LEGENDS AND STORIES

From the Families of Bellevue

Written by    Bessie Beatrice BISHOP Buck

Date Story was written; after 1966; 1½ pages of double-spaced typing

Posted by her Granddaughter, Jill Jessen Hernandez

So the story begins:   Grandad referred to is:  George W. (Shotwell) WOOLEY

             When Grandad made that trip to Mass. I was at Elizabeth’s in Detroit when he left from there.  He went to meet some of his old shipmates and he talked a lot about a little lop eared girl he had known, not seeming to realize what her age would be at the time.  He wanted to meet her again.  I never knew if he did or not.  I remember we tried to talk him out of it without success.  He never came back.  I have not written to the government but will.  Will you also?  At this time a paper telling of his visit came into Elizabeth’s possession and later into Murl’s.  It seems that Murl’s wife (Nancy) had let her mother in the east have this newspaper and it was lost.  Now this is what I know about my darling granddad:

             His father bound him out to a blacksmith in N.Y. and he ran away and sailed on the old ship “Ganges”.  At one time (I believe on this voyage) they were gone 3 years.  On the way whey they reached Australia they left the lovely, young wife of the ugly Captain of the “Ganges”.  They left her with a missionary (both man and wife) and a grown daughter.  The old ship continued on its way through some terrific storms until they reached the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). As soon as they docked, my grandfather and a negro cabin boy ran away up near a volcano.  The old Queen sent her men up there and the negro had hung his read underwear on a bush and they were discovered by that, and put into the hold of the ship and given bread and water for 3 days.

             The Captain’s wife had a baby and both the mother and the baby passed on.  When the “Ganges” finally returned to Australia they had learned of this.  The daughter of the Missionaries wrote a letter to Grandad telling him about the girl and baby.  Unfortunately this, too, was lost.  From this time on I never knew how he got in touch with his two sisters, Libby and Lottie.  The three went to Sparta, Illinois.  Then to Michigan, first Charlotte where he became a flagman.  I do not know where he met my grandmother, but it must have been in /Bellevue, Mich, where my great grandmother hada lovely farm on the Battle Creek river, which runs through Bellevue.  There was a lime kiln on her land and how I remember the big horses with their hairy, shaggy hoofs tramping up the ramp of the lime kiln.  My great grandmother’s name was Philinda Sturtevant first, and later to a man named Roberts. 

            This would seem to be the saga, now, of my darling great grandmother and indeed it is.  She had two daughters by the Sturtevant marriage (Louise, my grandmother and yours) and Addie.  Louise and my granddad had four children.  One passed away when very young.  The other was Leona (my mother), Elizabeth, and George Jr.  the father of Dewey, Murl and Wayne.  Only Murl is living.

             To return to my great grandmother and her second marriage, Mr. Roberts lost his mind and our great grandmother had to do all of the work on a huge farm.  She put him into a lumber wagon and took him to Kalamazoo.  When she returned to him, he had been treated so cruelly that she put him back into the wagon and took him all the way back to Bellevue.  From then on he followed her back and forth, down the long furrows as she plowed.  She made him a new pair of overalls nearly every three days, which he tore to ribbons in the meantime, in later years she moved from the lovely old farm to a place on the road and I remember well her beautiful white horse, Dolly.

             This is the end of the story but not of the memories; they are ever-present.

 Bessie Beatrice BISHOP Buck was born in Battle Creek, Calhoun County, Michigan on 24 March 1891 to Robert Ben BISHOP and Leona (Onie) Amelia WOOLEY. The BISHOP’S lived in Bellevue, Eaton County, Michigan.  Bessie had a brother, Robert Paul (Wooley) BISHOP born 08 March 1885 in Bellevue, Eaton Co. Michigan. He married Imogene COON of Jackson Co Michigan.

 Leona (Onie) Amelia WOOLEY was born in Bellevue, Eaton County Michigan in June 1869.  Her parents were, George W. (Shotwell) WOOLEY born March 1836 in Oldwick/Hunterdon or German Valley / Morris Co., New Jersey and died Bet. 1916 – 1920 at an Unknown location and Louisa/Loesa Amelia (Cherbino) STURD(I)EVANT.

Robert Ben BISHOP was born 12 October 1841 in Middlebury, Wyoming County, New York and died 17 December 1917 in Battle Creek, Calhoun County, Michigan. He is buried at Riverside Cemetery in Bellevue next to his first wife Lura/Laura Temple DE FOREST.  The parents of Robert Ben BISHOP are unknown to us. The children of this couple are unknown to us.

Bessie Beatrice BISHOP Buck married on 17 March 1916 at Bellevue, Hassan Alba (Cooper) Straub BUCK born 07 January 1892 in Hubbardston Village, Ionia Co., Michigan. His parents were Fred Anson (Upham) BUCK born 17 November 1866 in Hamlin / Eaton Rapids, Eaton County, Michigan. His death date and location is unknown and Sarah Jane (Hoffman) COOPER Straub born 05 September 1862 Stark Co. Ohio she died 25 December 1919 possible in Clinton Co., Michigan. 

It has taken me several years to “Uncover” the hidden information within this Story.  I will in (parenthesis) add the Surnames of the family that is mentioned and locations to which are referenced.  I have proved the “Ganges” information!  And I will at some date include that surprising and interesting information.   I believe that this letter was written to Grammy’s cousin Rosemond Louise (Wooley) SULVAN Scott.  But, then, when Grammy mentions Rosamond’s mother name, Elizabeth,  she does not “comment” as in other incidences.