The Saunders House at 231 N Summit St
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Location: Ypsilanti, Washtenaw, Michigan, USA
Surnames/tags: Saunders Ypsilanti, Washtenaw, Michigan
The Saunders House at 231 N Summit St was the family home of the Saunders in Ypsilanti, Michigan, possibly built by William Butler Saunders (1826-1909) around 1860-1865. He is listed in the censuses at different times as a Farmer, Carpenter and Millwright. He was born in New York but by 1857 was in Michigan, where his son Louis Ashton Saunders (1857-1934) was born; the 1860 Census shows him in Ypsilanti.
Regarding the house, it was sold by the family after the death in 1974 of the last Saunders living there, Helen (Alford) Saunders (1894-1974). The surviving family thought the home had been torn down after it was sold, but found out more than 40 years later that not only was it still standing, it was being beautifully restored by new owners.
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| The Saunders' House at 231 N Summit St, 1960's |
The nexus for the discovery of this information was none other than WikiTree: the person working on the restoration was researching the property and came across a profile in WikiTree that mentioned the house, the profile for Jack McLeod Saunders (1921-1981), who was William B Saunders' great grandson.
He contacted the Profile Mgr, who is William B Saunders' great great granddaughter, on 01 Jan 2018, for possible information about the house and the family that had lived there over a hundred years. It was a delightful encounter for the family because the house played a key part in family history and was much loved. The restorer generously shared new pictures and information about the place, and gave the family the wonderful surprise that the house still existed, and the family happily provided snapshots of the property and the family from the 1940's-1960's.
It's been a joy to know the house has fallen into caring hands and will provide a beautiful home for someone in the future! Some pictures, past and present, have been included here and can be seen on the "Images" tab on this page.
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| The Saunders' House at 231 N Summit St, 2018 |
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