Lexington Ave
West Jefferson Street was renamed Lexington Avenue in 1912. CE
42 Lexington Ave NW
This house intrigued me because it is right next door to fire barn Fire Barn #8. The Captain lived downstairs and the Lt lived upstairs so I was excited when I got the chance to inspect it. The tenant would not open the front door and made me go to the back door so I was already suspicious. She had so much furniture it blocked the front door. That is a fire hazard. You can't escape a burning building if the door is blocked. So I told her she had to get rid of some of that furniture or at least move it out of the living room. The upstairs apartment and downstairs apartment were identical: living room, dining room, kitchen, bath and two bedrooms. Electricity, central heat and the bathrooms had been obviously added after the home had been built as the pipes were outside the walls.
233 Lexington Ave NW
I inspected the upstairs of this house. I really liked it. The
1962 real estate card states the owner is Agnes Garbula who lives downstairs
that has a living room, dining room, kitchen, 3 bedrooms and a bath.
The
upstairs has a living room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms and a bath. Large rooms and very
clean. It states a full basement which is a surprise. The style is 1860 so I
would have expected a Michigan basement rather than a full basement.
(So I had to go and look, only from the outside. The basement has NO windows. It has a calcified stone foundation. If it has a "full" basement someone must have dug it out after the house was built, so the 1860 building date is supported).
1930 US Census: page 9B, Line 58, April 5, 1930
Walter Garbula owns home worth $4500, has no radio, 37 first married at
age 22, b. Poland, immi. 1913, alien cook, hotel
Kunegard wife 39, first married age 24 b. Poland immi. 1913, alien
Theodore son 11 b. MI
Wanda, dau 10 b. MI
Scokadee dau 8 b. MI
Helen, dau 7 b. MI
Rose, dau 3/10 b. MI
Before the county "leased" the100-year-old grantee/grantor file to local cooperative Burton Abstract company which was purchased by some national uncooperative company which was purchased by somebody-else, who threw it away, it would have been simple and easy to discover when they purchased this house and from whom.
248 Lexington Ave NW
from the NW, from the SW
The real estate card dated 1982: This house is one of the oldest on the West Side. It was converted to a multi-family in 1901. North apt and South apt each have LR, DR, Kit, 3 bedrooms and bath. Also a 3-stall garage. This home was built in 1865 by one of the early settlers of Grand Rapids.
The 1968 assessor's card dates this house as 1875 hardly one of the oldest on the West Side. That would have to be one built in 1840. So either the realtor is exaggerating or the City Assessor is incompetent or perhaps one interior room was built as an independent home and later enlarged.
1930 Census: page 8, (no farms in this block #315) April 5, 1930
Charles N. Shook,
74 years old, first married at age of 21, owns home valued at $10,000,
does not have a radio, born Michigan, father born Pennsylvania, mother born New
York, no occupation
Carrie Shook,
68 years old, married at age of 25, born Michigan, parents born New Jersey
John Whitman,
roomer, 25 years old, single, born Germany, speaks German, immigrated 1924,
alien, cabinet maker
Simon
Whiteman, roomer, 30 years old, single, born Germany, speaks German, immigrated
1927, alien, cabinet maker
1920 Census: page 79, Jan 1920.
Charles M. Shook,
owns farm, 62, fireman, city fire department
Carrie, wife
52,
Scribner, Charles,
grandson, 16, b. IL, salesman, grocery
Arronsman,
Peter lodger b. MI 37, assembler, auto body
Arronsman,
Priscilla lodger 31, b. Maine, something in an auto something (hard to
read)
William Dennis 49
lodger, b. Ohio machinist, furniture factory
Mary Dennis 38
lodger b. WIS laborer, furniture factory
In 1900 Charles is married to Lois and living at 608 Canal
(Lower Monroe). parents' birthplace and occupation match.
Charles
born Oct 1860 Lois born Mich May 1861, married for 20 years and the mother
of 3 children all living.
We can
assume that Charles and Carrie were both married before.
Before the county "leased" the100-year-old grantee/grantor file to local cooperative Burton Abstract company which was purchased by some national uncooperative company which was purchased by somebody-else, who threw it away, it would have been simple and easy to discover when they purchased this house and from whom.
55 Lexington Ave SW
1936 City Assessor
1951 City Assessor
73-2-48
The
most likely of the homes on the 1888 Sanborn
I've never been inside this house but I think it is gorgeous.
1912 - changed to 55 Lexington SW from 261 Jefferson S
Occupants:
Fredk Cassell
Strickland Seneca C Rev
1930 Census: Winnifred Stiles, 44 yrs old, wife of Merton,
a lumberman, living at 1927 Madison owns $25,000 house,
4 daus, 3 sons. Don't know if this is the right Winny but the only one that came
up. .
West off Lexington behind this house is a steep driveway that ended at a
stone building. It's gone now. I couldn't tell if it
belonged to 634 or 642.
634
The 1951 card says 3 apartments, average construction, wood frame, lap siding, plain trim, Composite shingle roofing. stone foundation with full basement with cement floor, hardwood trim and plaster walls, one stove, converted (from coal) gas furnace with a blower, only 2 baths (for 3 apts?) 6 rooms on the first floor, 6 rooms on the 2nd floor. This house has a stone foundation but no garage.
1930 Census: Edward Field, head, owns house worth $6500, has radio, 72, born
Michigan, elevator operator for a furniture
company,
Helen Louse, wife, 61, born France, father born France, mother born Germany,
immigrated 1917, speaks
French
2nd floor - Edward Tomlin, rents for $25, has a radio, 57, born Michigan,
father born England, mother born Ohio, Truck Driver
security Transfers
Martha, wife, 57, born Germany, parents born Germany, immigrated 1875, speaks
German
1912: 634 formerly 138 Shawmut - Edward H Field and George B Peets
1900 Census: Edward Field, Head, b. Feb 1855, 45 yrs old, married 12 years,
b. Mich, fb Ohio, mb Mich, barber, owns house
Free and clear
Carrie Field, wife, b. Jane 1867, 33, no children mentioned b. Germany fb
Germany mb Germany mb Germany
642
This house also has a stone foundation. Owner says built 1875. Assessor's guessed 1890. Stone foundation supports an earlier date. There is a detached 2-stall garage noted in 1951. Could this have been accessible from Lexington? Could this have been torn down when this house was remodeled after a Sheriff's sale and a new attached garage was built with a driveway off Lake Michigan?
The foundation of this house is stone which would make it much older than the 1890 date given on this card but it says there is no garage.
1930 Census: Sinclair Vetter, head of household, owner of house worth $6000,
has a radio, 41 years old, married at age 29,
born in Michigan, parents born New York, Postal Clerk for the Postal Dept
Lucy G, wife, 37, born New York, parents born New York,
Howard Single, lodger, 23, born Tennessee, Truck driver with wife Ira
Marion Smith, lodger, female, 27, single, stenographer born Michigan
Edward Vetter, father, 81, widowed, born New York, parents born Germany, retired
642 formerly 144 Shawmut: Edward A Vatter and Mrs A C Webster
1900 census:
Elizabeth R, wife, b. Oct 1839, 60 yrs old, mother of 4 children, 2 living, b.
NY fb Barbados West Indies mb NY
Edward Vatter is living at 145 Jefferson Avenue. 1912 change 141 to 217 near
Cherry St. Number 145 not listed.
Edward Vatter, head, born, Dec 1849, 50, married 26 yrs, b. Germany, fb mb
Germany, imm 1860
naturalized, machinist, owns home free and clear
Mary, wife, born Feb 1849, 51, mother of 2 children, 2 living, b. France fb mb
France, imm 1852
Edward A, son born April 1876
Clarence A son born Jan 1889
117 Lexington Ave NW shows the driveway to that mystery "garage" but a separate building doesn't show up.
CA 1936
CA 1951
Sanborn 1953
It looks like that driveway actually goes to this house as it has a garage behind. Then the stone foundation I saw was actually the foundation to one of houses on Lk Mich that just happened to be very close to this narrow, steep driveway which would most likely make it the recently aluminum sided 642?
1912 address change: 117 Lexington Ave NW from 139 Jefferson S, George W Sahms
1930 Census: George Sahms head owns house valued at $5500, 69, b. Penn fb mb
Germany, stationary engineer in a paint
factory
Agnes wife 37 b. Mich fb mb Poland
Robert Freas, step son 15 b. Mi
Ruth "
dau 13 b. MI
Louis "
son 11 b. Mi
Loraine " dau
10 b. Mi
1900 Census: 139 Jefferson S
George Sahms head b. May 1862, 38, PA married 8 yrs fb mb Pa, stationary
engineer, owns mortgaged house
Angie wife b. Aug 1862, 37 B. English Canada mother of 2 children both
living fb Germany
Nittie dau b. Aug 1893 6 yrs old
Margarite dau b. Sept 1897 2 yrs old
Sech, hannah mother in law b. Dec 1862 67 yrs old, mother of ten children, 8
living, b. Germany imm 1864
Sech, Nettie sister in law, b. Mar 1870, 30 single, b. Mich
George Sahms married Agnes Freas 1922-1924
George Sahms married Angeline Sech 1887-1892
I have tried to impact every source with corrections or comments so everything on this site is copyrighted. The information may be used for your project but the source must be cited.
From Heading Architecture
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