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CITIZENS HISTORICAL
ASSOCIATION
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
SEPTEMBER 13, 1941; PAGES 76 & 77
VERNE ALFRED EARLE, Co-Partner, The EARLE Press
915 Pine Street, Muskegon, MichiganVerne Alfred EARLE, son of Frank L. and Lillie May (KRAFT) EARLE; was born in Greenville, Michigan, June 13, 1890.
Frank L. EARLE, son of Alfred and Caroline (MILLS) EARL (name later changed to EARLE), was born at Gloversville, NY, October 6, 1865, and in 1866 accompanied his parents to Michigan. In 1912 he came to Muskegon. He was a miller by trade. He died May 25, 1935. He changed the family surname from EARL to EARLE. His wife, Lillie May (KRAFT) EARLE, daughter of George and Mary Ann (MULL) KRAFT, was born in Dayton, Ohio, June 22, 1865. Two children were born to Frank L. and Lillie May (KRAFT) EARLE:
- Verne Alfred.
- Hugh, who was born in 1896. He died in 1908, and is buried in Greenville, Michigan.
George KRAFT, father of Lillie May (KRAFT) EARLE, was born at Madison, Ohio, April 10, 1834. He died in 1908. He was a farmer. His wife, Mary Ann (MULL) KRAFT, who was born September 14, 1842, died in 1869. They are buried near Dayton, Ohio.
Alfred EARL, father of Frank L. EARLE, and son of Oliver and Lydia EARL, was born November 20, 1820. He resided at Galway, New York, and in 1866 moved to Michigan. He was a glovemaker and tanner. He died in 1903. His wife, Caroline (MILLS) EARL, was born February 20, 1830. Both are buried in Greenville, Michigan.
Oliver EARL, father of Alfred EARL, and son of Paul and Hannah (HICKS) EARL, resided, with his wife, Lydia EARL, at Galway, New York. Paul EARL was twice married, his first wife being Hannah (HICKS) EARL. He married, second, Mrs. Elizabeth (BETTS) HICKS, on November 26, 1786.
The EARLE* family surname has been spelled variously through the ages, the original spelling having been DeErleigh. This was changed to DeErle, and subsequent changes have been as follows: ERLE, EARLE, EARLL, EARL, and EARLE, the present spelling.
Verne Alfred EARLE, the subject of this sketch, attended school in Greenville, Michigan, and later became a printer’s apprentice in the plant of the "Daily Call," where he continued from August 5, 1907 to 1910. He then was employed on the "Ontonagon (Michigan) Herald," until 1911, following which he came to Muskegon, and was employed on the "Muskegon Morning Times." He subsequently returned to Greenville, and again was employed on the "Daily Call." In 1912 he began work on the "Muskegon Chronicle," and in May of that year became foreman of the Andrews Printing Company, In Muskegon. In 1917 he organized the Co-operative Press, Inc., which in 1923 became known as the EARLE Press, Inc., and since January 1939, has been known as the EARLE Press. Mr. EARLE operates the business in partnership with O.G. CADERQUIST. The firm engages in general printing and publishing, and in advertising printing, and also prints religious publications. Fourteen persons are employed in the business. In 1924 the firm purchased the Paris Printing Company, and merged it with the EARLE press. Mr. EARLE, who is a Republican, is a member of the following: Noachite Lodge No. 507, F. and A.M., Muskegon Chapter, R.A.M, Muskegon Council, and Muskegon Commandery (K.T.); Benevolent and Protective order of Elks, No. Club; Muskegon Chapter of the Citizens Historical Association; and First Baptist Church.
On June 15, 1914, Verne Alfred EARLE married Grace Eugene HOSKINS, daughter of Harry J. HOSKINS. Mrs. EARLE was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1890. She died in 1935, and is buried in Muskegon. Children:
- Marvel, born May 7, 1921. She married Norris E. MARCH, Jr., who is employed as an engineer by the Chrysler Corporation, in Highland Park, Michigan.
- Verna Mary, born November 21, 1923.
On September 21, 1935, Mr. EARLE married Mrs. Rosey (EMENS) MARCH. Her parents, Victor and Mary EMENS, are deceased. By a former marriage, Mrs. EARLE is the mother of a son, Norris E. MARCH, Jr., who married Marvel EARLE.
* For further data regarding the EARL or EARLE family, see "The EARLE and EARL Family," compiled by Pliny EARLE, of Northampton, Massachusetts. and published in 1888. A copy of this record is in the files of the Lansing (Michigan) Library.
Fortain-Furtah
The following account of this family was compiled through research of available records and an interview with one of the descendants still living in the area. Written records include the 1850 and 1860 U.S. Census data, the list of deaths in Ira Township during the 1800s, and the grave list of St. Mary’s Cemetery in Anchorvile, supplied by the Ira Township Library. One of the difficulties in using these records is found in the many different spellings of the surname, and even of given names, as will become obvious to the reader. A note in the list of Ira deaths, for instance, reads: "Fortins and Furtins—Andrew, Elizabeth, Francois, Francis, Paul, Sophia, Stephen—Fretin in Denissen, p. 454." Another problem is the family use of given names, interweaving them in the fabric of a family to carry on the names of family members, often even deceased children as well as other relatives. Some of these may have been second names that through family use became more familiar and used than the given first name. One of the obvious benefits of these records, however, is the researcher’s abiity to cross-reference family names to achieve greater accuracy.
According to the 1850 Census, Francis Forton (Freton), age 46, and his wife Angelica (Frappier) Forton, age 42, both of French descent, had migrated to Ira Township from Canada with one child, Francis. The elder Francis’ parents are given as Francis Xavier and Soulange (Senet) Fortain. The younger Francis is listed as 17 years of age and as having been born in Canada.
The next child is Paul, 13, born in Michigan. If the children’s ages are correct, it can be assumed that the family came into Ira between 1833 and 1837. The father was buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery as Francis Furtain, born February 15, 1804. He died on August 20, 1878. In the list of Ira deaths, he is listed as Francois Furton, dying on August 20, 1877. There is no record of Angelica’s burial in St. Mary’s; she may have preceded her husband in death and her stone is broken or illegible, or she may have outlived him and was buried in the new cemetery.
Other children listed in the 1850 Census are Charles, 11; Toussaint, 8; Fabian, 5, and Eleonore, 3. All were listed as born in Michigan. Since Charles, who eventually married Mary Chartier, the daughter of Hyacinthe and Monica (Boyer) Chartier, and who was the grandfather of Josephine Paquette, was born in Ira Township, it can be assumed that the last three’were born here, too.
The 1860 Census adds two more children: Zoe, 10, and Paul, 3, The latter also contributes to the confusion of names. In the previous census, the second son had been listed as Paul, 13. Perhaps he had died before the second Paul was born; or perhaps the second Paul was listed by a second name. However, in 1873 when the second Paul would have only been 13, a Paul (Hipolite?) Fortin is recorded as having lost a daughter. Whether this was the first Paul, or a different family, is unclear. In the 1860 census, the father is listed as Francis Furtow (Freton), adding further to the confusion of names due to the spelling based, no doubt, on the pronunciation. There is a record of Fabian’s marriage to Sophia Lemonde, the daughter of Frederick and Nancy (Chartier) Lemonde.
The 1860 Census also lists a Francis Furtaw, 20, born in Michigan, as a farmer who was married to Louisa Bisson, 19, also born in Michigan. A son Frank, three, is listed. On March 4, 1879, the death of a Francis Fortin, son of Francis and Louisa (Bisson) Fortin, is recorded. He was eleven months and two days old. On May 14, 1877, Francis and Louisa had also lost a son, Paul Furton, at age four years and one month.
Life was harsh, and children were frequent victims at early ages as can be seen in the deaths recorded of members of this family. Toussaint and Margaret Fortain also lost a son, Andrew Furtin, age five, on May 3, 1873. A Felix and Julia (Peltier) Fortain lost a daughter Elizabeth Furtin, age seven, on January 21, 1873. The sudden appearance at a Felix is difficult to reconcile with the other records.} Sophia Furtin, six months, the daughter of Hipolite (Paul) and Sophia Fortain, died on March 19, 1873. Charles and Mary (Chartier) Fortin lost a son Stephen, on December 21, 1870, when he was only a year, six months, and four days old.
Through an interview with Mrs. Josephine Paquette, the granddaughter of Charles Fortain, the following account of the Fortain—later Furtah—family brings us up to the present, with at least more knowledge of this branch of the family. Charles Fortain, who had been born December 6, 1841, lived his entire life in Ira Township, dying here on September 7, 1916. At one time he operated and possibly owned the Vernier Hotel. He and his first wife, Mary (Chartier), born in 1844 in Fair Haven, had 11 children. One was Maggie Furtah Schnoor, and another was Nancy Furtah Vigneron. Upon Mary’s death in 1888, Charles remarried, again to a Mary whose maiden name is unknown. Two sons were born to this second marriage: Alfred and William.
Both Alfred and William became sailors on the Great Lakes, and during the winter months they worked in the icehouse in Fair Haven. William eventually left the Lakes and finished his working vears at Chris-Craft. Alfred moved to Casco Township, where he raised his family of nine, while William remained in Ira, married Elvina Labadie from Wallaceburg, Ontario, and had three children: Noah, Henry, and Josephine. Mrs. Paquette remembers that French was spoken fluently in the home when she was a child. A room in William’s home on Dixie Highway in Fair Haven served as the D.U.R. office. During the early years of William’s marriage, the family name was changed to Furtah.
Noah, Henry, and Josephine attended Immaculate Conception School until they had made their first communions, about age eight. Then they attended Fair Haven Elementary and Algonac High schools. As a seventh and eighth grader josephine worked after school and on weekends at Copeland’s Corner selling hardware, cutting meat, and pumping gas. Sometimes she even helped unload delivery trucks. At the beginning of World War II, she worked at the Mt. Clemens Pottery and from 1943-48 at the Detroit Gasket factory in Marine City.
Josephine married Gerald Paquette of Marine City in 1946 at the Immaculate Conception Church; they held their reception at Vernier’s. After living in Fair Haven for two years, they moved into Cottrellville Township on the corner of Shea and Mayer. They have two daughters: Nancy Aspenleiter lives in North Carolina and has a daughter, Kim, and a son, Keith. Barbara Garby, who is an assistant to an oral surgeon in Petoskey, has a daughter, Tracie, and a son, Toby.
Elvina Furtah died in 1970 and William in 1977. Both are buried in Anchorville. Noah, who also became a Lakes sailor, lived in Marine City. Henry resides in Algonac. Noah is deceased.
The Fortain family had come to Canada from Marseille, France.
The Fortains (Furtahs or Furtaws) are linked with the Wagners of Fair Haven through marriage. They are related, also, to the Bourliers, Lewis Bourlier having married Louisa Fortain in 1894. A sister of Margaret (Maggie) Furtah Schnoor and Nancy Furtah Vigneron married a Wagner. Thomas Furtaw, their nephew, mar-ned Faith Wagner; they had two sons, Walker Charles and Albert. Faith died and was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery, Anchorville. Thomas then married Faith’s younger sister, Ida Mae, and had several children from this marriage. Walker marned Alys Bathey of Port Huron; they have a daughter, Nancy, the namesake of Nancy Furtah Vigneron. Nancy married Richard Ameel of Marine City; they live and teach in Lapeer. They have two children, Mark Richard and jennifer Nicole. Alys Furtaw served as principal of Palms Elementary School for several years. The Furtaws are retired and living near Marine City.
Arens (Arntz)
Arens (Arntz), John was born December 23, 1796 in Bally, Berks County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of John Arens and Mary Elizabeth Thum. The Arntz name has been spelled may ways. They use to spell things how they sounded. Aurents Arens, Arents. He had served in the War of 1812. He enlisted August 24, 1814. He was a soldier under Captain Samuel D Culberson's Co of Pennsylvania Volunteer's. He was discharged September 22, 1814. He journed (sic) to Canton County, Ohio where he married Elizabeth Reis (Rice) 2-7-1827. They are in the census in Williams County, Ohio in 1850. And in 1860 they were in the town of Bushnell Township census Line 606 Dwelling 64 Montcalm County, Michigan. John is also in the census in 1870 Dwelling 261 Family number 265. He is listed as a Farmer in all the censuses. Elizabeth has passed away on December 6, 1869 in Montcalm County. They had moved to Williams County, Ohio and they had made there (sic) move to Montcalm County, Michigan where they made there (sic) final resting place. John Died May 15,1874 and is buried in Vickeryville Cemetery also known as Maple Ridge Cemetery. His wife Elizabeth died in Montcalm County also December 6, 1869 where she is also buried. The Arntz's are in Montcalm County, Michigan today. They are all his descendants. There children were John, Caroline, Salista, Sylvester, Henry and Samuel. They also moved to Motcalm County with him from Williams County, Ohio except Salista; she died in Williams County, Ohio in 1857.
Hope Engelmann
hope_engelmann@hotmail.com
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This page last edited: Sunday, September 29, 2002