John age 16
Children of John William and Mina (Starks) Bigelow:
15923.48323.1 Unnamed Son Still born 16 Aug. 1909
15923.48323.2 Katherine Elizabeth, b. 3 Aug. 1913 Kootenai,
Idaho; m. (1) 1934, Charles Poirier at Alpena, Michigan. (One child Mary Kay)
Div 1937; m (2) 1938 Luellan Wayne Ackerman. Res. Ames, Iowa - Mississippi
- Hillsboro, Georga - Bowling Green, Virginia. 3 children Linda, Robert, Carl.
(Total of 4 children)
15923.48323.3 John William II, b. Nov 1915, Boyne City,
Michigan. Res. Alpena, Michigan and Fredericksburg, Virginia. 3 children
- Susan, John William III, and Michael.
15923.48323.4 Donald Delmore, b. 1 Sept. 1921 Owosso,
Michigan; m 29 Nov 1941 Ruth Schlichter, Alpena, Michigan. She b. 25
July 1922, Gladwin Co., Gladwin, Michigan. --Res. Pontiac, Saginaw, and Bay
City Michigan. 3 children. (1) Donald Delmore Jr. b 28 July 1942. (2)
Audry b. ??? d. ??? (3) David b. ???? d. ???? -- Saginaw, Michigan. Buried
Caro Cemetery, Caro, Michigan.
15923.48323.5 Monieca Viola b. 14 Dec. 1922 Corunna, Michigan;
m. 25 Dec 1941 Kenrick George Sauve, Alpena. He was b. 24 Feb 1920. Res.;
Alpena, Michigan - Nashville, Tennessee - Alpena, Michigan - and Albuquerque,
New Mexico. No children.
Sources:
Family Notes written and researched by Donald D. Bigelow Sr.
Don Bigelow's web page: http://bigelow.simplenet.com/John_W_10.html
Additional Information:
At age 16 years John left home to work in "the woods." He worked in the
Pigeon River area near Wolverine,
Michigan. (1904 - 1908) With in the year he was drawing full "Lumber Jack"
pay. He had a way with horses so it
wasn't long before he was a "teamster" handling a team of horses, skidding
and hauling logs from the cutting site to
the river to be floated down river to the Mill.
Soon tracks were laid for a small (Narrow gage) railroad system. The trains
were steam engines called "Donkeys".
They were used for hauling logs to the mill. First the engines hauled small
logs for fuel, but eventually they hauled the
"Big Timber" to the Mills. It wasn't long before John had the job of "firing"
the engines. This experience served him
well, and provided the knowledge for his future work with "steam boilers"
and railroad work .
About 1910, John and his wife Mina, along with two older brothers, Thomas
and his wife Kate, and Martin and his
wife Mable and their son Raymond left Michigan and moved to the North Idaho
town of Kootenai, on Lake Ponderay,
where they found work in the saw mills. Brother Thomas and his wife returned
to Michigan about a year later. Brother
Martin his wife and son went on to Spokane, Washington, where they remained
for rest of their lives.
Their Second child Katherine was born in Hope, Idaho in 1913. The following
summer (1914) it was decided that Mina and Kate should return
to Michigan to "show off the baby" to the Grandparents. John took them to
Sand Point to catch the train. As they said their Good-Byes, he
decided to go along with her on the trip. They never returned, leaving all
their possessions in Idaho.
About 1914 - 1915 the family moved to Chicago, Ill, were he worked at
a war plant,"The Rubberee". This lasted until about 1918 - 1919 when
they returned to Michigan at Boyne City when their 3rd child John William
Bigelow II was born.
About 1920 he found work with the Grand Trunk Railroad, in Durand, Michigan.
John and the growing family settled in the near by town of
Owosso, Michigan, living their until 1931. In 1925/26 he was laid off from
the Railroad , but found work at "Fields" Auto Body Plant in Owosso.
He worked at tending the boilers, and as a night watchman.
Part of the Fields property was used as a Circus grounds, and John would
get free passes for the family to all the shows that came to town.
He also became acquainted with some of the "Show People." The Hagenbeck
- Wallace and the Ringling Brother Barnum and Baily Circuses
were regular events along with the "Wild West Shows" including one with
"Tom Mix."
In this same time frame, John was some involved in "Boot-Legging" Nothing
real serious, mostly making and selling liquor by the bottle to
individuals. At one house party some members of the Detroit "Purple Gang"
came. A little later one of their good friends, who was a member
of the Police Department, dropped in for a drink. For a few moments things
were tense. Someone managed to explain that the police were
good friends, and half drawn guns were holstered, and everyone proceeded
to have a good time. Shortly their after he got out of the
"Boot-Legging" business.
John lost his job at Fields about 1929, but found work at Robin's Furniture
Company of Owosso. He worked as a "Boiler tender" and Night
Watchman. (Robin's is Still in Business - 1996) Then because of the fading
economy, he was laid off again. This was the beginning of the
Great Depression, and he was out of work a lot of the time.
In 1931, with help from his brother Tom, he got a job at the Thunder Bay
Quarry Co. in Alpena, Michigan. He worked as a Fireman on a
locomotive which was used to haul limestone from the quarry to the crusher.
On October 31, 1931 he moved the family to Alpena, Michigan
where he continued to work as a "Fireman" and then as an "Engineer" on the
Railroad until 1948 when the company went out of business.
His children married, he bought a 40 acre farm in Gaylord, Michigan which
was previously owned by his wife's Aunt Adeline (Wise) Bingham.
Both he and the wife found work at the Gaylord Tuberculosis Sanitarium.
They worked until the facility closed in 1950.
He and his wife then moved to Mississippi and stayed with their daughter
Kay Ackerman and her husband, while he looked for work. Not
finding any work in the area, they moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico staying
temporarily with their daughter Monieca (Neysa) and her
husband Ken until he found work tending boiler at the State Girls Correctional
Home. Mina found a job as a Cook at the same facility.
They later moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia near Bowling Green Virginia,
where his daughter Kay
and her husband Wayne lived. He found work tending boiler at Mary Washington
College in
Fredericksburg. At this time his son John W. Bigelow II, along with his
family moved to
Fredericksburg from Alpena, Michigan.
Later he became ill and he and his wife moved in to an apartment in their
daughters home in
Bowling Green Va. He died their of Cancer on December 12th, 1958.
His wife continued to live with her daughter, and her husband L. Wayne
Ackerman. She lived their
until her death on July 18th, 1961. She died of a heart attack, while visiting
the home of her former
son-in-law, Charles Poirier, at Long Lake, Alpena CO. Alpena, Michigan.
Both John and Mina are buried at the cemetery in Bowling Green, approximately
2.5 miles from the
home of daughter Kay Ackerman.
Residences:
1.1886 to 1891 : Paulding Co., 1.5 miles north of Antwerp, Ohio.
2.1892 to 1897: Hicksville, Ohio
3.1887 to 1908: Otsego Co., Gaylord, Michigan.
4.1908 to 1910: Boyne City Michigan
5.1911 to 1914: Kootenai, Idaho
6.1914 / 1915: Boyne City, Michigan
7.1915 to 1918: Chicago, Ill.
8.1918 / 1919: Boyne City, Michigan.
9.1920 to 1922: Owosso, Michigan
10.1922 to 1923: Corunna, Michigan.
11.1923 to 1931: Owosso, Michigan.
12.1931 to 1946: Alpena, Michigan.
13.1946 to 1948: Gaylord, Michigan.
14.1948 to 19??: Mississippi
15.19?? to 19??: Albuquerque, New Mexico.
16.19?? to 1961: Bowling Green, Virginia
rodbigelow@netzero.net 
