Actions Speak Louder

We all know the adage “actions speak louder than words.” I think this holds especially true in genealogy research when we often don't have any “words” to refer to. By words I mean personal words in the form of letters, journals and the like. Lacking this we have only the “actions” a person took in their life such as where they lived, their occupation(s), whether they accumulated land, etc. to guide us in our attempts to uncover elements of personality.

When I began writing about my gg-grandfather's brother, Lawrence Flynn (1844-1916) I had to find a way to understand what kind of person he was. By looking more closely at the “actions” in Lawrence's life I came to believe that he was a passionate, ambitious young man. Here are the actions in his early life that lead me to that conclusion.

In 1860, Lawrence was working on a neighbor's farm, though surely he would have been needed on his parents' farm, being the oldest one still at home. [1]

When only sixteen, Lawrence may have tried to enlist at the same time as his brother, Edward, shortly after the Civil War broke out. [2]

At seventeen Lawrence enlisted on 17 Oct 1861 in the First Michigan Lancers, a unit that was disbanded soon thereafter. When Lawrence enlisted it was only one day before his brother John joined a different unit. [3, 4] Lawrence enlisted at Saginaw, about 40 miles from his parents' home, again possibly indicating he was not living at home. [4]

When Lawrence enlisted again (in the 1^st Michigan Mechanics and Engineers) in 1863 he stated his occupation as “carpenter” and his residence as Detroit (again not where his parents lived). [5]

After the war, Lawrence moved in with his brother, Michael, in Three Rivers to learn the carriage-making trade in his brother's successful shop. [6,7]

After only a few years Lawrence moved out from under Michael's wing to work in a buggy shop in Constantine. [8]

By 1877, Lawrence had moved to the carriage-making hub of Kalamazoo and had joined forces with prominent carriage-maker Nelson A. Newton. [9, 10, 11]

A few years later Lawrence started a business with a colleague, blacksmith Frank Whaling, though this endeavor was ultimately unsuccessful. [12, 13]

Re-printed with generous permission of the Kalamazoo Public Library! [14]

In 1894, Lawrence and Frank started a business for the second time, establishing City Carriage Co. Again, the business failed when the partners had a falling out that resulted in a lawsuit. [15, 16, 17]

Then I look at those things and ask myself “what kind of a person would do these things?"  To me, these actions suggested a few things. First, the fact that Lawrence left home at an early age indicated that he wanted to be on his own. He may have wanted to emulate his elder brothers and prove that he was ready to be a man, though it may also be a result of tension between Lawrence and his parents. I'll never know for certain. Similarly, when Lawrence enlisted or tried to enlist he may have been trying to be like his older brothers. Second, after only a few years working in Michael's carriage-making shop Lawrence moved on, first to Constantine and then to Kalamazoo. Perhaps he felt he had learned everything he could from Michael or he wanted to prove to himself or his family that he could be successful in his own right.

While Lawrence actually did start a carriage business twice, neither lasted more than a couple of years. Part of the reason for these failures was likely Lawrence's health. This was certainly the case for City Carriage. [17] Lawrence's back had been injured during the Civil War. [18] One of his lower vertebrae was pushed out of alignment and seems to have pressed on his spinal cord causing neuralgia in his legs such that the only time he reported he wasn't in pain was when he was lying prone. [18, 19]

Lawrence continued working in his chosen trade until a few years prior to his death. For at least a few of those years he worked at the Michigan Buggy Company and would have been there when they began getting their toes wet in the new automobile trade. After examining Lawrence's actions I came to believe that he was a passionate, ambitious young man who was not afraid to take a chance and strike out on his own. He also may have had a bit of a temper based on his testimony in a couple of lawsuits. [17, 20] By the time I finished writing my story about Lawrence (and as I wrote it became more about him and less about the carriage to car age) I believed he would have been excited by the burgeoning car industry. He may even have wished he had been born a little later so he could have had an active role in this new world.

This is just one more reason why we need to write down the stories of our relatives. If we look at all of our documents and read between the lines of a person's actions we can start to discover the hints of personality. Even if we have few (or even no) actual words from that person we can flesh them out at least to some extent. The process of writing forces me, at least, to really look at everything I have to tease out what makes that person tick to the best of my estimation. It's true that I can't prove the elements of personality that I attribute to him in my story. First of all, I can't. Second, that's not the object of my story. My goal is to create a narrative about his life that can help to explain the facts that I have. Who wants to read a recitation of whats and wheres? I have yet to find a family member beating down my door to read my notes in my family tree software. The whys are what makes everything else interesting. Naturally, I try to make reasonable guesses based on the evidence I have and clearly state that they are just that, guesses. But, it is often enough to give my family a story worth reading. One that makes them think about a person they never knew and want to know more. So, even if you never thought about writing about someone in your family because you never knew them and have no personal writings, take a look at their actions and if you listen carefully they may reveal some little hints of personality you can't find elsewhere.

 

1. 1860 U.S. census, Washtenaw County, Michigan, population schedule, Webster, p. 62 (handwritten,), dwelling 469, family 469, Lawrence Flynn; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 27 Nov 2006), citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 548.
2. Camp Fire Tales, Kalamazoo (Michigan) Gazette, 30 Jan 1916, page 7, column 2; digital image, Genealogy Bank (http://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 26 March 2011), Kalamazoo Gazette (1837-1922) Collection.
3. Compiled Service Record, John Flynn, Pvt., Co H, 14^th Michigan Inf.; Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, Civil War; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
4. Muster In Rolls, Lawrence Flynn, Pvt., Co E, 1^st Michigan Lancers; Ovs 78 Folder 03 Doc 27 Regimental Service Records, Michigan Adjutant General, Record Group 59-14: Records of the Michigan Military Establishment; digital image, Seeking Michigan (http://www.seekingmichigan.org: accessed 29 Sep 2011), Archives of Michigan, Lansing, Michigan.
5. Pension fact sheet signed by Lawrence, 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.
6. Lawrence Flynn deposition for Edward Flynn (p. 21), Edward A. Flynn (Pvt. Co I, 2^nd MI Inf., Civil War), application no. 83,138, certificate no. 63,675, 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. “Died.” The News Reporter (Three Rivers, Michigan), 25 Sep 1880, page 4, Microfilm Collection, Roll No. Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
8. 1870 U.S. census, St. Joseph County, Michigan, population schedule, Constantine Post Office, p. 6 (handwritten), dwelling 46, family 48, Lawrence Flynn; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 27 Nov 2006), citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 700.
9. “Wanted.” Kalamazoo (Michigan) Daily Telegraph, 13 Mar 1877, p. 4, col 6, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 24 Feb 2012), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
10. “The County Fair,” Kalamazoo (Michigan) Daily Telegraph, 26 Sep 1877, p. 4, cols 3-4, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 24 Feb 2012), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
11. The Gazette directory of Kalamazoo County : containing complete village directories for all villages in the county, and a complete record of landholders by townships with number of acres, post office address and sections (Kalamazoo: Kalamazoo Gazette Book and Jobs Rooms, 1878) 53.
12. Kalamazoo (Michigan) Daily Telegraph, 21 Oct 1879, p. 1, col 2, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 25 Feb 2012), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
13. “Jottings,” Kalamazoo (Michigan) Daily Telegraph, 23 Mar 1883, p. 3, col 2, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 25 Feb 2012), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
14. Kalamazoo (Michigan) Daily Telegraph, 13 Aug 1880, p. 6, col 2, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 25 Feb 2012), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
15. “City Carriage Co. A New Institution Nearly Ready For Business,” Kalamazoo (Michigan) Gazette, 30 Sep 1894, (clipping, page no. not recorded – older/wiser now), digital images, Genealogy Bank (http://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 26 Mar 2011), Kalamazoo Gazette (1837-1922) Collection.
16. “Injunction Granted,” Kalamazoo (Michigan) Gazette, 13 Dec 1895, (clipping, page no. not recorded – older/wiser now), digital images, Genealogy Bank (http://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 26 Mar 2011), Kalamazoo Gazette (1837-1922) Collection.
17. Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Chancery Court, docket 8, Case 120, Lawrence Flynn v. Frank Whaling, filed 12 Dec 1895, Microfilm Collection, Roll No., Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
18.  Lawrence's statements, 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. 
19. Doctor's statement, 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.
20. Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Chancery Court, docket , Case , Lawrence Flynn v. Andrew Holmes, filed 1893, Microfilm Collection, Roll No., Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections, Kalamazoo, Michigan.