway. "The cyclone next struck the premises of William Thompson and William Placeway, half a mile further east, destroying all their farm buildings, orchards, windmills, etc." All-things-being-equal this William Placeway was the father of ggg-grandfather Brayton C.. This could be gggg-grandfather William H. Placeway.

Logically, ggg-grandfather Brayton C. and his twin brother, ggg-granduncle Clayton C., who were born in 1888, would have been about five years old in 1893 at the time of the tornado strike. According to The Daily Huronite Article "All the members of both families (i.e. Thompson and Placeway) were injured, but it is said none seriously."

To further provide additional support that this may have been our Placeway Family, I then read in the article that "A cyclone passed two miles east of this village (i.e., Pinckney) at 2 o'clock a.m... It first struck the barns and buildings of Louis Dryer... The cyclone next struck the premises of William Thompson and William Placeway, half a mile further east..."

I then discovered an 1875 Putnam Township Land Map. This map provided me with the location of the Village of Pinckney and the various locations Placeway (in yellow) and Thompson (in blue) properties. It is almost conceivable to track the actual path of the 1893 tornado.

1875 Putnam Township Land Map U.S.,
Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918,
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

The W. H. Placeway indicated on the 1875 map, all-things-being-equal, has to be gggg-grandfather William Henry Placeway, father of ggg-grandfather Brayton C. But there is a modicum of doubt as the map was drawn in 1875, 13 years before the 1893 tornado.

And then I chanced upon another Land Map; a 1915 Putnam Township map. Property owned in the name of W. H. Placeway are on the map. Some of the W. H. Placeway properties are almost in the same location as indicated in the 1875 map. This information provides further support that the 1893 tornado did destroy Placeway buildings and property, as reported by The Daily Huronite of South Dakota. The only issue now is that gggg-grandfather William Henry had passed away four years earlier in 1911 on a visit trip to Iowa.

1915 Putnam Township Land Map U.S.,
Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918,
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

A point of information regarding the 1915 Putnam Township map is that I have highlighted, in yellow, a property labeled "Roy Placeway". From my research and discovery to date I believe, that this Roy Placeway could be ggg-grandfather Brayton's 1st cousin, older by 12 years.

This Mystery of GGG-Grandfather Brayton C. Placeway Posting has certainly challenged my search and research skills. And all I can say is that "You were there, and you were there... and most definitely he was there."

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 713p – Smith Groh Genealogy – The Mystery of Brayton C. Placeway – 1916 Flint to Perry

Good Day,

Here is another article, actually a social news-note that I just stumbled upon, in my genealogy search to reconstruct the life and times of ggg-grandfather Brayton C. Placeway is dated 29 November 1916. This note is from the “Perry Paragraphs” of The Flint Daily Journal. “Mr. and Brayton Placeway… motored to Perry, Sunday…”

A logical conclusion could be that this was ggg-grandfather Brayton and his second wife, Johanna (née Plischke). The month is November 1916; the notice for his subsequent and intended divorce from Johanna appeared in The Flint Daily Journal a year later in November 1917.

A quick search of information of Flint, Michigan, details that the population of the area increased from about 13,000 in 1910 to somewhere in the vicinity of 86,000 in 1916. That is about a 560% increase. Astounding… and then I learned that in 1908 one William Durant organized the General Motors Company and these were the early boom years of the automobile industry. Sort of explains why “Mr. and Mrs. Placeway motored to Perry”, a short 35 miles away.

Now my curiosity is peaked. It is recorded that gg-granduncle Robert Arthur Placeway, all-things-being-equal was ggg-grandfather Brayton C.’s son, was born on 9 July 1916 in Cook County, Illinois. And then ggg-grandfather Brayton is living, as reported by the 1920 US Census, with his first wife, ggg-grandmother Mary (née Seigel), their daughter, gg-grandmother Edith (née Placeway) and son, gg-granduncle Robert. I need to now find the Birth Registration for gg-granduncle Robert Arthur Placeway.

This is getting a wee bit confusing… and I was warned.

Enjoy,

Jim

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