Alphabet Game

**Kathleen** · April-05-21, 01:55 PM

River Raisin National Battlefield in Monroe.

Tells the story of the 1813 battles of the War of 1812 and their aftermath in Monroe. So interesting to me since my 3rd-great-grandmother was a 15-year-old girl living there in what was known as the Frenchtown settlement at that time. Hard to fathom!!

https://www.nps.gov/rira/index.htm

St. Antoine Cemetery is the site of a 2001 monument to French settlers.
http://mlloyd.org/gen/navarre/links/tb-061401.html

**jcole** · April-05-21, 03:02 PM

Much of my dad's side of the family came from the Monroe/Berlin Twp area near there. There is an awesome library very close to the Battlefield park that has a really good genealogy dept for people from the area.|
ELLIS LIBRARY & REFERENCE CENTER
3700 S Custer Rd, Monroe, MI 48161

Originally Posted by Kathleen

River Raisin National Battlefield in Monroe.

Tells the story of the 1813 battles of the War of 1812 and their aftermath in Monroe. So interesting to me since my 3rd-great-grandmother was a 15-year-old girl living there in what was known as the Frenchtown settlement at that time. Hard to fathom!!

https://www.nps.gov/rira/index.htm

St. Antoine Cemetery is the site of a 2001 monument to French settlers.
http://mlloyd.org/gen/navarre/links/tb-061401.html

**Kathleen** · April-05-21, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by jcole

Much of my dad's side of the family came from the Monroe/Berlin Twp area near there. There is an awesome library very close to the Battlefield park that has a really good genealogy dept for people from the area.|
ELLIS LIBRARY & REFERENCE CENTER
3700 S Custer Rd, Monroe, MI 48161

I did my family research in Monroe some 40 years, using St. Mary's Church records plus the Fr. Denissen books about the early French settlers in the Detroit River region.

Do you have French ancestry there? Dating how far back?

**jcole** · April-06-21, 12:04 PM

My relatives in the area were primarily Canadians who had come from Ireland. There is one branch that was French: a great Aunt whose name was Zoa Laginess, father Peater Laginess and his wife Ellen{?)Chauvin. He was born sometime around 1821

Originally Posted by Kathleen

I did my family research in Monroe some 40 years, using St. Mary's Church records plus the Fr. Denissen books about the early French settlers in the Detroit River region.

Do you have French ancestry there? Dating how far back?

**Kathleen** · April-06-21, 05:00 PM

Originally Posted by jcole

My relatives in the area were primarily Canadians who had come from Ireland. There is one branch that was French: a great Aunt whose name was Zoa Laginess, father Peater Laginess and his wife Ellen[[?)Chauvin. He was born sometime around 1821

My ancestors who lived in Monroe were all French-Canadian. Surnames include Susor, Villers dit St. Louis, and Bigras. I think they lived in Detroit first, moved to Monroe, then back to Detroit, but on the south side in Sandwich [[near the Ambassador Bridge).

I have some Chauvin ancestors who lived in Detroit in the later 1700s, but no Lajeunesse/Laginess ancestors.

Amazing to think of our early French ancestors who traveled across the ocean and then settled in the wilderness!

**Kathleen** · April-08-21, 09:05 AM

S is for....

St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church [[Norton Shores, just outside Muskegon)

Who would have expected to see a Marcel Breuer-designed church near Muskegon? We had stopped at a local bakery for coffee and pastries on our way into Muskegon for the day. Taking the scenic route into town, we were passing this interesting building that definitely was out of place, so stopped to investigate. And found that this church building had been designed by Marcel Breuer in the early 1960s.

We spent about 30 minutes walking around the complex so I could take photos from all angles. Unfortunately we did not have an opportunity to go inside [[between the early hour on Saturday morning plus the pandemic).

History and self guided tour:
https://stfrancisns.org/photoalbums?page=226

**jcole** · April-11-21, 07:56 AM

Tawas where the Tawas Pointe Lighthouse lives
https://www.michigan.gov/mhc/0,9075,...315---,00.html

**ptero** · April-11-21, 08:34 AM

Ubly Dragway... in Ubly, MI, SE of Bad Axe
http://www.ihra.com/ihra-tracks/trac...l-going-strong

**Kathleen** · April-11-21, 04:22 PM

Vandalia, Michigan, home of several Underground Railroad sites:
https://www.urscc.org/

**jcole** · April-14-21, 09:02 AM

Walled Lake; former home of Walled Lake Amusement park.
http://michiganhistory.leadr.msu.edu...musement-park/

**Kathleen** · April-14-21, 11:53 AM

Waiting for X! And pondering next move since no towns in Michigan begin with X.

I think this will do:

Xochimilco Restaurant in Mexicantown in southwest Detroit:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Xochi...9628081638767/

Enjoy a meal and then walk around Mexicantown, maybe stop in at La Gloria Bakery for some churros or other treats to take home. Then walk around to enjoy the beautiful murals, several featuring Diego and Frida, Indigenous Peoples, floral and nature, and much more! Walk across the Bagley Pedestrian Bridge to see the Hubert Massey mural https://hubertmasseymurals.net/2016/...bagley-bridge/. Head east to see more murals on the Bagley Ave buildings. More shopping at the Honey Bee Market!! With your family or group of friends, this could be a couple hours of food and fun. Take lots of pictures!!

**jcole** · April-14-21, 02:24 PM

I was going to say xanadu bottled water in Clawson. LOL

**Ray1936** · April-15-21, 02:15 PM

"Y" is for You. Best bunch of clowns I ever came across. [[Thanks all for your chuckles throughout this thread!)

**Kathleen** · April-15-21, 04:03 PM

Hi Ray!!!

**Ray1936** · April-16-21, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by Kathleen

Hi Ray!!!

Hi, Kathleen! [[Yep, I"m still around!)

**jcole** · April-18-21, 10:26 AM

Zilwaukee, home of the world renowned Zilwaukee bridge...

**Kathleen** · April-20-21, 08:31 AM

I know I must have driven over the old Zilwaukee Bridge since our family traveled up north before the current bridge opened in 1987. But I really don't remember it. Likely because our trips were occasional, not every weekend or even several times a summer, like some families did.

For more on Zilwaukee:
https://www.zilwaukeemichigan.gov/co...aukee-history/

**Kathleen** · April-20-21, 08:32 AM

Thanks for the interesting A-Z look at some Michigan sites! That was fun to share some of the sites we've visited and fun to learn of other sites that we might explore down the road.

Suggestions for the next round of A-Z?