• Sunday-What'sUP July 24 - 11:38 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":

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"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
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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

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

Where is the home located in the first photo?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEWEENAW!!

A VERY special place on this planet!!

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

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!

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!!

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)

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":

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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".

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! ;-)

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