William H Gransden

  General Notes:

Left England in 1837. Came to Canada, then in1859 came to Michigan to look for timber, He was sent by the Ingersoll lumber Co of Ingersoll Ontario, Canada. While in Canada William received his education. Some say he was a bookkeeper for the Lumber Co., have no Proof of that.
In 1853 he married Jannett Coon and they had one child Thomas M.(White Pine Tom) in 1854. After coming to Michigan he built a log house in section 14 and also ran a lumber camp/saw mill where he raised all of the family. He returned to Canada, met and married Mary Ann Elliott in a town called Walsingham. She was working in the hotel where he was staying. After their first child, named Catherine, he and Mary (1861) moved to Edenville (then called Jerome) settling on 40 acres in section 14. He paid $120.00 for the land. A deed was signed on Apr 10,1867 but not recorded untill May 9,1874. In 1896 he sold the forty acres to his son William Thomas Gransden. In 1914 the house was cut up and sold to the Edenville School for firewood by Lyle Gransden and Adrian Swanton. The forty acres to the south side was purchased by Mary Ann Gransden and later given to their son David, who paid $300.00 for it. The north forty was sold to Lyle Gransden in 1934 for $500.00
The land abstract indicates the names of William H. Gransden Sr. and William T. as William Gransden Jr.. The house was set on the northwest corner and had two driveways going out to what was called East River Road, later known as Water Road, which only came to Shearer Rd. The road followed the River, one drive went east and west the other went north and south to the road.
After a man was killed at one of his lumber camps see paper clipping William went to Chicago see paper clipping where he stayed until he returned to Edenville in 1890. His son David went to Chicago to bring him home. At that time he was in business selling coal and ice under the name of William Green (his mothers last name). After returning to Edenville he lived on the north forty, until the day of his death. He died when he went to the gully to cut a hole in the ice for the cows to drink water from and there suffered a heart-attack. He was found there by his wife Mary Ann. After the death of William, Mary moved in with David. William and his son William T. registered to vote when W. T. turned 21. It was noticed on May 9-1905 that William owned a yellow dog with a white ring around his neck and paid $1.00 for the dog license. In 1872 William took out his declaration of intention to become a US citizen.
Gransden, Wm. father 1832 – 1905 (b 2/19 73y)

EDENVILLE’S CENTENNIAL FARMS
THE GRANSDEN FARM
In 1867, William H. Gransden, the great grandfather of Galen Gransden, purchased 40 acres in Section 14 of Edenville Township on the west side of Water Road. The property is now owned by Galen and Margaret Gransden. Their three sons, (the 5th generation) Gary, Glen and Keith also own lots on the farm. Glen has built a home on the site of the original farmhouse. About 28 acres of the 40 are suitable for farming, and a portion of the property is still in production as a farm.
http://www.edenvilletwp.org/Newsletters/Fall06Newsletter.doc

William married Janet Coon in 1853. (Janet Coon died in 1854 in , Whitby, Ontario, Canada and was buried in 1854 in , Canada.)

William next married Mary Ann Elliott, daughter of John Elliott and Catherine Mc Guire, on 28 Apr 1859 in Walsingham, Ontario, Canada. (Mary Ann Elliott was born on 20 Mar 1839 in , New York, USA, died on 20 Mar 1926 in Freeland, Saginaw, Michigan, USA and was buried on 21 Mar 1926 in Edenville, Midland, Michigan, USA.)