Rethinking “Teething” Deaths

“All experience teaches that dentition is to be dreaded.” [1] Though it seems laughable to modern parents, this was the prevailing attitude until fairly recently. [2] At least from the time of Hippocrates teething was believed to be a perilous time for children. [3] When my daughter began teething I expected nothing more than some irritability and drooling. My ancestors may have feared for their children's lives. It is easy for us to dismiss this fear because we have the advantage of knowing it is baseless. Our ancestors didn't have that luxury.

I didn't grasp how very great the fear for teething infants was when I began looking into deaths attributed to teething in Michigan. “Isn't it funny,” I thought “that they believed these children died from teething.” Then I came across a book written by Jean Baumes, published in French in 1783 and translated into English in 1841 (by T. Bond). The entire book, about 160 pages, was devoted to the dangers of teething, diseases attributed to teething and remedies for them. I scanned it from cover to cover to obtain a better understanding of the subject. When I finished I felt as though I had been transported back in time to when the four bodily humors were on the cusp of medicine. While there is still much we don't know about how the human body functions, there is no question that teething does not cause diarrhea, constipation, convulsions or death.

Teething was believed to cause numerous ailments, for which the author could only provide vague explanations. The basic belief seemed to be that nerves directly connected the gums with the rest of the body and when the gums were swollen and painful with teeth about to emerge, the inflammation and irritation spread throughout the body, wrecking havoc. [4,5] Two major classes of illnesses were attributed to difficult teething; one involved the digestive tract primarily including diarrhea and constipation, but not excluding “vomiting, cough, colic or hiccough.” [4] The nervous system was the other supposed target. Minor symptoms might include restlessness, twitching, and fitful sleep which were believed to increase the risk of more serious complications. [6] By “the exhaustion and irritation which are thus produced [from teething], the nervous system of the child becomes deranged, and convulsions follow.” [5] Even cases of “dental paralysis” were suspected of arising from teething, usually in response to canine emergence. [7]

Some children successfully cut their teeth without incident. This was believed to occur when the child was born to healthy parents and “the mother has restrained her passions during pregnancy – has preserved a tranquil mind and avoided excesses in ailment.” [8] The more a child's situation deviated from the above ideal the more likely he was to experience consequences from teething. [8] Improper care of the child was believed to be detrimental, or as Baumes put it “Does any one doubt that errors of diet and abuses of regimen occasion difficult dentition?” [9] Baumes described a vicious cycle between the body and teething. “Feebleness of constitution, exuberance of fluids, engorgement of the principal organs of nutrition, and the organic disorders of those systems . . . all act more or less injuriously upon the formation and development of the teeth: and on the other hand dentition encountering obstacles from the gums and walls of the alveoli [tooth sockets], re-acts upon the whole machine and produces consequences of which death is often the result.” [10] In other words, a poor constitution and preexisting conditions “more or less directly impede dentition” while reciprocally, the act of teething can affect the whole body, sometimes fatally. [11] Baumes then proceeded to describe these teething-induced disorders in detail (77 pages in all), providing case studies and remedies. [12] Among Baumes' treatments for teething-induced diseases, were injections, enemas, purgatives, emetics, bleeding and leeching, in addition to more mild ones like drinks, baths and liniments. [13, 14] In treating dentition-induced convulsions, one doctor boasted he had saved lives by performing enemas on children made unconscious, sometimes for hours, with chloroform. [15]

The basis for this belief system was that the new teeth had difficulty piercing the gum tissue. [16, 17] Baumes put it this way, “it is reasonable to suppose that [gum] tissue is very often too dense and hard owing to [its] pathological condition.” [18] The strain of the teeth against the gum tissue was believed to cause disease by propagating that “tension” throughout the body. [16, 17] “The Handbook For Mothers,” published in 1866 declared “it is sufficient to state the fact, that in consequence of the pressure of the teeth against the gums before they penetrate them, there arises a relaxed condition of the bowels,” among other problems. [16] One case Baumes cited was of a child who was sick with fever, could not sleep, had a distended belly and suffered from diarrhea. [19] The child also happened to be teething. [17] The author attributed all of the child's troubles to teething and encouraged the gums to be lanced, but couldn't prevail upon the attending physician. “The teeth did not come through, the gums grew pallid, the fever continued and became chronic; finally the child died in six weeks. . . The gums were examined after death. . . but nature had not been able to terminate her work and the resistance of the gums was not overcome. . . Would [lancing the gums] have prevented the train of consequences which ultimately proved fatal? The post mortem examination leaves no room to doubt it. The symptoms were caused by the unsuccessful effort of nature to bring out the teeth; the irritation and inflammation of the gums caused such a change in them as prevented their division by the natural means, and all the consequent disorder would have disappeared had the operation been performed.” [emphasis added by this author] [20]

Saliva was thought to soften the “fibres” in the gums, allowing the teeth to sever them. [18] This was, they believed, the reason teething infants produced excess saliva. [18] Occasionally, this natural means seemed insufficient to accomplish the task, spurring people to “help” nature along. To soften the gums they rubbed them “frequently and lightly. . . with fat, mucous or emollient substances. Some recommend the grease of the capon or pullet, very fresh hog's lard” or even the brains of hares. [18] Baumes scoffed at the use of fats, “ridiculous nostrums in vulgar use,” [17, 21] and was also opposed to permitting children to teethe on hard substances like coral or ivory. [21] This he believed “must harden the gums, render them callous, and cause them to resist more firmly the progress of the teeth.” [21] He saw nothing wrong, however, with permitting children to chew on a piece of licorice or mallow root because they were “instruments of soft pressure.” [22]

If the remedies to treat teething-related diseases failed, or if it was clear they would be ineffective, lancing the gums was the method of choice, if conducted “properly.” [2, 6, 7, 17, 23] This measure was designed to allow the teeth through to alleviate the nervous tension and thus cure the teething-induced disorders. [20] Dr. Parker described seeing many children suffering from diarrhea brought to a clinic. He observed that of the ones that were teething most were too weak from diarrhea to be helped, but that in the rest, there was rapid improvement after their gums were lanced. [6] Baumes wrote of a child experiencing convulsions that reportedly ceased after the gums were dissected from the emerging teeth. [24] “This case proves that the convulsions depended solely upon the resistance offered to the egress of the teeth by the dense and solid gums, and demonstrates the necessity of dividing the parts for the relief of such affections.” [24] “A simple incision is not always sufficient to remove the difficulty. Frequently, if the operation be not carried further than this, the unpleasant symptoms will recur from the swelling and inflammation of the wounded parts. All observers agree upon this point.” [24] He then mentioned a case in which the gums were lanced, but the flaps of skin were not excised. The gums allegedly formed scar tissue and the child's spasms returned. Baumes felt this should “warn young practitioners of the necessity of fully liberating the teeth.” [25] In cases when these measures did not promote recovery Baumes recommended breaking the tooth socket or even extracting the tooth as a last resort. [26]

I think it is safe to say that no children perished because of a systemic reaction to teething. So, the question becomes, what did the children whose deaths were attributed to teething actually die from? That is difficult to say. Gibbons and Hebdon published a brief study on “teething” deaths between 1847 and 1881 in Utah. [27] They attempted to determine if these deaths were possibly caused by SIDS or cholera infantum, by comparing the average age of death and the months in which the children died. [27] No clear trends emerged from their analysis, however, indicating that no single cause of death could explain the “teething” fatalities in their study.

After reading Baumes' book, I don't find this at all surprising. If children with symptoms as diverse as diarrhea, convulsions and ricketts were all believed to have died from teething then I think to look for a single diagnosis to fit all “teething” deaths is unrealistic. I suspect that these poor children died from any number of causes from contaminated food or water to communicable diseases. Many children under the age of two died during this time and their deaths just happened to coincide with teething.

Just for the record, the number of reported deaths in Michigan attributed to teething ranged from 21 to 106, with an average of 68 deaths/year between 1868 and 1895 (with data for 23 of those years). [28-38] After 1895 I was unable to find any “teething” deaths in the annual Michigan reports. 

1. Thomas E. Bond, Jr., translator, A Treatise on First Dentition And The Frequently Serious Disorders Which Depend Upon It (New York: Fraetas & Kelley, 1841) (translated from the French version written by Jean Baptiste Timothee Baumes and published in 1783) 17.
2. Rebecca Tannenbaum, Health and Wellness in Colonial America (Health and wellness in daily life) (Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood, 2012) 74.
3. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 122.
4. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 84.
5. Edward H. Parker, The Handbook For Mothers; A Guide In The Care Of Young Children, 2d edition (Toronto and Chicago: Belfords, Clarke & Co., 1880) 83-84.
6. Parker, The Handbook For Mothers, 88.
7. Robert Bell, Our Children, How To Keep Them Well And Treat Them When They Are Ill: A Guide To Mothers, 3d edition (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co.: 1890) 46. (accessed at HEARTH (Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition, History) at Cornell University Library (http://hearth.library.cornell.edu/h/hearth/) 21 Mar 2013)
8. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 19.
9. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 32.
10. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 79.
11. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 54.
12. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 82-159.
13. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 109.
14. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 149.
15. Bell, Our Children, 47.
16. Parker, The Handbook For Mothers, 86.
17. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 80.
18. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 51.
19. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 79.
20. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 80-81.
21. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 53.
22. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 52.
23. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 150.
24. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 154.
25. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 155.
26. Bond, A Treatise on First Dentition, 157.
27. Harry Gibbons and C. Kent Hebdon, “Teething as a Cause of Death, A Historical Review,” Western Journal of Medicine 155 (December 1991): 658-659.
28. Secretary of State of Michigan, First Annual Report Of The Secretary Of State Of The State Of Michigan, Relating To The Registry And Return Of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, For the Year Ending April 5^th, 1868 (Lansing, Michigan; John A. Kerr & Co., 1868) 59.
29. Secretary of State of Michigan, Third Annual Report Of The Secretary Of State Of The State Of Michigan, Relating To The Registry And Return Of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, For The Year 1869 (Lansing, Michigan; W.S. George & Co., 1870) 126.
30. Secretary of State of Michigan, Fourth Annual Report Of The Secretary Of State Of The State Of Michigan, Relating To The Registry And Return Of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, For The Year 1870 (Lansing, Michigan; W.S. George & Co., 1872) 229.
31. Secretary of State of Michigan, Seventeenth Annual Report Relating To The Registry And Return Of Births, Marriages, and Deaths In Michigan For The Year 1883 (Lansing, Michigan; W.S. George & Co., 1885) 228.
32. Secretary of State of Michigan, Nineteeth Annual Report Relating To The Registry And Return Of Births, Marriages, and Deaths In Michigan For The Year 1885 (Lansing, Michigan; Thorp & Godfrey, 1887) 144.
33. Secretary of State of Michigan, Twenty-Second Annual Report Relating To The Registry And Return Of Births, Marriages, and Deaths In Michigan For The Year 1888 (Lansing, Michigan; Robert Smith & Co., 1890) 211.
34. Secretary of State of Michigan, Twenty-Fourth Annual Report Relating To The Registry And Return Of Births, Marriages, and Deaths In Michigan For The Year 1890 (Lansing, Michigan; Robert Smith & Co., 1892) 201.
35. Secretary of State of Michigan, Twenty-Fifth Annual Report Relating To The Registry And Return Of Births, Marriages, and Deaths In Michigan For The Year 1891 With A Review Of The Results Of State Registration For Twenty-Five Years, 1867-1891 (Lansing, Michigan; Robert Smith & Co., 1893) 207.
36. Secretary of State of Michigan, Twenty-Sixth Annual Report Relating To The Registry And Return Of Births, Marriages, and Deaths In Michigan For The Year 1892 (Lansing, Michigan; Robert Smith & Co., 1894) 206.
37. Secretary of State of Michigan, Twenty-Eighth Annual Report Relating To The Registry And Return Of Births, Marriages And Deaths in Michigan For The Year 1894 (Lansing, Michigan: Robert Smith Printing Co, 1897) 302.
    
38. Secretary of State of Michigan, Twenty-Ninth Annual Report Relating To The Registry And Return Of Births, Marriages And Deaths in Michigan For The Year 1895 (Lansing, Michigan: Robert Smith Printing Co, 1897) 181.
    

Classification of Causes of Death

Prior to 1898 there was no standard classification of cause of death throughout the United States. But, as of the first of that year Michigan blazed a trail by becoming the first state in the country to adopt the Bertillon classification scheme. [1] One reason Michigan adopted this system so early was because the chief of the division of vital statistics for Michigan, Cressy Wilbur, was one of three commissioners appointed to implement the change in the U.S. [2]

The American Public Heath Association, at their meeting in October 1897, recommended that the Bertillon system be adopted by all registrars in North America. [2] At that time “no two states in this country, hardly any two cities and no two nations (except such as had already put the Bertillon system in force), used identical classification of causes of death.” [3] This may not be a big deal to genealogists, but it certainly was to state and federal bean counters who wished to compare death rates from certain diseases across jurisdictions. Ultimately, this type of analysis could result in public health benefits by identifying disease trends and promoting systems for containment and prevention, like showing the advantages of public sewer systems. However, before this could happen, the causes of death from region to region needed to be comparable.

The Bertillon classification scheme was based on the anatomical origin of the disease. This meant that diseases of the respiratory system, for instance, were listed together, with a further breakdown within each category rather than simply including all diseases alphabetically. [4] This was a rather radical change from previous methods that grouped causes of death by the nature of the fatal disease. [6] While not a perfect system it did eliminate the necessity of searching the entire list to find a disease that could be described by numerous terms (for example, typhoid fever was also called dothinenteritis, mucous fever or continued fever). [4] Diseases affecting the entire organism were listed separately under the term general diseases, which was further broken down into epidemic diseases such as measles or influenza and other general diseases such as cancer or diabetes. Some other causes of death were listed separately: malformations, diseases of infancy, diseases of old age, violence (suicide, accidents, homicide) and a final catch-all category “causes ill-defined.” [5]

Jacques Bertillon, who devised the scheme was one of its foremost proponents, by virtue of his work with the International Statistical Institute (ISI). The system was to be revised every ten years to keep up with progress in medical science [6] By 1909, Bertillon reported to the ISI meeting in Paris that the first revision of the system “was in use throughout the world, in the Americas, Australia, and Japan.” [7] It was also in use in several countries in Europe, but adoption there lagged because countries wanted to maintain the ability to compare statistics with those collected in the past. [7] The tenth revision of the system was published in 1989 and is still in use, including by the World Health Organization. [8]

1. Secretary of State of Michigan. Thirty-Second Annual Report of the Secretary of State on the Registration of Births And Deaths Marriages And Divorces in Michigan For The Year 1898. (Lansing, Michigan: Robert Smith Printing Co, 1900), ix-x.
2. Secretary of State of Michigan. Thirty-Second Annual Report . . . 1898., appendix, p. 5.
3. Secretary of State of Michigan. Thirty-Second Annual Report . . . 1898., x.
4. Secretary of State of Michigan. Thirty-Second Annual Report . . . 1898., appendix, p. 9.
5. Secretary of State of Michigan. Thirty-Second Annual Report . . . 1898., lxxiv-lxxv.
6. Iwao M. Moriyama, Ruth M. Loy and Alastair H.T. Robb-Smith, History of the Statistical Classification of Diseases and Causes of Disease, (Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Government Printing Office, 2011), 12.
7. Moriyama, Loy and Robb-Smith, History of the Statistical Classification, 13.
8. Moriyama, Loy and Robb-Smith, History of the Statistical Classification, 21.

Kalamazoo Autographs 1928-1930

My grandmother, Emma, went to school in Kalamazoo in the late 1920s and early 1930s. At that time she lived on the east side of town not too far from Riverside Cemetery, though I'm not sure which school she attended. She may have received this book for Christmas 1928 (her sister signed it that day – the earliest date in the book). Emma was about to celebrate her eleventh birthday.

I'm including the names of the young people who signed the autograph book in case anyone recognizes one of them. If you do, I can provide a photograph of the page so you can see their signature. In some cases Emma's schoolmates provided their address and in others they wrote a cute saying, like those pictured below.

The following teachers also signed the book:

Electa S. Pierce, Coila Westgate, Margaret Burtrow, Wilma Kester and Hazel Van Horn.

Here are my grandma's friends who signed the book (as well as I could make out the names):

Cecil Welbaum. Lillian Russell, Dagmar DeVall, Wilda Walkinshaw, Lorene Johnston, Cora Fitzsimmons, Paul Foutz, Letha Phelps, Durwood Allworth, William Hale, Frank Kellors, Violet Varner, Velma Sutton, Doris Hawley, Marjorie Linzsieht, Emelyn Ferguson, Inez Kendall, Barbara Doyle, Rita Wiggins, Kathleen Potect, Eleanor Schipper, Alta Thompson, Vivian Drake, Bernice Monzulla, Josephine Goolsby, Durwood Allworth, Frank C. Kelley, Thyra Jennings (signed Hartford, Mich), Lorene Yeggy.

ZLCC Rises, East Campus Will Fall

The good news is that the new Zhang Legacy Collections Center (ZLCC), future home of the WMU Archives and Regional History Collections, is progressing. The Archives plans to move into the ZLCC in late 2013. [1] . Here's a picture taken in early March 2013, compliments of my mom.

The new building is being erected with the goal of becoming LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. [2] WMU currently has seven buildings that are LEED certified and hopes to increase that number to thirteen by early 2014. [2] These LEED-certified new and renovated structures go beyond simple energy efficiency, though that is certainly part of the reason for going green (the renovated chemistry building uses forty percent less energy than a traditional one). [2] Green maintenance practices, like a storm water retention system, green cleaning methods and even utilizing beet juice (an anti-coagulant) to reduce snow buildup on roads and sidewalks are a part of the bigger picture. [2]

The bad news is that the fate of East Campus has drastically altered since the middle of 2012. Gone are the plans for a boutique hotel, conference center and condos with an underground parking structure. The main stumbling block was the elimination of state tax credits, without which the cost of the project was prohibitive. [1] The current plan features a renovation of the central part of East Hall for alumni functions at a cost of $15 million. [1] Everything else? Well, due to the lack of funding, the remaining three buildings and the two wings of East Hall, though structurally sound, are slated for demolition. This could happen as soon as the Archives vacates the premises later this year. [1] This probably seems hasty to those who wish for an eleventh hour save, but WMU wants to eliminate the costs of security, utilities and maintenance on buildings it no longer has hopes of saving. [1] In addition, developing the new alumni center will be easier in the absence of several abandoned buildings. The University does plan to salvage important architectural elements from the buildings prior to their destruction. [1] Green space and parking for the alumni center are expected to fill the void of the existing structures. [1]

1. Cheryl Roland, “WMU’s East Hall to be renovated for use as alumni center,” WMU News, 10 Dec 2012. http://www.wmich.edu/news/2012/12/3415

2. Yvonne Zipp, “Western Michigan University celebrates LEED certification of 6 buildings,” www.MLive.com, 21 Feb 2013. http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2013/02/western_michigan_university_ce_4.html

Christmas Morning Murderer, Part 2

In October, I finally had the opportunity to view the criminal case file for Joe Salpatrick for murdering my grandma's sister on Christmas. When I first hoped to view these records I discovered they were not kept on-site. As I don't visit Kalamazoo very often I had to wait an entire year to examine them. You can imagine my anticipation. I discovered several new things, though I won't belabor all that I found.

For a little more background on Mildred's brief and turbulent life before she met her murderer (it's only a couple of paragraphs) read Understanding Ancestors Using Timelines. The nutshell version of Mildred's life after she met Joe is this. They dated for five or six years, living together toward the end of that period. On 3 Dec 1941, Mildred took her two children (from a failed marriage) and moved in with her sister. Joe came to the house on numerous occasions begging her to reconcile, but she refused. On Christmas eve, Joe went out drinking, borrowed a shot gun from his brother-in-law and drove about twenty minutes across town to Mildred's sister's home. Through the window, he saw Mildred wrapping presents for her children, raised the gun and fired two or three blasts at Mildred. Joe failed to locate his car in the dark, hitch-hiked into town and was found hiding under a bed on Christmas morning. To learn more about her murder, read Christmas Morning Murderer Gets Off Easy. 

The last thing the defense wanted was for Joe's case to reach trial. Mildred's sister's testimony would surely be damning and few jurors could hear it without shedding tears. On the day of jury selection, Joe's lawyers directed his family to petition the court for a competency hearing. Judge Weimer would now have the final say. The defense's strategy, simply speaking, was to convince the judge that Joe was incapable of understanding that he had done anything wrong when he shot Mildred in cold blood.

Joe's lawyers didn't opt for a traditional temporary insanity defense, but proposed that Joe had always been dim-witted and more importantly, had always lacked any moral sense. They presented four witnesses: Joe's father, two psychiatrists and a man who supposedly had known Joe since childhood (I'll call him Bob to protect the privacy of my family, upon whom he was trying to exact revenge). Although he was not called as a witness on his own behalf, we mustn't forget Joe's performance at the hearing. Most likely coached, he sat stock still and stared vacantly throughout the proceedings. [1] This was probably easy for him as there were no rebuttal witnesses presented by the prosecution and therefore no reason for him to become either anxious or angry.

The defense strategies were as follows:

Attempt to demonstrate a family history of craziness

Joe's father, Vincent, testified that both his own brother and his son had “crazy spells,” his brother allegedly experiencing these fits his entire life. [2] Vincent also recounted how blood seeped out of his brother's ears, nose and mouth when he died and at various times throughout his life. [3] He described his brother thus “One day he would be crazy and another day he would feel all right. After the blood out, he stayed all right.” [3] Vincent then testified that Joe also bled from his ears. [4] After one of Joe's accidents, that he failed to describe, he claimed Joe was hospitalized, unconscious, for five days and that doctors put cloth in his ears to prevent blood from oozing out. [5] Before the accidents, Vincent said, Joe “never act like another boy have good brains; just monkey around, something like that you know. He act crazy. Sometimes he is all right.” [6] I should note that Vincent had not mastered the English language as he was a Polish immigrant and spoke mostly Polish at home. [7]

Suggest that Joe had experienced several head injuries

Vincent explained that when Joe went outside after his hospitalization “he get right away sick.” [4] The lawyer asked if Joe got “sick in the head,” to which Joe's father replied “just in the head and about the body, because that Model T Ford tip over for him, you know, and bump him in the telegraph pole across him. The cops come and get him to the hospital.” [4] This was the only accident Vincent actually described.

Bob testified that he knew Joe from childhood “practically from the early 20's” and that they went to school together and played together. [8] Bob said that when Joe was about thirteen or fourteen years old they were playing tag on (train) box cars, jumping between them. [9] Joe made a misstep and fell on the coupling mechanism between two cars. [9] “For about an hour we worked over him and his legs was pretty weak and his head was all bloody, so we tried to take him home and we met his mother on the way and she took him on in there, and from that time we didn't come in contact with Joe for six or seven weeks. He was laid up.” [9] Bob said that after that he didn't see Joe for seven or eight years until about 1930. [10] It was then, he claimed, he heard about an incident Joe supposedly had in Albion in 1928, but provided no particulars. [9, 10]

In a report from the Ionia State Hospital, (for the criminally insane) Joe's personal history indicated the “box car” incident occurred when Joe was twelve. [7] (NOTE: the source of this history is not stated, but it likely come from the histories taken by the defense psychiatrists, as information from their testimony at the competency hearing immediately precedes it. Also, information from the Kalamazoo State Hospital and information from the Ionia Hospital are presented in later sections of the report) The personal history also related that Joe was beaten by his father, was hit by a train and fell while playing in a barn. [7]

While questioning Dr. Davis, the lawyer suggested the box car incident occurred when Joe was fifteen or sixteen (about the time Joe was in the Industrial School for Boys) [11] “and not very long after that he was hit by a train.” [12]

Interestingly, Joe's father made no mention of any accidents around box cars, being hit by a train or anything that happened in Albion and he wasn't questioned about them either.

My rebuttal

Bob testified that he knew Joe from childhood “practically from the early 20's” and that they went to school together and played together though Bob was two years older. [8]. I don't believe this because, though they lived 2.5 miles apart, on opposite sides of downtown, they each lived about two blocks from their neighborhood school. [13-16] Joe would have attended the Frank St. School (later Lincoln School) and Bob the Burdick School (later McKinley School). While there was just one high school, Joe probably never set foot in the place as he never advanced past the eighth grade. Actually, I don't believe Joe and Bob even knew each other during childhood, though proving that would be nearly impossible. I cannot rule out that Joe and Bob did meet outside of school while growing up, but in addition to the distance between their homes, I don't know how much inter-racial mixing there was even among juvenile delinquents like Joe. It is possible they met while boxing in the 1930s. [17] I believe the only reason Bob testified was to exact revenge on my family, by doing his part to ensure that Joe was never imprisoned for killing Mildred.

My other problem with this testimony is that there was no consistent account of any of Joe's “accidents.” Every witness presented a different story. Bob said Joe was playing on box cars and was in an undescribed accident in Albion. Joe claimed to a psychiatrist he was hit by a train. Joe's father said he was hit by a car. If Joe's accidents were as serious as alleged I'm surprised that no two accounts were even similar. If Joe were hit by a train surely everyone would have remembered that and commented on it.

Suggest that Joe was never “normal” after said head injuries and could neither think clearly nor carry on a conversation

When asked, both Bob and Vincent declared that after the accidents Joe never behaved normally. [9, 18, 19]

Bob testified that Joe and Mildred lived with him “for a considerable period” allowing him to observe Joe's state of mind. [9, 19] He “couldn't express himself at all. . . It was very jumbled up there. You would have to figure it out for yourself.” [20] In demonstrating how Joe had difficulty carrying on a conversation (after the accidents) Bob said that Joe rapidly switched from topic to topic. [19, 21] Then he claimed exactly the opposite, saying Joe repeatedly returned to a certain subject no matter how Bob attempted to change it. [21] Bob said “well, after the friend he was going with, [Mildred], left him, he would be talking on something else and turn right back to [Mildred] continuously.” [21]

The defense psychiatrists described their observations of Joe and stated that he could not carry on a conversation, yet admitted he was able to tell them exactly what happened on the night he shot Mildred. [22, 23] They also said Joe appeared to have amnesia at the time surrounding the killing, though when questioned, he provided details of his movements on Christmas eve. [22, 23]

My rebuttal

I would like to point out two things. First, when someone is very upset about something they usually talk about that topic continually because it is uppermost in their minds. When the conversation turns elsewhere they quickly return to it. That seems pretty normal to me. Second, how would Bob have had these conversations with Joe after Mildred “left him” (not that Joe kicked her out as Joe alleged)? Bob was only released from his eighteen-month prison stay for statutory rape [24] on Dec. 24^th, 1941, [25] the night Joe went out drinking and ultimately murdered Mildred.

The report from the Kalamazoo State Hospital, where Joe was evaluated before his competency hearing, stated “His stream of thought clear . . . Memory good for both remote and recent events. Occasionally he seems confused about events. Later questioning brought out the fact that he could recall accurately practically everything that transpired immediately before and during the time of the tragedy and everything that happened after.” [26] This report also stated “There is no history, however, of an abrupt change of character or that he has had an actual psychosis, either organic, or psychogenic in origin.” [26]

Suggest that Joe was mentally deficient

Both Dr. Davis and Dr. Gregg declared that Joe had the mental capacity of a nine-year-old. [27, 28] They averred that Joe would never be capable of assisting in his own defense were he put on trial or even simply understanding the nature of the case against him. [29, 30]

It is clear that Joe did not have scholarly tendencies. There are three different stories of his schooling. In one account Joe claimed he reached the 7^th grade at the age of fifteen. [7] In another he said he repeated the third grade from age seven to sixteen. [31] Joe's court hearing in 1929 for breaking parole on an earlier charge of “unlawful use” of an automobile and larceny over $25, indicated that he “completed the eighth grade in school at the age of sixteen.” [32]

My rebuttal

I'll just admit right now that I don't believe for a minute that Joe had a mental age of a nine-year-old. It is true that Joe didn't receive much schooling, but I would like to point out that just because a person doesn't complete high school doesn't mean they are inherently unintelligent. I also know Joe had problems with the law from a young age, but that is not the same as saying he was intellectually challenged.

Three state psychiatrists noticed no mental deficit. [33] They stated that after they examined Joe they “found no evidence of his ever having had an attack of nervous or mental disease” and that he was “sane on December 25, 1941 at the time of the alleged shooting. . . We further believe that he is sane today and capable of understanding the nature and object of the proceedings against him.” [33]

Information from the Kalamazoo State Hospital, where Joe was examined prior to his hearing, stated “the more one studies his background, the stronger is the impression that he is more emotionally inadequate than he is intellectually inferior.” [26]

The court records from 1928-1929 when Joe was arrested for stealing a car, larceny and violating probation (and noted he was recently arrested for drunkenness and stealing a bicycle) made absolutely no mention of any potential incompetency. [32]

Lastly, I find it impossible to believe that Mildred, or any other woman, would stay in a relationship with a man for five to six years and even live with him, if he had the mental capacity of a child.

Attempt to demonstrate that Joe had no moral judgement

Dr. Davis and Dr. Gregg declared that Joe was “devoid of ethical understanding.” [27, 28] As proof that he had no moral sense they discussed how Joe saw nothing wrong with living with Mildred though they were unmarried. [34] Not only that, the psychiatrists stated Joe couldn't even grasp the concept of right versus wrong. [27, 35] According to Dr. Davis “If you tell him not to take something, he perhaps would consider that as wrong, but when you say 'It is wrong to take something,' he does not understand exactly what you mean.” [27] Dr. Greg said that Joe felt one had only done something wrong if one was caught. [35] “He didn't have any idea that he had committed any crime until he was told that he had by the officers,” claimed Dr. Gregg. [36]

My rebuttal

I understand it was not socially acceptable to live “in sin,” but to equate it with not understanding that it was wrong to steal something seems to me to weaken the argument rather than strengthen it. Also, if Joe really had no moral sense and saw nothing wrong with living with Mildred, why did Joe repeatedly ask Mildred to get a divorce [31, 37, 38, 39] so he could marry her. [37, 38, 39] Joe admitted that he drove to Mildred's sister's house on several occasions attempting to get her to marry him [31, 39, 40] (and thus get a dependency deferment as Pearl Harbor had just been attacked, drawing the U.S. into WWII). [39]

Also, if Joe didn't understand that he had done anything wrong when he shot Mildred, why was he found cowering under a bed? [7, 41] If he didn't comprehend that he had committed a crime, why wasn't he peacefully sleeping off his hangover? Why would Joe say that he must have gone crazy and the next moment say he should be electrocuted? [26]

Blame the victim

According to the defense, Mildred was an immoral woman who after many years of living with Joe started seeing other men. [40, 42, 43] Dr. Gregg testified that Joe claimed he kicked Mildred out because he believed she was “running around with married men.” [40] According to Dr. Gregg, Joe “knew that she was keeping company with other men; had made trips with other men; had done many immoral acts with other men, and he had forgiven her, trying to forget it; gave her money for a divorce; bought a car and got a house.” [40]

My rebuttal

I won't paint Mildred as a wronged saint because I don't have any evidence one way or the other. I will say that I believe Mildred took her children (from a previous marriage) and left Joe because he apparently physically abused her. [39] Mildred's sister also reported that Joe fractured Mildred's ribs shortly prior to Mildred moving in with her. [39] Remember that Joe was a boxer (or had been in the 1930s) [7, 10, 32, 41] who was not unfamiliar with physical violence and who also, allegedly, was beaten by his father as a youngster. [7]

Suggest that Joe was depressed at the time of the murder

The defense psychiatrists declared that Joe was a primitive, sexual being and that he basically could not restrain himself from giving in to those desires. [42] Dr. Davis was asked whether Joe “had sustained any shocks with respect to his ego.” [42] “Why, yes,” Dr. Davis answered, “This man because of his previous life [no mention or even allusion was made to what this referred], of course, placed a great deal of emphasis on his sexual ability.” [42, 43] He then said that after Mildred allegedly told Joe that “he was no longer of value sexually to her” it threw him into a depression. [42, 43] The psychiatrists declared this a terrible blow to Joe, a man whose sexual prowess was of critical importance to his self-esteem. [31, 40, 43] Joe's “depression” resulted in him drowning his sorrows in alcohol on Christmas eve, [7, 23, 44], something he had been known to do previously [11] and actually arrested for. [32] He then borrowed a shot gun from his brother-in-law [7, 23, 39] and drove about 20 minutes across town to “scare” Mildred. [7, 44]

My rebuttal

Joe claimed that he merely wanted to scare Mildred. If that was truly his intention then why didn't he knock on the door and brandish the gun? It's difficult to scare someone if they only have a couple of seconds to respond before they are dead.

What the prosecutor did

After the final witness for the defense stepped down, the prosecutor had his opportunity to present a case. He had briefly cross-examined the defense witnesses, but he evidently felt that was sufficient. He called not a single rebuttal witness. Judge Weimer even asked if he wished to call anyone to the stand to which he replied “I would like to suggest lots of witnesses, including the respondent himself. I would like to have the Court examine the respondent among others. We realize that it is the Court's proceeding.” [45] After deciding that he shouldn't question the defendant the judge announced a recess. Afterward, the Judge again asked if there was any further testimony to suggest. Responded the prosecutor, “If the Court please, just to say that the Court, I am sure, is cognizant of all the witnesses who would have been subpoenaed, and any that the Court might wish to call will be agreeable, but I don't wish to insist that any be called.” [46] Judge Weimer said that if neither side wanted to call additional witnesses “we may as well consider the hearing closed.” [47] The judge then commented on Joe's performance during the hearing, how he “was absolutely immobile except for the opening and closing of his eyes.. . . I do not assume, of course, that that has any particular significance. It may or may not, but I think it is noteworthy.” [47, 48] And that was it.

What the prosecutor could/should have done

Mr. Fox could have called the three state psychiatrists to contradict the testimony of the defense doctors. They had all examined Joe and declared him to be sane. [33] He also could have asked Mildred's sisters to testify about Mildred and Joe's relationship (how long had he beaten her, was she afraid for herself and/or her children). They also could have provided information about Joe's behavior or commented on his apparent level of intelligence as they must have known him for several years through their sister. In addition, Joe's co-workers could have testified about his conversational ability or approximate intelligence. He could even have tried to present witnesses to demonstrate Joe's past run-ins with the law [32], time in the Industrial School for Boys [11] or the Michigan Reformatory [11] to indicate a history of trouble. But, he did none of these things.

What happened

Judge Weimer also seemed to ignore the fact that thirteen years previously Joe had sauntered into court smoking a cigarette at his hearing for violating parole (and after recently being arrested for being drunk and stealing a bike) for his previous offense of stealing a car. [32] Back then the judge had declared that Joe possessed a “lawless, indifferent, irresponsible disposition and temperament.“ [32]

Not surprisingly, since the prosecutor didn't raise a finger in protest, the judge declared Joe insane and committed him to the Ionia State Hospital for the criminally insane. [48]

SOURCES

1. Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Circuit Court Case 436, The People of the State of Michigan v. Joseph L. Salpatrick, Stenographer's Record, Testimony of Dr. Sherman Gregg, p. 54-55, 10 Mar 1942, Circuit Clerk's Office, Kalamazoo.
2. Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Circuit Court Case 436, The People of the State of Michigan v. Joseph L. Salpatrick, Stenographer's Record, Testimony of Wicenty Salapatek, p. 13, 10 Mar 1942, Circuit Clerk's Office, Kalamazoo.
3. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Salapatek, p. 13-14, 10 Mar 1942.
4. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Salapatek, p. 16, 10 Mar 1942.
5. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Salapatek, p. 15-16, 10 Mar 1942.
6. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Salapatek, p. 15, 10 Mar 1942.
7. Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Circuit Court Case 436, The People of the State of Michigan v. Joseph L. Salpatrick, Personal History, Report from the Ionia State Hospital, Filed with the court 08 Dec 1947 (stamped), Circuit Clerk's Office, Kalamazoo.
8. Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Circuit Court Case 436, The People of the State of Michigan v. Joseph L. Salpatrick, Stenographer's Record, Testimony of “Bob” (name withheld for privacy), p. 1, 10 Mar 1942, Circuit Clerk's Office, Kalamazoo.
9. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of “Bob” (name withheld for privacy), p. 3, 10 Mar 1942.
10. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of “Bob” (name withheld for privacy), p. 8, 10 Mar 1942.
11. Joe Salpatrick, Convict Record, Reg. No. 21355, Received 30 Dec 1929, Michigan Reformatory, Ionia, Michigan, Archives of Michigan, Lansing, Michigan, Archives Control Number: RG 64-53.
12. Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Circuit Court Case 436, The People of the State of Michigan v. Joseph L. Salpatrick, Stenographer's Record, Testimony of Dr. David B. Davis, p. 24, 10 Mar 1942, Circuit Clerk's Office, Kalamazoo.
13. R.L. Polk & Co.'s Kalamazoo Directory 1921 Comprising . . . Public And Private Schools . . . and a Buyer's Guide (Detroit: R.L. Polk & Co., Publishers), 25.
14. Polk's Kalamazoo City Directory 1924 Comprising . . . Public And Private Schools . . . A Complete Classified Business Directory (Detroit: R.L. Polk & Co., Publishers), 23.
15. Polk's Kalamazoo City Directory 1926 Comprising . . . Public And Private Schools . . . A Complete Classified Business Directory (Detroit: R.L. Polk & Co., Publishers), 27.
16. Polk's Kalamazoo (Michigan) City Directory 1927 Comprising . . . Public Schools . . . A Complete Classified Business Directory (Detroit: R.L. Polk & Co., Publishers), 33.
17. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of “Bob” (name withheld for privacy), p. 5-6, 10 Mar 1942.
18. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Salapatek, p. 17, 10 Mar 1942.
19. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of “Bob” (name withheld for privacy), p. 5, 10 Mar 1942.
20. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of “Bob” (name withheld for privacy), p. 7, 10 Mar 1942.
21. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of “Bob” (name withheld for privacy), p. 6, 10 Mar 1942.
22. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Davis, p. 26, 10 Mar 1942.
23. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Gregg, p. 49, 10 Mar 1942.
24. Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Circuit Court Case S-18908, The People of the State of Michigan v. “Bob” (name withheld for privacy), In The Matter Of Sentence (Judge Weimer), 02 Nov 1940, Circuit Clerk's Office, Kalamazoo.
25. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of “Bob” (name withheld for privacy), p. 10, 10 Mar 1942.
26. Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Circuit Court Case 436, The People of the State of Michigan v. Joseph L. Salpatrick, Information From Kalamazoo State Hospital, Report from the Ionia State Hospital, Filed with the court 08 Dec 1947 (stamped), Circuit Clerk's Office, Kalamazoo.
27. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Davis, p. 21, 10 Mar 1942.
28. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Gregg, p. 40, 10 Mar 1942.
29. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Davis, p. 34, 10 Mar 1942.
30. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Gregg, p. 54, 10 Mar 1942.
31. Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Circuit Court Case 436, The People of the State of Michigan v. Joseph L. Salpatrick, Mental Status (General Attitude On Admission [to Ionia Hospital]), Report from the Ionia State Hospital, Filed with the court 08 Dec 1947 (stamped), Circuit Clerk's Office, Kalamazoo.
32. Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Circuit Court Case S-10428, The People of the State of Michigan v. Joe Salpatrick, In The Matter Of Sentence (Judge Weimer), 28 Dec 1929, Western Michigan Archives and Regional History Collections, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
33. Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Circuit Court Case 436, The People of the State of Michigan v. Joseph L. Salpatrick, Report of Psychiatrists, Signed by H.A. Sears, Fred P. Currier and J.S. McCarthy, 04 Mar 1942, Circuit Clerk's Office, Kalamazoo.
34. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Gregg, p. 51-52, 10 Mar 1942.
35. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Gregg, p. 42, 10 Mar 1942.
36. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Gregg, p. 45, 10 Mar 1942.
37. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of “Bob” (name withheld for privacy), p. 9, 10 Mar 1942.
38. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Gregg, p. 52, 10 Mar 1942.
39. Mother of 2 Slain as She Trims Tree. Kalamazoo Gazette. Kalamazoo, Michigan, 25 Dec 1941, p.2 column 1.
40. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Gregg, p. 53, 10 Mar 1942.
41. Mother of 2 Slain as She Trims Tree. Kalamazoo Gazette. Kalamazoo, Michigan, 25 Dec 1941, p.1 (column unknown, from clipping in the author's file).
42. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Davis, p. 22, 10 Mar 1942.
43. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Davis, p. 23, 10 Mar 1942.
44. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Testimony of Gregg, p. 47, 10 Mar 1942.
45. Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Circuit Court Case 436, The People of the State of Michigan v. Joseph L. Salpatrick, Stenographer's Record, Statement of Prosecutor Raymond W. Fox, p. 55, 10 Mar 1942, Circuit Clerk's Office, Kalamazoo.
46. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Statement of Fox, p. 56, 10 Mar 1942.
47. Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Circuit Court Case 436, The People of the State of Michigan v. Joseph L. Salpatrick, Stenographer's Record, Statement of Judge George Weimer, p. 56, 10 Mar 1942, Circuit Clerk's Office, Kalamazoo.
48. Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Circuit Court Case 436, People v. Salpatrick, Statement of Judge Weimer, p. 57, 10 Mar 1942.

One Child or Two?

I have a little mystery on my hands. Did Lawrence Flynn have two daughters or only one? I had always believed he had only one child, Mabel Hoskins Flynn. According to an image of the returns of birth for St. Joseph county, Michigan (available at www.familysearch.org) she was born on 24 June 1873. [1]

Here's what I have that suggests that Lawrence and Mary had only one child.

--Mabel is the only child who appeared in the census with her parents (1880, 1894, 1910, 1920). [2,3,4,5] The family was missed in the 1900 census. I've gone page-by-page a couple of times through their enumeration district. Their house number didn't appear.

--In the 1894 and 1910 censuses Lawrence's wife indicated that she only gave birth to one child. [3,4]

--In Lawrence's Civil War pension file one document asks for the names and birth dates of any children he had whether living or dead. The only child listed was Mabel, with the same birth date I have from the birth return. [6]

So, why am I uncertain about the number of children Lawrence and his wife, Mary Olive Hoskins, had? I have but a single piece of data to suggest otherwise. While looking through records at www.kalamazoogenealogy.org, specifically the scanned images from the Kalamazoo Public Library vital records card file, I found a transcribed record that made me pause. It was a baptism card for a Mary Hoskins Flynn, daughter of Laurence [sic] and Mary Flynn. [7] The date of baptism at St. Luke's Episcopal church in Kalamazoo was given as June 28, 1871. [7] 

Postcard from the author's collection.

I've looked for a birth or death record for an infant born to Lawrence Flynn between 1871 and 1880 in Kalamazoo and St. Joseph counties (at FamilySearch and www.kalamazoogenealogy.org), but so far without success. This in itself doesn't necessarily mean they didn't have another child who died young. Though civil registration began in Michigan in 1867, this information was collected once per year by assessors resulting in many births and deaths not being recorded. See Why Early MichiganBirth Records Are Unreliable for more details.

Another puzzling thing about the baptism card is why the baptism took place at St. Luke's. All evidence I have indicates Lawrence lived in Constantine until after Mabel's birth in 1873. Why would the family trek all the way up to Kalamazoo, which certainly took longer then than now, to baptize their child?

Is it possible that this record doesn't pertain to “my” family? I don't think so. The child's name, Mary Hoskins Flynn, is the largest clue. Hoskins was the maiden name of Lawrence's wife. Also, during the 1870-1920 period the only Lawrence Flynn in the Kalamazoo area was my relative. This is based on census records, city directories and newspaper references.

So, is this record actually evidence of another child or was there a mistake during the transcription of the record? The names are similar (Mary vs. Mabel) as are the month and day (June 28^th for Mary's baptism and June 24^th for Mabel's birth). The years are also close. Mabel was (by all accounts) born in 1873, but the transcribed baptism record provides a year of 1871. There is one obvious way to settle this. I could go to St. Luke's and ask to see the original record. Unfortunately, I don't know when I'll next be in Kalamazoo. Even when I do go, my limited time there is precious and I need to go where I can answer multiple questions in a single trip. So, for now I'll have to continue wondering.

1. "Michigan Births, 1867-1902." database and digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 05 March 2013. entry for Mabel Flynn, born 24 June 1873; citing Birth Records, FHL microfilm 4,206,432; Michigan Department of Vital Records, Lansing, Michigan.
2. 1880 U.S. census, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, population schedule, p. 221 (stamped), dwelling 344, family 344, digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com, accessed 27 Nov 2006); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 586.
3. 1894 Michigan state census, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, population schedule, Kalamazoo city, Ward 3, p. 563, dwelling 231, family 243, digital image, SeekingMichigan.org (www.seekingmichigan.org, accessed 13 Sep 2012); citing Archives of Michigan Microfilm reel 4797.
4. 1910 U.S. census, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, population schedule, Kalamazoo City, Ward 5, E.D. 153, sheet 3B, dwelling 67, family 72, digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com, accessed 27 Nov 2006); citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 654.
5. 1920 U.S. census, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, population schedule, Kalamazoo Precinct 30, Ward 5, E.D. 177, sheet 13A, dwelling 416, family 416, digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com, accessed 27 Nov 2006); citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 775.
6. Lawrence H. Flynn (Cpl., Co. M, 1^st MI. Eng. and Mech., Civil War), application no. 279,062, certificate no. 382,696, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications. . ., 1861-1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
7. Kalamazoo Public Library (Kalamazoo, Michigan), 3x5” Vital Records File, Mary Hoskins Flynn Baptism, digital image, kalamazoogenealogy.org (www.kalamazoogenealogy.org, accessed 25 Aug 2009) Image 9330. ; citing St. Luke's Episcopal Church (Kalamazoo, Michigan), Parish Record Book 1 (1862-1901).