The Nankin Township Historical Society

Not everything posted on this blog will be directly Nankin-related but will sometimes venture into the fringes of Wayne County, Detroit and even the entire state of Michigan and beyond. Since I regularly research the Eloise Asylum, Gundella the Witch, the William Ganong Cemetery and Eber Brock Ward and the children of the House of Ward they will make guest appearances here while also having their own blog space. This is one such instance. While sorting out my book room—which sounds rather haughty even though I've only two bedrooms and this is one of them—that basically consists of Michigan-related books, paranormal and literature I came across this article about Michigan Sentaor Zachariah Chandler by Maria Quinlan Leiby in the January / February issue of Michigan History . Chandler was a founder of the Republican Party and a good friend and political ally of Eber Brock Ward. Chandler along with Senator Benjamin Wade of Ohio comprised the leadership of the so-called radical right of...

Do you ever come across an antique photo and instinctively know that you must have it? The two main photos shown here of the John and Mary Wolfram family were just that and those of the children were a necessity because of the former. It turns out that the master of the household, John Wolfram, died at Eloise of alcoholic dementia on August 8, 1918. I was stunned when I found his death certificate and the corresponding details on the Eloise Find-A-Grave listing as I only intended to go to the estate sale at 6832 Burr Street in Taylor to buy a pitchfork, which wasn't there (and now that I re-look at the listing it wasn't even at that sale. I apparently went to the wrong one!). But in the back of my head I was thinking: ephemera. Luckily, somebody bought the frames that were attached but were thoughtless enough to leave behind these beautiful portraits and now we have the Wolfram family, Eloise alumni pauper John and some salvaged history. While I haven't been able to find o...