Birth Record: I have not seen the birth record (I don't have a copy; book four, page 2, forms on order), but I do know Mabel's date of birth is October 26, 1891. She was born in the town of Imlay City in Lapeer County, Michigan. The state also does not have a copy of the birth either.
Marriage Record: The marriage date is November 9, 1918. Leo was 32 and Mable was 27. Mable's residence was Imlay City, Leo's was Geneseeville. Mable's occupation is given as "Cigar Maker," while Leo's is given as "Spring Maker." Leo's mother is listed as Mary Bellinger (this is listed as his second marriage), and for Mable only the word "Sarah" is given for her mother. The minister was Howard A. Field, and the witnesses were John Baldwin and Nettie Rutherford.
Death Record: I have a copy of the death certificate from Florida. Date of death was November 9, 1984. Mabel's middle name started with "B." She died at 93 in the city of Winter Haven (at the Winter Haven Hospital) in Polk County, Florida. Date of birth was October 26, 1891. She is listed as a widowed housewife. Street address was 1861 Lake Miriam Drive (this was the nursing home address, I believe. The informant was her son Forest Baldwin. Burial was at Oak Hill Burial Park in Lakeland Florida. The funeral home was Crisp-Coon Funeral Home, Winter haven, Florida 33880 zip code. mabels' mother is given as Sara Wallace and her father as Walter Rutherford. This is a major error or I have been chasing the wrong family line. Walter, if my records are correct was Mabel's grandfather. Her father was Robert S. Rutherford. I have asked my uncles to take a look at this and get back to me.
Obituary:Yes, in the Florida papers, but I don't have a copy.
Church Records: None that I know about, but she was a very devout Christian Scientist. There must be a record of her membership and involvement. My father says that she went to the Christian Science Reading Room often (Christian Science-Reading Room, (810) 230-0044, 4270 Miller Rd, Flint, MI 48507) and that she read the books of Mary Baker Eddy. I called the reading room and they are doing some research for me. The reading room Mable would have attended was in the old Capital Theater Building in Flint on Harrison Street. I did hear from the church in Flint on November 4, 2002. They had a Fred Baldwin (died 1927) and a Myrtle Baldwin (died 1962), but Mable was not listed. There was an earlier church that dissolved and the records were lost (?) or stored somewhere in another church.
Family Bible: Yes, but we can't find it. It makes sense that she would have one or more of her own Bibles; I wonder where these are.
Cemetery Record: I don't have a record of it at the moment. I presume it is in Florida.
Military Record: No
Occupation: "Cigar Maker" when she was single; mother of six full time after marriage. The family survived on public assistance (I guess) for much of their lives. My father remembers going to the government food truck to get supplies for the family (the food was good, he said). The kids all had to go to work at a young age.
Educational Records (yearbooks, etc.):Schooling would have been in Imlay City. Need a history of the schools to see where she might have gone. The Union Sabbath School was the first, 1873?
Groups?Clubs/Society Records: None that I know about.
Pictures; Audio Recordings; Documents; Personal Notes:
Spelling Variations: Yes. Birth and marriage records record her first name as "Mable." Death records (as seen in the social security index) show "Mabel." I am 99% sure it was "Mable." On Leo's death certificate it lists his wife as "Mabel." I guess it was spelled both ways. The name "Rutherford" is spelled various ways, including "Retherford." The name Rutherford originates in the border region of Scotland, just north of the English region called Northumberland. In the 1900 Census for Lapeer County, Michigan Robert and family show up under the name "Rediforth" (but it's not clear).
Address/Migration Record: She was born in Imlay City and moved to Flint to work in 1908. Most of my father's brothers and sisters moved from Michigan to Florida (to get away from the cold winters). Mable moved to Florida to be near her kids (I'm not sure when she first went down). She lived in a nursing home (Brandywine in Winterhaven) the last part of her life as her health failed (she had Alzheimer Disease I believe at a late age, but I am not sure).
Census Record 1900 (Mable is 9): She was nine for this census: Michigan, Lapeer Co, Goodwin Twp...1900
Robert Rutherford born October, 1849 Ontario, Canada; died: Dec. 17, 1920... Parents were both born Scotland....(Walter Rutherford) & (Janett Johnson).
Sarah H. Wallace born May 1858 in Michigan; Parents born in Scotland.
Nettie M. Rutherford born Oct 1882 Michigan
Howard W. Rutherford born Feb 1886 Michigan
David Rutherford born Apr 1887 Michigan
Mabel Rutherford born Oct 1891 Michigan
Walter W. Rutherford born July 1893 Michigan
Beatrice Rutherford born Feb 1897 Michigan
Robert J. Rutherford (Unknown)
This information is from the 1900 Census for Lapeer Co, Michigan, but the spelling of the name was different...it looks like "Rediforth" copy was bad....this is sometimes the fault of the census taker.
Census Record 1910 (Mable is 19): Place: Lapeer County (Goodland Township): Robert Rutherford (Place of birth of both parents given as Scotland); age 61, born in Canada. Wife: Sarah, age 49 (Place of birth of both parents given as Scotland); born in Michigan. Howard is not on this list of kids (could Howard be a middle name?). Daughter: Nettie, age 27, born Mich. Daughter: Mable: age 18, Mich. Son: Walter: 16. Mich. Daughter: Beatrice: 13, Mich. Son: Robert, 9, Mich.
Census Record 1920 (Mable is 29) : Mable was married to Leo for two years. He was 33. Mable's age is listed as 24, but this is a misprint or I read it wrong. Leo Jr. is 5 months. The record is very dark and smudged.
Census Record 1930 (Mable is 39): Leo is 43 (42, the census says), two years before he died, Mable is 38, Leo Jr. is 10, Forrest is 8. My father, Douglas is 7, Marybelle is 6, Barbara is 3, and Dona Mae is 1.
LDS Search: She is listed under the social security index under the name "Mabel Baldwin."
Gedcom Search: Under Mabel Baldwin; Richard Richardson's list that I have. Gives Sarah's middle initial as H. Leo's as "P" (I think it is "B"), and Robert's as "S" which I have verified. May have the wrong date for Robert's birth.
Gen Web Search:
Rootsweb Surname Search:
Ancestry Plus Search:
PERSI Search:
Location Descriptions (The places, political boundaries):
Important Newspapers:
01. Plain Dealer and Lapeer County Democrat
02. Lapeer Republican
03. Imlay City Sentinel
04. Advance
05. Herald; started in 1880.
Time Line Descriptions (Culture, technology, conditions, major events of the era): Imlay Township was first settled in 1832, and legally organized in 1850; the population was 70. The first church and school was Baptist. It was conceived in 1858 and a church built in 1868. The first catholic Church was started in 1864, and the German Evangelical Church in 1877. Immigration to Michigan was intense from 1830 to 1840 (west to east in the United States), doubling Michigan's population. The village of Imlay City was incorporated in 1874 (William H. Rutherford was the first Marshall). The Baptist Society was formed in 1871, and the Congregational Society in 1870. Societies in the village included the Odd Fellows, Masons, Royal Arcanes, and the Knights of the Maccabees (Lt C. A. Rutherford belonged).***
***Note: Could C.A. Rutherford be Charles Archibald Rutherford? Could this be where the confusion about a Charles Rutherford comes in and why I can't find an Archie Rutherford (Robert's brother)?
The first school in Goodland Township was built by Lyman Rutherford (The Cole school/church in District One). Goodland Township was organized legally Feb 13, 1855.
The town of Almont is important because it is near where the Rutherfords and Wallaces show up. The very first settlers in Lapeer came to Almont.
Current Focus:
01. Send for Mable's birth certificate from the State (order in October, 2002)
02. Send for Mable's death certificate from the State (ordered online October 23, 2002); rejected because she didn't die in Michigan. I sent for Florida records November 1.
03. Search for Mable's obituary in Florida and Michigan papers; would there be church records? What church did she attend in Florida.
04.
