Frances E. (Russell) Sawyer (1865 - 1932)

Born 28 May 1865 in Attica, Lapeer, Michigan

Ancestors

Wife of Gilbert Hicks Sawyer — married 1885 in Fairfield, Shiawasse, Michigan

Descendants

Died 3 Dec 1932 at age 67 in Shiawasse, Michigan

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Frances Russell was born May 28, 1865 in Attica, Lapeer, Michigan. Her parents were Lyman Russel and Amanda McKay Eldridge. Frances grew up in St. Charles, Gratiot, Michigan, just a few miles from Shiawasse County, Michigan where Gilbert lived and worked. She married Gilbert Hicks Sawyer in Fairfield Township, Shiawasse, Michigan, in 1885.

Frances and Gilbert had four children, Fred Gilbert, James Ernest, Lena Ruth, and Mary Amanda.

Fred Gilbert Sawyer was born August 4, 1885, in Fairfield Twp, Shiawasse, Michigan and died April 27, 1931. He married Ruth Belle Coakes July 1, 1925. Their first child, Gilbert J Sawyer, was born October 6, 1926, in Shiawasse County, Michigan. Their second child, unnamed, was born and died September 20, 1929, and is buried in New Fairfield Cemetery, Shiawasse, Michigan.

James "Jim" Ernest Sawyer, was born in Brant, Shiawasse, Michigan, in 1887. He married Myrtle M. Gilbert November 3, 1909, in Henderson, Shiawasse, Michigan. Jim and Myrtle lived in Vernon, Shiawasse, Michigan. As many men in Michigan are, Jim was an avid hunter. He was hunting in Montmorency County, Michigan On November 17, 1929 and was accidentally shot by a hunter. While not a life threatening wound, the wound was a bleeder. They were so far out in the woods, his friends were unable to get him to a hospital before he bled to death. Of course, there were no 4 wheelers at the time, only horses and wagons in the deep woods. Jim was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Vernon, Shiawasse, Michigan, on November 21, 1929. Jim had one daughter, Joyce Sawyer who was born about 1919.

Of course, Frances and Gilbert were devastated at the loss of their second son.

Lena Ruth Sawyer, born May 10, 1892, in Fairfield, Shiawasse, Michigan, was Frances and Gilbert's third child and first daughter. Lena was smart and graduated from Central Michigan Normal School (now Central Michigan University.) She became a teacher. There she met her husband, Fred J Vandemark. They married June 19, 1913 in Henderson, Shiawasse, Michigan. Fred's first job was in Cadillac, Michigan, teaching. They moved to Ludington, then back to Cadillac where Fred became a car salesman. Soon they moved to Chicago after the firth of their first daughter, Irene Helen, in 1914. Fred was a successful salesman and on January 12, 1922, a second daughter, Betty Lou, was born. Sadly, in 1927, Lena developed ovarian cancer and died after surgery. She was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Vernon, Michigan. Her funeral was held at her brother Jim's home in Vernon.

Frances and Gilbert now had lost two of their children.

Their fourth child and second daughter, Mary Amanda, was born February 4, 1896. She was called "Mandy" by her friends. Mary also graduated from Central Normal School in Mount Pleasant, and was a teacher all her life. She first married Franklin Foss in 1927. He died July 29, 1929, from pneumonia following a railroad accident. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Vernon, Michigan. After teaching school for many years in Owosso, Shiawasse, Michigan, Mary married Raymond Randall August 12, 1948.

Frances suffered greatly from the death of three of her children by 1931. Her health became very fragile and she died December 3, 1932, and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Vernon, Shiawasse, Michigan, near her three children.

Gilbert was a farmer in the summers and a lumberjack in the winter with many exciting adventures in Upper Michigan and in the Upper Peninsula. After farming for 30 years, he moved to Ovid, Shiawasse, Michigan,living there for years finally moving in with Mary in Owosso where he died November 16, 1941. He too was buried near his children and wife in Greenwood Cemetery, Shiawasse, Michigan.

Much of this information came from death certificates and obituaries for Frances, Gilbert, Fred, Lena, Mary, James and Fred along with census records and newspaper articles. The Elsie Historical Society in Elsie, Michigan, very close to where Gilbert and Frances lived is a wonderful resource for genealogy information in the four counties around Elsie, Gratiot, Saginaw, Clinton, and Shiawasse Counties. Lena Sawyer was my grandmother and Mother told many stories of the Sawyers. Mother and her sister lived with Frances and Gilbert for a while after her mother died in Chicago in 1927.

Most of those living in Fairfield Township, Shiawasse County, received their mail in the town of Elsie even though it was actually in Clinton County. So, searching for information is strange since the four counties are so close.