General Facts (according to the City of Grand Rapids Property Tax public website):
City, State: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Neighborhood: Creston
Built: 1933
Size: 3 bedrooms/2 full bathrooms, 1200 sq. ft; Single Family
When I started researching this house, I started with the Grand Rapids City Directory for 1933 to see who first lived there. Few days later, I came across a Grand Rapids Press article from 1926 that listed someone living at the address. Sure enough, there were four other families that lived there before 1933. Not sure why the property records list 1933 as the built date Maybe the house was rebuilt, or maybe that's the first time property taxes were paid...but I've learned it's common to have that variance.
*Occupants of 450 Kenwood are highlighted in red font to help the reader keep track of names.*
1926 - EDUCATO - John, his wife, Rose (Vitale), and their daughter, Mary
John was born in July 1894 in Palermo, Sicilia to Louis and Mary (Comzoso). He immigrated to the United States in 1918. I couldn't easily find information about his siblings or parents. From what I could find, it looks like his parents stayed in Palermo. John was the only Educato in Michigan during the 1920's and 30's.
Rose Vitale was born in July 1905 in Palermo, Sicilia to Andrew and Domenica (Lomonaco). She immigrated with her parents and an older brother in 1907. Her parents had six more children in Grand Rapids, with the oldest born in 1919. One of the addresses her family lived at was 116 Graham St. Her father was a general laborer - at one time a - Sweeper for the Railroad. Rose is an ancestor of the same Vitale family that owns the popular restaurant chain in Grand Rapids. However, the owner of the restaurant immigrated from Palermo in the 1960's, I'm not exactly sure the direct relation.
John and Rose got married in 1922 in Lansing, MI. According to the Grand Rapids 1922 City Directory, John was a clerk at the Sam Bauchina store at 1501 Wealthy St - where he also lived. In 1923, he ventured to the North East side of the city, which was very courageous of him since it was out of the 'Little Italy' neighborhood. He opened his own store at 1224 Plainfield Ave NE where he sold ice cream, candy, cigars, magazines, etc... He lived with Rose's parents on Graham St at that time but then the next year moved to 6 Leonard St NW, and in 1925, he lived at 1340 Plainfield Ave NE.
Their daughter, Mary, was born in 1924, so she was two years old when they moved to 450 Kenwood. The same year, 1926, John and another confectionery store owner/salesman, Arie Donker, signed a partnership to open Donker's Coffee House at 1373 Plainfield NE. I'm not sure the involvement John had in the coffee house, but the business was operable until 1930, then it was sold to Adrian Tedler.
John and his family only lived at 450 Kenwood for one year. He moved his confectionery store to 342 State St and lived at 318 State St the following year. In 1931, their son, Louis, was born.
In 1935, he owned a restaurant, The Triangle Cafe, and lived at 1326 Wealthy St; Ten years later, he owned Educato's Bar at 1005 Wealthy St (current location of The Meanwhile).
John died in 1942; Rose continued to operate Educato's Bar for many years after, even living in the apartment above it. She also invested in other restaurants and businesses in Grand Rapids with her son following in her footsteps. Rose passed away in 1984.
1927: ROSS - Rev John A, wife Ruby (Gowanlock), sons James, Donald, and David
John Allister Ross was born in October 1887 in Bruce, Ontario, Canada to Donald and Eliza (Armstrong). He was the oldest of his five siblings. Both his parents were born in Ontario; his paternal grandparents immigrated to Canada from Scotland while his maternal grandparents immigrated from Ireland. Donald was a farmer, school teacher, and a pastor which played a large role in John's life as well as his brother, William.
Ruby Gowanlock was born July 1890 in Winnipeg, Canada to Adam and Mary (Thomas). She was also the eldest of her siblings, but there were eight total Her parents were both born in Canada; Her father's great grandparents immigrated to Canada from Scotland. Her mother's parents immigrated from Wales and England. Ruby's father, similar to John's, was a farmer.
John graduated from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago from 1911-1912 and Chicago is where he met Ruby, according to his obituary. Not sure why Ruby was in Chicago at that time, maybe she was also a student at the school. (I was unable to confirm but I highly doubted they allowed women at that time). John and Ruby were married in 1914 in Chicago, IL. They later moved back home and lived in Last Mountain, Saskatchewan with John's family. During their tenure in Last Mountain, John worked as a farmer, per the Canada Census. John and Ruby had three sons all born in Saskatchewan - James, Donald, and David.
In 1922, John, Ruby, and their three sons immigrated to the United States - and they lived in Stanton, MI where John was a Pastor at Stanton Baptist Church. After three years in Stanton, he became pastor at First Baptist Church in Big Rapids.
There is this one advertisement from October 1926 in the GR Press that shows Rev John A Ross as a guest at the New Lake Drive Baptist Church in East Grand Rapids. I can't find a source that shows his address during the 1920's other than 1927. Since he did live at 450 Kenwood in '27, I assumed he worked frequently in Grand Rapids area in addition to Big Rapids. There are no other records that place the Ross family in Grand Rapids.
In 1935, John Ross and his family moved to Petoskey where he served as the Pastor at Parr Memorial Baptist Church. His brother, Rev William Ross, preceded his tenure. Rev William Ross then went to Big Rapids to serve as Pastor, so I can only wonder if they switched roles or if the two churches were connected and many pastors switched frequently?
John and his family stayed in Petoskey for 14 years until he accepted a teaching role at the Fundamental Baptist Bible Institute in Fort Worth, TX. From 1950-1961, he taught at the Baptist Bible Seminary in Missouri, and then moved back to Petoskey in 1961 to retire.
John died in April 1968; Ruby died September 1976; James died in 1990 in Illinois; Donald died in 2004; David died in 2006.
1928-1930: VAN KUIKEN - Thomas, wife Irma (Powers), and their children Thomas Jr and Geraldine
Thomas was born in June 1898 in Grand Rapids, MI to Ralph "Ruurt" and Tillie (DeVries). He was the fifth child for Ralph and Tillie who had ten children from 1890 - 1907.
Thomas grew up first on 329 9th St NW and then by 1917 they moved to 871 9th St NW. The house on 329 9th was razed, but 871 9th is a beautiful historic house that was built in 1890.
Ralph Van Kuiken was born in Houwerzijl, Groningen, Netherlands in 1862 and immigrated to the US in 1880. He was one of the many Dutch wood carvers that immigrated to make his name in the furniture capital and its industry. He worked at the Widdicomb Furniture Factory, co-founded the Grand Rapids Wood Carving Co, and the Novelty Wood Works Co all by 1898. After the Novelty Wood Works had a fire, he worked at the Klise Manufacturing Co (which eventually acquired GR Wood Carving Co) and then founded the Superior Carved Moulding Co. He lived at 871 9th St NW until he died in 1939. I can only imagine the beautiful wood work inside that house!
Tillie DeVries was born in 1868 in Grand Haven, MI. Her parents immigrated from Leens, Groningen, Netherlands in 1867. Her parents and two brothers eventually moved to Grand Rapids as well and lived at 181 McReynolds St NW and 228 10th St respectively. Within two years, both brothers died of pneumonia - one died of lobar pneumonia while working at one of the largest factories - Widdicomb Furniture Co.
Ralph and Tillie were members of the Dutch Christian First Reformed Church. Below is an excerpt from a Calvin College blog -
"First NRC had its origins in a group that left First Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1868. The NRC group was composed almost completely of Zeelanders who had arrived within a few years of each other. They shared a similar Dutch regional dialect, ethnic heritage, and in many cases direct family ties. Many also had come from the same Reformed denomination in the Netherlands, the Church Under the Cross, which was a more conservative-minded offshoot of the 1834 Seceders who formed what eventually became the Gereformeerde Kerken in the Netherlands and the Christian Reformed Church in North America. (In 1868 the CRC was known as the True Dutch Reformed Church.)"
Irma Powers was born in 1895 in Perry, MI to Edward and Maytie Brandt. Irma and her family moved to Grand Rapids by 1920 where her father worked as a Pipe Fitter at Showcase Co (formally located on Monroe and Leonard).
When Thomas and Irma got married in November 1920, Thomas was working as a Press Feeder and Irma was a Book Binder. By 1928, when they moved into 450 Kenwood, they had two kids - Thomas Jr (1921) and Geraldine (1926). At that time, Fairmount Public School was at the corner of Julia St and Oakwood Ave so I'd assume the kids attended school there.
Thomas' brothers and/or uncles had a sewer contractor company, Van Kuiken Bros, that won many city bids on the North East side of the city.
According to the 1930 census, Thomas was working in Real Estate. He advertised his inventory of homes very often in the Grand Rapids Press and also promoted his fire insurance business. He petitioned the city for building permits for empty plots of land close to Kenwood St - on Plainfield Ave.
In 1931 they moved out of 450 Kenwood and lived at 910 Richmond St where his Real Estate and Fire Insurance company was headquartered. The next year, Thomas and Irma moved back in with his parents on 9th St and went back to working as a Pressman at the Torren Printing Co.
By 1935 they moved to Detroit, and on the 1940 census, Thomas and Irma and their kids lived in Highland Park, MI. Thomas was a Pressman at Ockford Printing Co, and even Irma was working as a Book Binder again. Thomas Jr was working as a stock boy in a retail store as well. (I can only imagine that the financial constraints of the Great Depression really impacted that family since a woman and a child were working which wasn't too common.)
Thomas and Irma stayed in the Detroit area until they passed away in 1980 and 1970 respectively. I was lucky enough find these photos of Ralph and Tillie (Thomas' parents) and the entire Van Kuiken family on Ancestry.com:
Thomas' father obituary (1939):
