This is the second and final post of 2510 Coit Ave NE. This post will explore the lives of two more families that lived there from 1937 until 1966.
*This house was requested by the current owner and a few weeks ago I sent her Addison Keller's (the first family) obituary. I jokingly asked her if her house was haunted since Addison Keller's funeral was at the house (not knowing anything about these next families). She responded with this story...and after researching these families which included three more deaths/funerals at the house, it's kind of creepy!
"Not really a ghost but “birds” that my then toddler son “saw” when he was really young. He would talk about them often, telling us to watch out for them (because they were flying in the house apparently) Once, I came into our living room to see my son and dog both tracking something that I did not see. This went on for months. Eventually he stopped mentioning them and we thought it was just a quirky thing he did, like have an invisible friend type thing. Later, we had a daughter that didn’t know anything about “the birds” that her older brother saw. We had forgotten about them and never mentioned it to her. When she was about twelve, she mentioned that she often saw a “bird-like figure” in the dining room when she got up for a drink during the night.
I can tell you my blood turned cold when she told me that because I knew that she didn’t know what her brother saw. She said when she saw it she never felt scared or anything, more like hey, there it is again."
Pictures below: From the current owner of their kitchen remodel and what the house looked like when they bought it in 1994:
Recap:
1st family: Addison & Gertrude Keller
(1926-1929)
2nd family: Gain & Lucile Stinson
(1929-1936)
1937-1945: Noonan - Joseph & Mary
Joseph Matthew Noonan was born on March 25, 1894 in Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts to Daniel and Ellen (Emperor). Joseph was the youngest child for Daniel and Ellen who had two older sons as well. On the 1900 US Census it showed that Ellen actually gave birth to 4 children, but in 1900, only 3 were living.
Joseph's father, Daniel, was born in 1856 in Boston, Massachusetts but both of Daniel's parents (Joseph's grandparents) immigrated from Ireland. Daniel worked his entire life in a shoe factory in Lynn, MA. Actually, Lynn, Massachusetts was known as the Shoe Capitol of the World and by 1870 more than 40% of shoes in the country was produced in Lynn.
*Side story- Jan Matzeliger, was born in in 1852 in Africa to a white Dutch Engineer father and a Surinamese slave mother. He worked in his father's factory as a kid and when he was 18 years old he left for the USA. He settled in Lynn, MA and worked in the shoe factories. He had a passion for invention and after 5 years of hard work, (he only spoke Dutch and was Black) he received a patent for an automatic shoe lacing machine in 1883. His machine revolutionized the entire shoe industry. Shoe production increased from making 50 shoes a day to more than 750. The shoe industry was one of the main industries in the Lynn, MA and served as primary income source for thousands of families - including Joseph's.
Ellen Emperor, Joseph's mother, was born in 1856 in Rockland, Maine to Irish immigrants who also worked in a shoe factory.
In 1900, when Joseph was 6 years old, his family consisted of his parents - Daniel and Ellen - who were both 44 years old and two older brothers who were 19 and 16 years old. His dad was a foreman at a shoe factory, and they lived in an apartment building in downtown Lynn, MA.
The next year, 1901, Ellen, Joseph's mother, passed away due to consumption - aka tuberculosis. Consumption was the leading cause of death in the early 1900's. Joseph was only 7 years old.
I don't know the exact year, but it was very shortly after his mother's death that Joseph moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan to live with his maternal grandfather and aunts. Joseph's brothers were old enough to take care of themselves. However, Joseph, being only 7, obviously needed more care and I'm sure his father was working 10+ hours in a factory and just couldn't provide the attention Joseph needed.
James Emperor, Joseph's maternal grandfather who immigrated from Ireland in 1849, moved to Grand Rapids from Rockland, Maine around 1900. The reason - his son, Rev Cornelius Emperor, was assigned to St. Andrew's Church in Grand Rapids right after he finished seminary school. Two of James' daughters also moved to Grand Rapids from Rockland, Maine - Catherine and Anna Emperor.
In 1910, Joseph Noonan was 16 years old and had been living with his grandfather and aunts for a few years. He used his late uncle's connections and attended Catholic Central High School - which was next door and affiliated with St. Andrew's. The family lived at 117 Earl St and at 85 years old, Joseph's grandfather was still working 52 weeks a year as a lime burner.
In October of that same year, 1910, James Emperor, Joseph's grandfather, passed away.
His aunts - Katherine and Anna - continued to raise Joseph until he graduated from Catholic Central High School in 1912. In 1916, at 21 years old, Joseph worked as a bookkeeper for Golden & Boter Transfer Co and stilled lived with his two aunts on Earle St.
In 1918, during WWI, Joseph Noonan enlisted into the US Army and was assigned to the 330th infantry. A year later, Joseph came back to Grand Rapids and signed up to join the Third Division of Naval Militia from Grand Rapids.
A couple years later in 1922, Jospeh moved to the northeast side of the city to 129 Palmer St NE - the first time he lived without his aunts. In the GR Directory it is stated he was a salesman, but I found an ad in the GR Press from the same year that showed him building garages.
I don't know if it happened to be a coincidence or not, but Joseph's neighbor who lived at 131 Palmer St NE happened to be Mary Driscoll -the woman he married later that year. Also, I would like to point out that Joseph's brother was a witness to the marriage, so he did stay in close contact with his family back in Lynn, MA.
Mary Elizabeth Driscoll was born in October 1898 in Grand Rapids, Michigan to Michael and Anna (Curran). She was the only child for Michael and Anna, who both immigrated from Ireland in 1866 and 1884 respectively.
Mary's father worked for 30+ years for the Grand Rapids Gas Light Co as a teamster, driver, and general laborer (which was talked about in Part II of the 624 Henry Ave house series). Mary grew up in the Creston neighborhood at 131 Palmer St NE - actually her father was the original owner of the house when it was built in 1890. (Until 1912, the address was 197 Palmer).
On the 1910 US Census, Mary, who was 12 years old, wasn't shown living with her parents. I can't seem to find a record of her location through the census documents. So I'm not sure if she went away to school, went to live with relatives, or if it was just a mistake on the census reporting. However, when Mary was an adult, she lived back with her parents on Palmer St. In 1917, Mary was involved in a train/street car accident that left 2 people dead and many injured. To read the full article, click here.
After high school, Mary worked as a stenographer for a number of years. It was a professional job which required specialized training so she was well educated and earned her own money.
When Joseph and Mary married in 1922, Joseph was 28 years old and Mary was 24. Both were somewhat older than the norm back then, and both even had professional jobs. Mary moved in with Joseph at 129 Palmer St - where they would stay for the another 10+ years. (Mary's parents were still living right next door!)
Joseph worked for many years as a salesman for Togan-Stiles Company - a business that made factory built houses, garages, cottages, and more. As it was common when women got married back then, Mary stopped working as a stenographer.
In May of 1923, Joseph and Mary celebrated the birth of their first child, Edward Joseph. Then five years later in June of 1928, they celebrated again when their daughter Mary Joanne was born.
Joseph and Mary were very active in a variety of organizations such as: the Ancient Order of the Hibernians (A.O.H.; Irish-Catholic Fraternity), American Legion, Knights of Columbus, St. Mary's Guild, and were also members of St. Alphonsus Parish.
In 1937, the Noonan family still lived at 129 Palmer St - Joseph was 43 years old and and still worked as a salesman but now at a Chicago based company - American Celotex Co. Mary was 39 years old and was still very active in organizations as she raised their children, Edward and Mary who were 14 and 8 years old respectively. A few years prior, Mary's mother, Anna Driscoll, passed away. Her father, Michael was still living next door to them but for the last six years he was living alone at 85 years old.
I'm not exactly sure what led to the decision to move in 1937 -but Joseph Noonan bought 2510 Coit Rd NE from Lucile Stinson in late 1937. Actually, as one may recall from Part 1 - Lucile Stinson moved into 129 Palmer St in 1937...so I wonder if Lucile Stinson traded properties with Joseph Noonan. (House trading was a common practice back then) or if they just bought each respective property straight up?! The Noonan family was younger and needed more space while Lucile Stinston's family was smaller and she probably wanted to downsize.
The house at 2510 Coit Rd provided enough space and Mary's father, Michael, actually moved in with them. The below image is the 1940 US Census. The Noonan family owned 2510 Coit, the home value was $10,000 ($186,000 in 2021) and the salary Joseph made that year was $4,137 which is equivalent to $77,297 in 2021.
(Comparing the other salaries from other households on that the same census page, it wasn't the highest salary but it was definitely one of the top. However, the home value was the highest from the eight other homes on the page.)
The census data was collected in April of 1940.Two months later, in June of 1940, Mary's father, Michael Driscoll, passed away in the house at 2510 Coit Rd.
Tragically, in just another two months after that in August of 1940 on his way to visit his brothers in his hometown of Lynn, MA, Joseph Noonan unexpectedly died in Ontario, Canada. His funeral service took place at the house at 2510 Coit Rd.
Suddenly the house at 2510 Coit went from constant bustling of noises as multiple generations lived all together to a quiet, somber house as Mary was quickly left without her father and husband - the children without their grandfather and dad within a 4 month span.
A year later, in 1941, Edward graduated from Catholic Central High School and started work as stockman.
In 1943, Mary Noonan went back to work as a stenographer and worked for the US Government. Her son, Edward, was at a preflight school in San Antonio, Texas as he enlisted into the military.
Mary's daughter, Mary Joanne, graduated from Marywood Academy in 1946 and then later attended Grand Rapids Junior College in 1947.
In 1945/46, right after her daughter finished school, Mary Noonan sold the house at 2510 Coit Rd. In 1948, at 50 years old, she remarried to a fellow widower, Stanley Panfil who was 55 years old.
Mary Noonan remained in Grand Rapids with her new husband. She passed away at 95 years old in 1993. Edward J. Noonan passed away in 1997. Mary Joanne Noonan passed away in 2013.
1946 - 1966: BALTZER- Fred & Frances
Frederick Arthur Baltzer Jr was born on February 12, 1900 in Arner, Essex County, Ontario, Canada to Fred and Ada (Quick). The Baltzers were a small family as Fred had one younger brother who was born in 1912.
Fred Jr's grandfather immigrated as a child from Lorraine, France/Germany (multiple records differ but probably changed as the countries' borders shifted) and were farmers. Fred's Jr father, Fred Sr, was also a farmer the first part of his life and later was a carpenter.
Fred Jr's mother, Ada Quick, was also born in South Colchester, Essex County, Ontario, Canada as well as her father in 1830 (Fred's grandfather). The Baltzers and Quicks were longtime farmers in Essex County for many generations.
Not much is known about Fred Baltzer's early life in Essex County, Ontario. But in June of 1919, Fred was 19 years old and was worked as a bookkeeper, he married a fellow bookkeeper, Frances Adams, who was 20 years old.
Frances Myrl Adams was born July 12, 1898 in Harrow, Essex County, Ontario, Canada to John and Alvira (Huffman). Frances also came from a small family as she was the only child.
Both Frances' maternal and paternal line can be traced back to the mid 1700's in Colchester, Essex County - all were farmers.
When Frances was 7 years old in 1905, her father, John, passed away due to paralysis. Shortly after that, Frances' maternal aunt moved in and helped her mother take care of their farm.
As with her husband, there isn't much known about Frances' early life before she married Fred Baltzer in 1919. A year later when they lived in Windsor, Ontario, in September of 1920, Frances and Fred had a daughter - Frances Amelia.
According to the 1921 Canada Census, Fred, Frances and their daughter Frances Amelia, along with Frances' mother and aunt were living all together in an apartment in downtown Windsor, Ontario. Fred worked as a bookkeeper for the local gas company.
Then in 1922, Fred, Frances, Frances Amelia, and Frances' mother all immigrated from Windsor to Detroit, Michigan, USA. They could have immigrated because of a job opportunity for Fred. As similar to his work in Windsor, in Detroit, Fred to worked as an accountant for Michigan Consolidated Gas Co. The family lived at 12339 Cherrylawn Ave.
Not much changed in 1930... the Baltzer family, including Alvira Adams, Frances' mother, were still living in Detroit - 14397 Coyle St - and Fred was still an accountant for Michigan Consolidated Gas Co.
10 years later, on the 1940 US Census, Fred, Frances, and Frances Amelia lived at 15749 Ashton Road in Detroit. Five years earlier, Frances' mother, Alvira Adams, passed away so it was just the three Baltzers in Detroit. Fred was more of an executive at Michigan Consolidated Gas as he was a Controller. His salary, according to the census, was $5,000+...which is $93,400+ in 2021. Frances Amelia worked as a "beauty operator at a beauty shop" at 19 years old - she made $40 ($747 in 2021 currency)
The Baltzers bought the house at 2510 Coit Rd in 1946 when they first moved to Grand Rapids. Fred had a new job - he was the Controller for Michigan Bakeries Inc.
Information about the Baltzers while they lived in Grand Rapids is very scarce. Frances Baltzer was involved in the Grand Rapids Republican Club and was a charter member of the Bob Taft Club.
Fred Baltzer continued to work at Michigan Bakeries Inc - he retired as an Executive Vice President.
Frances Amelia married John F Morey who was from Ionia, Michigan - and they lived in Ionia during their life together. Frances Amelia died in November of 2000.
Frances Baltzer passed away in 1965 while her and Fred were living at 2510 Coit Rd. Shortly after that, Fred sold the house and moved to Ionia to be closer to his daughter. Fred Baltzer passed away in 1982.
Thank you for reading about the history of 2510 Coit Ave NE! The four families - Keller, Stinson, Noonan, and Baltzer all shared a tragedy in common - they all experienced a loss of a parent as a child.
It is kind of strange, but Joseph Noonan was born in Essex County, MA and Fred and Frances Baltzer were born in Essex County, Ontario!
Also, between those four families, there were two funerals and two deaths that took place at the house.
I couldn't find a connection between what the current owner's children experienced as bird like figures floating around the house. But maybe the spirits of the previous owners were watching over the children and protecting them.
I want to thank the current owner for her stories and for sharing pictures of their time in the house. It's a gorgeous home with a very vibrant and influential history!
