July 24-11

Past-E-Mail: Cam Notes - 2011: July: July 24-11
The Brockways    ...scroll down to share comments
Photos courtesy MTU Archives
Lucinda/Lucena    ...scroll down to share comments
Photos courtesy MTU Archives


By
Charlie at Pasty Central (Chopper) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 08:25 am:

Today is the big Sesquicentennial celebration for Keweenaw County, all day long in Mohawk. Our Shoebox Memory highlights a couple of folks who were "movers and shakers" back in those early days. Daniel and Lucena Brockway arrived here just two years before Houghton became a county, and 16 years later Keweenaw County separated from Houghton to stand on its own.

Have you ever noticed that Mrs. Brockway's name appears with two different spellings? A good example is from the MTU Archives, from where today's pictures come, thanks to Erik Nordberg. In the photo section they list the spelling as Lucinda Brockway. But in the Archive Blog, a presentation this week refers to her as "Lucena":

------------------
"The Life of Pioneer Keweenaw Resident Lucena Brockway"
Dr. Kathleen Warnes
6:30 p.m. Thurs July 28, 2011
East Reading Room
J.R. Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library
------------------

Historian Discusses Life of Pioneer Resident Lucena Brockway

The life and experiences of Lucena Brockway will be the topic of a public presentation at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 28 in the East Reading Room of the J.R. Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie library at Michigan Tech. The presentation is part of the “Archival Speakers Series” and is free and open to the public.

Dr. Kathleen Warnes, an independent scholar based in Allendale, Michigan, will discuss her research into the life of Lucena Brockway, an early pioneer resident of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. A native of New York State, Lucena arrived in the Lake Superior region in 1843 with her husband Daniel Brockway as one of the first white families to settle the area. Initially living in L’Anse, where Daniel worked as a government blacksmith, the Brockways moved to Copper Harbor in 1846 and remained linked to the Keweenaw until their deaths in 1899.

Details of Lucena’s life are captured in a series of personal diaries, photographs, and family and business papers preserved at the Michigan Tech Archives. As her children matured and left home, and as her husband spent more and more time at his various business ventures, Lucena found herself increasingly isolated and alone. Brockway’s diaries document her daily activities and struggles, pointing out the type of independent character required of women along the copper mining frontier.

Warnes’s research is supported by a Michigan Tech Archives travel grant, with funding provided by the Friends of the Van Pelt Library. Since 1998, the Michigan Tech Archives Travel Grant has assisted more than 25 scholars advance their work through research in the department’s varied historical collections.

For more information on the July 28 presentation, call the Michigan Tech Archives at 487-2505, e-mail copper@mtu.edu, or go here
Sounds like a very interesting talk coming up this Thursday.

Maybe we'll see you this afternoon at the parade in Mohawk (hope we don't get wet). I'll be marching along with Sheriff Ron Lahti's "Posse" that carries the torch for Special Olympics, a run which starts in Copper Harbor each year.

Lot's to see and do here in the Keweenaw! Have a good week :o)
By
RD, Iowa (Rdiowa) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 08:42 am:

Maybe the dual spelling is similar to using "John" and "Jack" interchangeably.

Where is the home located in the first photo?


By Donna (Donna) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 08:44 am:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEWEENAW!!

A VERY special place on this planet!!


By Mike Schneider (Upmike) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 09:03 am:

Congratulations Keweenaw! I agree with Donna, very special it is! And really like the old photos.


By Helen in the U. P.! (Lahelo) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 09:16 am:

Congratulations to the Keweenaw!
I wonder if Brockway house is still standing? That would be a interesting thing to know!
Have a great Sunday everybody.
I love the old time pictures!


By Deb S. (Usedtobeayooper) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 09:32 am:

I too love the old pictures, and I love the Keweenaw!! There's not a better place on the earth than the Keweenaw Peninsula!!

The older fellow looks a lot like one of my dad's brothers did. I had to look twice at that picture.

Thanks for the interesting subject today!!


By Thomas Baird (Thomas) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 09:36 am:

Happy Birthday, Keweenaw! I thought the folks would be interested in these I found in Gaylord's newspaper. The first is a Lake Medora sunset and the other is about Ed Strolle, whose ancestors settled in Ontonagon.
http://66.129.39.201:8080/docushare/dsweb/View/Collection-396
(09-24-1987, Nature of Michigan, p.3)
http://66.129.39.201:8080/docushare/dsweb/View/Collection-370
(07-13-1989, Alpentimes, p.6)


By The Webmaster's Wife (Edie) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 10:53 am:

Mrs. Brockway's name was spelled several other ways as well, depending on the Census clerk at the time. In the 1850 Census it appears as "Lieena":

census

By
The Webmaster's Wife (Edie) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 11:08 am:

In both 1860 and 1880 Census her name is shown as "Lucina". Here is the summary page, as well as the original ledger:

brock2


brock3

By
Richard Wieber (Dickingrayling) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 01:40 pm:

Am amazed by the quality of the photo of the Brokways. It was taken before 1899. Their faces are as clear as any I've seen from that era.


By Capt. Paul (Eclogite) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 03:06 pm:

Good ole' black & white film, Richard; digital just can't match it!! J


By Alex "UP-Goldwinger" (Alex) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 06:12 pm:

The clarity is fantastic. What a great moment in time. This is also Detroit's tri-centennial


By Alex "UP-Goldwinger" (Alex) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 06:18 pm:

Can I assume she is the person that Brockway Drive is named after?


By E. Neil Harri (Ilmayksi) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 06:54 pm:

It is so good to see thse documents being preserved and researched.
One set of my grandparents lived in Phoenix.
He became a US citizen in Keweenaw County in 1897.
The other set lived in Copper Falls until 1891 and then moved to Houghton County.
I remember attending the Keweenaw centnnial in 1961. Seems like 10 years ago. Time flies.


By Daveofmohawk (Daveofmohawk) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 08:47 pm:

Neil: I too remember the centennial celebration in 1961. Traveled to Ahmeek from Calumet on bicycles. The traffic on U.S. 41 was backed up from Ahmeek halfway to Calumet.


By jbuck (Jbuck) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 09:56 pm:

John Dee has some shots of the celebration over on his page today!


By jbuck (Jbuck) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 10:01 pm:

John Dee has some shots of the celebration over on his page today!


By Charlie at Pasty Central (Chopper) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 10:23 pm:

Here is a great collection of shots by Paul Gerard, upload still in progress


By Richard Wieber (Dickingrayling) on Monday, July 25, 2011 - 12:47 am:

Alex---I always understood the mountain was named after Mr. Brockway. Think he was a school teacher or held some public office.


By eugenia r. thompson (Ert) on Monday, July 25, 2011 - 09:37 am:

Census takers were notorious for, shall we say, 'creative' spelling. Plus it's often hard to decypher their handwriting before the days of "please print".


By Diana P. (Diana) on Monday, July 25, 2011 - 11:04 am:

Interesting to me to note that the 1860 census lists the Brockway's home and post office as "Copper" rather than "Copper Harbor" ... and that the 1850 census lists their home as "Eagle Harbor". Thank you, Edie, for taking time to upload these documents! ;-)


By FRNash/PHX, AZ (Frnash) on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 - 06:33 pm:

More on the Brockways (and much more) may be found in (click →) Jim Dompier's Baraga County History.


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