There is a four (short) block square complex in Detroit. It is bounded on the North side by Pembroke Avenue; East side by Wyoming Street; South side by St. Martins Avenue; and West side by Pinehurst Avenue.

A Detroit Public School called Bates Academy is located on the eastern half of the complex. It was built in 1981.

The playground was named after the late Mayor Eugene I. Van Antwerp (1889-1962) is located on the western half of the complex. The playground has big grassy lawns, tennis courts, children’s playscape, baseball diamond, and one football goal posts.

For quick reference, the scenes with a mustached Eugene. I. Van Antwerp are into the documentary at the following times:

4:10 – observing innoculation

14:48 – on a horse, erroneously called Major Robertson

41:07 – front of line marching men

45:46 – showing then and now where the men marched

(My cousin Mike Denton also believes you might find him at the 9:03 mark in the back row, 11th from the left, in the Officers Corps picture.)

He received a deed for the property in 1671 from the English governor. In 1705, Van Antwerpen sold the western portion of his land to Jan Pieterse Mabee, and it was handed down through the Mabee family for 287 years!

The Mabee original structures, which were donated by descendant George E. Franchere, include the stone farmhouse, brick slaves quarters, and a frame pre-Erie Canal Inn. A family cemetary holds graves dating back to the 1700s. Replacing the barns which burnt down in the early 20th century are the 1760 Nilsen Dutch barn, which houses displays, an English barn, and several outbuildings.

Website for the farm.

The family name of Van Antwerp has the significance through the Dutch that the family to which this cognomen was applied resided near the wharf or the place of wharfing casting anchor or tying up the ships and in this sense also it could signify that before they took up residence in Holland or emigrated to America they came from the great seaport of Belgium Antwerp the capital of the province of the same name

The Van Antwerp Arms as used in Holland Shield D argent a trois cremailleres de sable rangees en fasce as used in Flanders Shield D or a une fleur de lis d azur au chef d herm charged de trois pals de gules celui du milieu surcharged d une ancre d argent Motto In puritate mentis I

Daniel Janse Van Antwerp was the progenitor of the family of this name in America He was the son of Jan John Van Antwerpen of Holland and was born in 1635 He came to Beverwyck Albany NY between 1656 and 1 66 1 for his name appears upon the records as being there in 1661 when he agreed to serve Adriaan Appel for one year for a recompense of thirty five beavers equal to about n2 and found He was industrious and before long was making his own way the owner of his own bouwerie and possessed of those things which go to make a farm of good proportions Shortly after the settling of Schenectady whither he removed so that he was freer to own land himself than he was allowed while within the immediate jurisdiction of Patroon Van Rensse laer he became possessed of the Third Flat on the south side of the Mohawk river about eight miles above that city and in 1706 he sold the western half of his bouwerie 63 a 79 rods to his neighbor Jan Pieterse Me bie

His village lot within the stockade or wall was on the east side of Church street next north of the present church lot and was 108 feet wide in front and 206 feet deep wood measure In 1676 when forty one years old he was one of the five magistrates

In 1701 he was made supervisor of the town Daniel Janse Van Antwerp married Maritje Maria Groot daughter of Symon Symonse

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Biography of Junius Wilson MacMurray (1944-1898) and John Van Antwerp MacMurray (1881-1960)

Junius Wilson MacMurray was born in Missouri, the son of Irish immigrant and blacksmith John Dennison MacMurray and Eliza Wilson. At the outbreak of the Civil War he recruited a company for the Union army, which was sworn in with the 1st Missouri Volunteers and reorganized into the 1st Missoury Light Artillery. After participating with his battery in the Battle of Vicksburg he was promoted Captain in 1863. At the end of the Civil War MacMurray participated in the Powder River Indian Expedition into Wyoming and Montana (June-November 1865). He joined the regular army in 1866 and graduated from the Artillery School at Fort Monroe, Virginia in 1870.

MacMurray served as professor of military science and tactics on detail at the University of Missouri (1872-1873) and at Cornell University (1873-1875). He taught on detached service at Union College at Schenectady, New York, where he was in charge of sanitary and landscape engineering (1879-1883). While in Schenectady he was editor of A History of the Schenectady Patent in the Dutch and English Times; being Contributions toward a History of the Lower Mohawk Valley, by Jonathan Pearson et al. (1883). In the summer of 1884, while stationed at Vancouver Barracks, WA, he served as Special Inspector of Indian Affairs and spent considerable time with the Native Americans of the region and their leader and prophet Smohalla. He shared his observations about these “Dreamers” of the Columbia River Valley in a lecture at the Albany Institute, which was published in 1886.

Additional places where MacMurray was stationed include Wadsworth, NY, and Fort Barrancas, Florida, where he contracted yellow fever during an outbreak in 1897. He died in May 1898, two months after he was promoted Major. In 1873, he married to Henrietta Van Antwerp, daughter of John H. Van Antwerp of Albany, and they had three children: Edna, Ethel and John Van Antwerp MacMurray.

John Van Antwerp MacMurray was born in Schenectady, New York on October 6, 1881 and entered boarding school in 1892 before attending Princeton University (1898-1902). After a year of travel in Europe he entered Columbia Law School in 1903. In 1906 MacMurray was admitted to the New York Bar, though he also sought to secure a position within the Foreign Service. While waiting for an appointment, he studied Elizabethan drama at Princeton, and in 1907 received a master of arts degree. That same year he was appointed Secretary of Legation and Consul General at Bangkok, Siam, followed by a position as Second Secretary of the embassy in St. Petersburg (1908-1911). After a brief interlude as Assistant Chief of the Division of Information, he became Assistant Chief and then Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department (1911-1913).

MacMurray started specializing in Far Eastern affairs with his consecutive appointments as Secretary of Legation in Peking (1913-1917), Counselor of the Embassy in Tokyo (1917-1919), and, back at the State Department, Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (1919-1924). In 1921 he published Treaties and Agreements with and Concerning China. In the same year he served as expert assistant on Pacific and Far Eastern affairs to American Commissioners at the International Conference on the Limitation of Armament in Washington. He also was an observer for the U.S. government at the Chinese-Japanese negotiations for the settlement of the Shantung question (1921-1922). In 1924 MacMurray became Assistant Secretary of State, but one year later he was appointed Minister to China (1925-1929), a position he desired. The unstable situation in China, however, soon led to conficts between MacMurray and his superiors at the State Department. This ultimately led MacMurray to resign in 1929, when he accepted an offer to become Director of the Walter Hines Page School of International Relations at Johns Hopkins University.

Faced with the fact that he could not secure enough funding for the Walter Hines Page School MacMurray relinquished his salary and reentered the Foreign Service in 1933, though he officially retained his position until 1935. President Roosevelt appointed him as Minister to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania (1933-1936), which was followed by an ambassadorship to Turkey (1936-1942). In these years, he also served as the Assistant Chairman of the International Wheat Advisory Committee (1933-1938) and chaired the Joint Preparatory Committee on Philippine Affairs (1937-1938). His last two years before retirement were spent back at the State Department as Special Assistant to the Secretary of State (1942-1944).

MacMurray married Lois R. Goodnow in 1916 and they had three children: Joan Goodnow, Frank Goodnow, and Lois (“Bisi”) Van Antwerp MacMurray. He died at his home in Norfolk, Connecticut on September 25, 1960.

On Friday ,May 14 ,2010, Thaine Dorin VanAntwerp passed away after a brief illness.

He was born April 17, 1921.  He was a WWII Veteran with Honors, Merits in the 12th Armored Division under General George Patton.  He retired from Ford Motor Car Company Division.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years Anna I. Cronander-VanAntwerp, daughter Judith M. Kershner (Royal), son James Dorin  (Lisa) VanAntwerp.  Preceded in death by daughter Linda M. VanAntwerp.

The Rev. (Father) Tom McDevitt passed away May 3, 2010 at the age of 77. He was born Oct. 5, 1932, the son of Gerald and Alice McDevitt.

He was a 1950 graduate of St. Mary’s High School, Jackson. Fr. Tom was ordained on June 29, 1958 in Louvain, Belgium. After attending Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, he completed seminary at the American College in Louvain, Belgium. In 2000, he reached Senior Priest status (priests never really retire) at St. John Student Parish, East Lansing, but continued to be active in many areas.

He was on the retreat team at St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt. He has been priest/chaplain and presenter at Retrouvaille weekends around the country and on the board of Retrouvaille International. 

He has continued his love of learning, teaching, and preaching the word faithfully and with love: studying at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and elsewhere, and teaching classes. As an International Fellow of Catholic Relief Services, he has traveled to Palestine and Israel and spoken at parishes throughout Michigan and beyond on behalf of the work done by CRS.

Tom deeply loved his God, his family and friends, his fellow priests and his own life as a priest, celebrating the sacraments and ministering to the people. Prayer and meditation were staples of his life.  He liked a good game of cards or Scrabble, enjoyed bowling with the Knights of Columbus and with family and walking or riding his bike. He loved to sing, saying, “I believe everything when I sing.”

He was enthralled with nature in its many forms; birds singing, surf pounding, stars at night. He had a great spirit of adventure both spiritually and concretely. Spiritually, this led him to explore different forms of spirituality and prayer, both Eastern and Western. Concretely that spirit led him to travel to many parts of the world, including a trip around the world with priest friends. In those travels he delighted in the culture, sights, and foods of each place he went. Now he is on the greatest adventure of his life.

He was preceded in death by his parents; sister-in-law, Kay McDevitt and brother-in-law, Stas Karasek. 

He is survived by his brothers, Jerry (Shirley) and Pat (Phyllis) McDevitt; sisters, Shirley (Bill) Phillips, Mary Karasek, and Kathy McDevitt; 18 nieces and nephews; 27 great-nieces and nephews; his much loved best friends, Fr. Jake Foglio and Jean Mather and family.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. John Church and Student Center, 327 MAC, East Lansing. The visitation will be held from 2-8 p.m. Wednesday at the church with a Scripture Service at 7 p.m. and one hour prior to the Mass on Thursday. The Rite of Committal will be held at 11 a.m. Friday in St. John’s Catholic Cemetery, Jackson.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Catholic Relief Services, 228 N. Walnut St., Lansing, MI, 48933-1122 in memory of Fr. Tom McDevitt.

The family is being served by Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, East Lansing, Michigan. Online condolences may be made at www.gorslineruncimaneastlansing.com.

Fr. Tom was a longtime pastor at the St. John Student Parish in East Lansing.  I was trying to find more information on him, but I didn’t find much online.  I know he celebrated 50 years as a priest a few years ago.

He sent out this note to the family that I thought I would share here…

Cecelia Elizabeth and Daniel Janse Van Antwerp of Troy announce the celebration of their 50th Wedding Anniversary on February 7th. Cecelia Martin lived in Royal Oak, Michigan. They were married in her parish church at St. Dennis, where five priest-relatives presided at the Mass.

Cecelia was born in Ramapo, New York, and is the youngest of four children of Thomas Stuart and Bernice Elizabeth (Frushour) Martin. Her father was a top salesman for West Disinfectant Company. Her family traces its roots back to Scotland and Ireland. She worked in the office both at Witbeck’s Appliances and at Dingeman Incentives. Thereafter she worked in sales at the J.L. Hudson Company, Jacobson’s Department Store, Bon-Wit Teller, and, most recently, at The Poster Gallery in the Fisher Building in sales and office work.

Danny was born in Detroit, Michigan, and is the youngest of eleven children born to Eugene Ignatius and Mary Frances (Mc Devitt) Van Antwerp. His father served on the Common Council of the City of Detroit for thirty years and was Mayor of Detroit in 1948-49. The family traces its Dutch roots back to 1655 in Schenectady, New York, and its Irish roots back to 1810 in Ennis, Maherrah and Ballyclough, Ireland. Danny served as a judge for over thirty-five years. He was Presiding Judge of the former Common Pleas Court of the City of Detroit and was Chief Judge Pro Tem of the 36th District Court in Detroit. He retired from that court in 1992 and served many years thereafter as a visiting judge throughout Southeastern Michigan.

Both Cecelia and Danny love meeting with friends and relatives, walking their three dogs, traveling, cruising, reading, jigsaw puzzles, photography, computers, shopping at Eastern Market, cider mills, berry-picking, parades, festivals (espc. Strawberry, Peach, Apple, etc.), flea markets, free arts & craft shows (espc. Ann Arbor, Rochester, Pontiac, Warren, Royal Oak, Birmingham, Bloomfield, Orchard Lake, Ferndale, Troy, etc.), neighborhood outdoor concerts, and watching, photographing and videotaping their grandchildren at T-ball, soccer, cross-country, swimming, plays, musicals, birthdays, holidays, recitals, ballets, etc. They also involve themselves in volunteer work, babysitting, and raising rescue dogs. Cecelia loves solitaire and is an expert cook and flower gardener. She is an outstanding folk dancer and dance teacher (Israeli, Armenian, Romanian, etc.), as well. Danny loves bridge, genealogy (14,000 on his data base), investing (formerly), crossword puzzles, spider solitaire, writing, weekly emailing out jokes (13th year), and Bible classes. He has written one book and co-authored two others. Sorry to say, neither are good athletes nor sports lovers (except for UDM & Notre Dame).

They are the proud parents of four wonderful and God-fearing children: Ann Elizabeth [Daniel] Wyers; Catherine Denise [Matthew] Partalis; Mary Patricia [Dennis] Moylan; and Karen Marie [Michael] Heupel.

They also have six wonderful and talented grandchildren: Audrey Ann Wyers, Patrick Daniel Wyers, Dakota Edwin Holbrook, Tyler Martin Moylan, Alec Matthew Moylan, and Lydia Mary Moylan.