Emerson Vrooman
ID # 1422, (1857-1890)
| Father | James Vrooman (1820-1868) |
| Mother | Eliza Smith (1824-1909) |
| Baptism | Emerson Vrooman was baptized in 1857. |
| Death | He died on 10 March 1890 at Ensley, Newaygo County, Michigan. |
| Note | A record that we have for Emerson Vrooman first appears in the 1861 census taken in Garafraxa Township. There, he is shown as Emory. In the 1871 census, he appears with George Main Jr. and his wife Clarissa Coleman in Beverly Township and is shown as Emerson Vrooman, age 13. It will be recalled that three years earlier, Emerson's father died and Eliza Smith Vrooman was left with a large family. To this point of research, Emerson is the only one of the younger children found outside his parental home. Whether he was only visiting with George and Clarissa Main, or residing with them for at least a time is unknown. George's sister Caroline Main Vrooman may have played a part in this arrangement, but it should be remembered that George's aunt Ellen Main Smith was probably a member of the family of Eliza Smith Vrooman and so the social connections were complex. By the time of the 1880 census taken at Ensley, Newaygo County, Michigan, Emerson Vrooman was living with Peter and Lucinda Drake. Lucinda Vrooman Drake was Emerson's aunt and it seems that he was with Peter and Lucinda until his death on March 10, 1890: Newaygo County Death Registration Nbr. 2037, date of death 10 March 1890. Emerson 'Varoman', age 33, single, at Ensley. Killed (pencilled in thereafter 'acc' - accidental?) Born Canada. Farmer. It was written in 'not reported', so it may be that the clerk picked up the information informally. The 1890 U.S. census was in a building that was destroyed by fire with only small fragments of this census surviving. We can say, however, that for much of his time in Newaygo County, Emerson would have lived near siblings. His sister Margaret Vrooman Smith was in Newaygo at Big Prairie. Also present in the 1880 census was Emerson's brother James and his wife Mary. At the time of the 1900 census, Emerson's brother Stephen and his mother Eliza Smith Vrooman are present in Ensley. We cannot say if they were present in 1890 at the time of Emerson's death, though the 1910 census shows Stephen being in the US in 1872. The writing of this date is barely legible. |
| Last Edited | 8 Mar 2018 |