Thursday, December 21, 2017

Seavers in the News - Rev. W.R. Seaver Returns Home to St. Joseph, Missouri

It's time for another edition of "Seavers in the News" - a semi-regular feature from the historical newspapers about persons with the surname Seaver that are interesting, useful, fun, macabre, or add information to my family tree database.

This week's entry is from the Muskegon [Mich.] Chronicle newspaper dated Saturday, 12 November 1881
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The transcription of the article is:

"A Happy Greeting

"The return of Rev. W.R. Seaver, after some weeks absence from the city, was made by his people the occasion of a great veritable 'surprise party,' at his residence, 1,201 Sylvanie street.  They gave him a cordial welcome home, not only filling the house with self invited guests, but bringing with them a most generous supply of refreshments for the evening, and leaving behind them many 'basketfuls' for future use.  The evening at the pastor's house was one of much enjoyment to all, and will long be remembered as one of the pleasantest incidents of a minister's life.

"Mr. Seaver was accompanied home by Miss Myra B. Easton, daughter of R.P. Easton, a prominent lumberman of Muskegon, Mich., who will spend the winter visiting her former pastor and also his children in Kansas.

On Sunday Mr. Seaver will resume services in his pulpit, which during his absence has been most acceptably filled by his son, Rev. Chas. H. Seaver, of Russell, Kansas. -- St. Joseph [Mo.] Gazette."

The source citation for this article is:

"A Happy Greeting," article, Muskegon [Mich.] Chronicle, Saturday, 12 November 1881, page 2, columns 4-5, W.R. Seaver article;   GenealogyBank  (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 21 December 2017), Newspaper Archives collection.

Although this is a Muskegon newspaper, the article was copied from the St. Joseph [Mo.] Gazette newspaper, and the events refer to St. Joseph and not to Muskegon.  

Reverend William Rufus Seaver (1822-1898) married Mehitable Homer (1822-1908) in 1842 in Brimfield, Massachusetts, and they had five children, four of whom married and had children.  The eldest child was Reverend Charles Heman Seaver (1843-1919), who married Hannah Maria Colby (1847-1922) in 1867 in Clinton, Michigan, and they had three children.  

Rev. W.R. Seaver was a Congregational minister, and had served a pastorate in Muskegon from 1872 to 1879, and had been in St. Joseph for two years.  He soon left St. Joseph and moved to a church in Traverse City, Michigan.  

Rev. Charles H. Seaver was also a minister and had been serving in Russell, Kansas for several years at the time of this article.  By 1900, he and his family were residing in Harrison, Michigan. 

Myra B. Easton was a former parishioner of William R. Seaver, was likely in the age range of William R. Seaver's children, and visited them in St. Joseph and Kansas.  

William Rufus Seaver is my first cousin 5 times removed, with the common ancestor being my 5th great-grandparents, Norman Seaver (1734-1787) and Sarah Read (1736-1809).  Charles Heman Seaver is my 2nd cousin 4 times removed.  


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Copyright (c) 2017, Randall J. Seaver

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