Welcome, come on in... to the history of 1859 Plainfield NE! This house was so much fun to research! The current owner of the house actually has the original deed of the house, and the original deed to the land where the house sits. The land of the house dates back to 1838! So awesome! I was so lucky enough to borrow the deed and really look into its history. I will share photos of the deed throughout the post and summarize its history the easiest way I can. Put your feet up and enjoy the history of 1859 Plainfield.
General Facts:
City, State: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Neighborhood: Creston
Built: 1902 (could be 1918 actually)
Size: 4 bedrooms/2 bathrooms; 2058 sq. ft
*The original house number was 1833 Plainfield. The house was razed and moved to its current location in 1948, which is just a couple lots north at 1859 Plainfield.
As I mentioned above, the current owner of the house has the original deed to the house and the land. The first page of the deed is from September 10, 1838 when the United States government patented the land to Joseph D. Beers and S. Sherwood. (Michigan became a state in January 1837). The patented land is the circled area on the map. The current location of 1859 Plainfield is also pinned on the map.
Then according to the deed, in 1840, S. Sherwood sold his part of the land to John D. Beers. In 1846, John D. Beers sold the land to Timothy Dwight for $700 ($23,000 converted to 2021 currency). The images below are from the original deed.
Then in January of 1853, Timothy French sold the land to Martin L. Sweet for $2,500 ($85,000 converted to 2021 currency). Martin Sweet only mortgaged $350 of that $2,500. The next images are from the original deed.
Martin L. Sweet & first wife - Desdamona Higgins & second wife - Emma McBrien-Pegg
*Owned the land for 45 years (1853-1898)
Martin Luther Sweet
Birth: February 1819; Paris, Oneida County, New York
Death: February 1905; Grand Rapids, Michigan
Parents: James Sweet (born 1777; Connecticut - died 1833; Michigan) and Sarah Parsons (born 1791; Connecticut - death unknown)
Siblings: 7 - including step-brothers and sisters
*Martin Sweet married Desdamona Higgins in 1844.
Desdamona Submit Higgins
Birth: 1817; Fabius, Onondaga County, New York
Death: December 1890; Grand Rapids, Michigan
Parents: Unknown
Siblings: Unknown
Children with Martin Sweet: 3 - Martha, Cassius, and Frank
*Martin married Emma Pegg - McBrien in 1891
Emma Pegg - McBrien
Death: March 1914; St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada
Parents: Joseph Pegg (born 1800 - died 1878; Ontario Canada) and Margaret Hoffman (born 1809; died 1882; Ontario, Canada)
Siblings: 3 - including half siblings
First Husband: James McBrien. Married in 1861; Immigrated from Canada to the US in the 1880's.
Children with James McBrien: 2 - Walter (1865-1869) and Florence (1869-1933)
Children with Martin Sweet: 0
When Martin Sweet married Emma Pegg in 1891, Martin was 72 years old and Emma was 45.
In addition to owning the land that the house at 1859 Plainfield is on, Martin Sweet had his farm - with animals and crops across the street - the land today is the Kent Country Club. However, Martin Sweet did not live on the land - he lived in a mansion in the Heritage Hill neighborhood, downtown Grand Rapids. He just owned the land and collected money from the tenants that had houses on the land and also profited from the sale of the crops.
The images below describes the life of Martin L. Sweet.
*Martin Sweet built the Sweet Hotel in 1868, not 1968* Also, the biography fails to mention that he was Mayor of Grand Rapids in 1860.
When Martin Sweet went bankrupt in the 1890s, all of his assets went to auction. His farm was sold and eventually became the Kent Country Club. Across the street from the farm, was the plat of land that was used for houses for the workers of the Sweet farm. That plat of land was auctioned in 1898 and James M. Barnett was the highest bidder. James Barnett was the cousin and former business partner of Martin Sweet.
Then in 1900, James Barnett sold the land to Charles M. Norton.
In 1900, when Charles Norton bought the land, it included everything from Dean St to Knapp Ave and from Oakwood to Plainfield. You can see Norton's land and his greenhouse from the 1907 plat map below:
Similar to Martin Sweet, Charles Norton owned the land and then rented the houses that were there. However, Charles Norton did live on the land in his own house and operated the farm and greenhouse that was one block over from his house. Norton lived at 1935 Plainfield Ave. Side note - this same house later in the 1930's and '40's was the house of Minnie Robinette of the Robinette's Haus.
1903 - GR Press:
Throughout the years that Charles Norton owned the land on Plainfield, he sold plats, houses, and the farm land. Norton and his family built a house on Elmwood St, a block west of Plainfield. Norton retired from farming around 1914 and sold the remaining plats of land to the city of Grand Rapids.
Norton died in May of 1938 and his wife, Estelle, died two months later.
The plat of land that the house of 1859 Plainfield is on once was a farm with a large greenhouse owned by John Baker. Baker bought the land from Norton in 1911.
John Baker lived at 421 Hoover St Ne which is 1 block north of his greenhouse. He had his business there until around 1917. He then moved to 785-789 Northwood Ave NE - 0.5 miles north.
According to the property tax records, the house at 1859 Plainfield was built in 1902. However, I can't find record of that house until 1918. The house was originally 1833 Plainfield and there is a chance that house was located somewhere else on the property with a different number. Or the house could have been 1835 Plainfield - per the directory listing that is shown below. Unfortunately, the deed is missing that exact information.
The first first family that I know for certain that lived in the house was the Green family.
Clifford H. Green & Bernice Lord
Their daughters: Elise and Berdella Green
*Years in the house: 10 years (1918-1927)
Clifford Henry Green
Birth: December 1883; Grattan Township, Kent County, Michigan
Death: July 1934; Big Rapids, Michigan
Parents: Henry W. Green (born 1849; Grattan Township, MI - died 1914; Grand Rapids, MI) and Martha Pond (born 1853; Michigan - died 1912; Courtland, Kent County, MI) Henry Green was a farmer in Grattan Township.
Sibling: 1 - Berdella Green (1883-1903)
Clifford Green married Bernice Lord on November 11, 1902 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Bernice Lord
Birth: March 1883; New Mexico
Death: September 1950; Michigan
Parents: Step-father - Fred Pimpert (born 1852; Germany - died 1911; Grand Rapids, MI) and Mary Mohneke - Chenel (born 1859; Germany - died 1929; Grand Rapids, MI)
Sibling: Unknown
*Bernice's mother lived at 1833 Plainfield with the Green family for 1 year in 1920.
Clifford and Bernice had two daughters who also lived at 1833 Plainfield NE.
Elsie Marie Green
Birth: 1906; Grand Rapids, MI
Death: March 1991; Los Angeles, CA
Spouse: Floyd J. Martin
Bernice Lord
Birth: 1911; Grand Rapids, MI
Death: May 1994; New Jersey
Spouse: Unknown
Clifford was a superintendent of the National Manufacturing Piano Co. Clifford and Bernice were divorced in June of 1927. Bernice stayed in Grand Rapids, while Clifford remarried and moved 60 minutes north to Paris Township, Michigan.
In July of 1934, Clifford Green was involved in a terrible car accident on U.S. 131 just south of Big Rapids, MI. Clifford suffered severe head injuries and died in a hospital shortly after.
Bernice Green never remarried. The last record I found of her is from 1940 when she was a ward maid for the Sunshine Sanatorium.
Other articles and documents about the Green Family:
Part 2 will be posted later this weekend! In that post, it will explore the next owners who built a funeral home next door- which is still in business today!