Favorite discovery

My favorite family history discovery tends to be the one I just made.  I’m pretty happy each time I learn something new about one of my ancestors. 

Recently I connected with a third cousin once removed who sent me some information another cousin had sent him on our ancestor Enoch Galusha Howard.  There were copies of old newspaper articles and biographical information on some of Enoch’s descendants.  The article from an 1899 edition of the Alpena Labor Journal about my great, great, great grandfather saying good-bye to his friends in Alpena and moving to Muskegon was one of my favorite discoveries in that packet of information.

Bade Farewell to Alpena

Mr. E.G. Howard, who has been reluctantly preparing to move to Muskegon for some weeks past, on account of Mrs. Howard’s poor health, bade farewell to as many friends as he could see last Monday morning and started on the noon train. … As the old gentleman felt so affectionately attached to the people of this city, all of whom treated him with respect and kindness for the past quarter of a century, he seemed to leave Alpena with a heavy heart. He left, however, with the best wishes of his host of friends. Mr. and Mrs. Howard will be missed in Alpena.

Then this past weekend Newspapers.com offered a “free” weekend to those interested in searching their database of historical newspapers.  I was able to find several more articles from Alpena newspapers which mentioned the Howard family.  One of my favorite discoveries on that database was this story from page 3 of the very first edition of the Alpena Argus, published on June 29, 1871:

PRESENTATION. — Any testimonial tending to show that ones efforts are understood and appreciated, is often far more gratifying to a man than any pecuniary compensation.  The article presented is prized far beyond its mere mercantile value, and as years roll by, fond memories and delightful associations cluster around, adorning it as with a thousand rare and sparkling gems.  Such a testimonial was on Tuesday, of last week, presented by the Alpena Cornet Band, to Mr. E.G. Howard, their skillful and popular leader.  The gift consisted of a fine German Silver Cornet, valued at fifty dollars, of pure tone and beautiful workmanship.  Neatly engraved upon a shield are the words:  “Presented to E.G. Howard, by the Alpena Cornet Band, June 1871.  Manufactured by Geo. F. Stratton & Co., N.Y.” – No more beautiful or appropriate gift could have been selected, and we feel warranted in saying that the recipient, under whose skillful and tireless management the Alpena Cornet Band has won so excellent a reputation, was entirely worthy of the testimonial.

I found numerous mentions of Enoch and his family in the area newspapers – Enoch owned a shoe store in Alpena and advertised regularly and his sons were telegraph operators and musicians like their father.  I started to catalog each reference of the family in the Alpena Argus and had barely made it through the years 1871 and 1872 after working at it for over an hour.  On a whim, I jumped ahead to 1885 (the year of my great grandmother’s birth) and was amazed to find this story in the April 22 edition for that year:

This one article provided me with details of my great, great, great grandfather’s life that I had never found before – he attended school until age 11; his mother bound him out to a New Jersey farmer for six years; he organized a company of volunteer soldiers in Pennsylvania for the Civil War effort; he was hired by people in Alpena to teach band.   

Although the article doesn’t give Enoch’s parents’ names, it does contain a wealth of information for me to sift through which might lead me to other sources.  What connection is there between Enoch and Detroit, Michigan that the Detroit News would print a biography of him in 1885? Might there be a New York City church record of Enoch and Henrietta’s wedding in 1846?  Could the men that Enoch was bound out to have been relatives?

By providing a few more pieces to the puzzle that is my great, great, great grandfather’s life and also by giving me more avenues to research, I can say without a doubt that this article is my new favorite discovery.