4–5.  Walter Joshua Gilbert was born in Byron Township, Kent County, Michigan, on Monday, December 4, 1871, and died in Galesburg, Michigan, on August 6, 1955. Primrose Judson was born in Kent County, Michigan, on Monday, January 31, 1876, and died in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, on May 17, 1958. They were both buried in Winchester Cemetery, Byron Center, Michigan. They were married in Byron Center, Kent Counry, Michigan, on Thursday, February 14, 1901. She took the name Primrose Gilbert. He is the son of Truman and Henrietta P. (Robbins) Gilbert. She is the daughter of Washington and Mary Lynn (McKenney) Judson. They had four children:

Walter Joshua Gilbert, age 17

Walter Joshua Gilbert's birth certificate is on page 253 of Liber 01 in Record of Birth, Kent County, Michigan. It was recorded on May 25, 1872. Primrose Judson's birth certificate is on page 119 of Liber 02 in Record of Birth, Kent County, Michigan. It gives her birthdate as February 28, 1876. She always used January 31, 1876. It was recorded on May 4, 1877.

Their marriage was recorded on page 15 of Liber 13 of Record of Marriage, Kent County, Michigan: Certificate of Marriage of Walter J. Gilbert and Rose Judson on February 14, 1901 at Byron Center, Kent County, Michigan. Both are white and give their residence and place of birth as Byron Twp., Kent County; neither was married previously. His age at last birthday was 29, hers was 26. His occupation was Farmer. The witnesses were Homer Judson and Gertie Van Splinter; the clergy was H.O. Chamberlin[sic]. Through good fortune, their wedding date falls between her conflicting birthdays (January 31 and February 28). However, her given age of 26 is inconsistent with either date. If she was born in January, she already would be 25 on February 4; if she was born on February 28, she would be only 24.

The earliest information on Walter Gilbert's childhood is that he played the clarinet in school but had to give it up because "the notes just went by too fast." Although the Gilbert family had been farmers for many generations, he shunned that pursuit and became a rural parcel post carrier, making his deliveries on horseback.

Walter and Rose Wedding

The marriage of Walter and Rose united two families that had been following in each other's footsteps for generations. The Judsons and the Gilberts had both come originally from Connecticut to the Connecticut Western Reserve, Northwestern Ohio, in the very early 1800s and were some of the original settlers of Portage County. Then, after about a generation, both families moved to Michigan, the Gilberts with a brief stay in Williams County, Ohio, then on to northwestern Barry County, and the Judsons some of the very first settlers of Byron Township, Kent County. They did not make these moves together and there is no evidence that the families even knew each other prior to the union of Rose and Walter.

After Walter and Rose were married, they probably lived with her maternal grandmother on the family farm since their second child, Ina, was born in the house. This house was on land purchased by her grandfather, Washington Judson, from the government before Michigan became a state.

In about 1910, Walter bought a lot in Wayland, Allegan County, Michigan and built a house: 129 West Sycamore Street. The house was constructed partially of glazed tiles about twice the size of an ordinary brick; the remainder was wood. It was a fine suburban two-story house. However, the family was not destined to live there long. First, Rose fell from an uncompleted stair landing while pregnant with their last child, Truman. From that time, she never felt good about the house. Second, Walter was apparently very allergic to something used in the construction of the house. He developed asthma and often sat up all night in misery. They moved to Dorr, also in Allegan County, before Truman was born. At some time during these years, Walter delivered mail on horseback.

House built by Walter Gilbert on the farm in Dorr.

Rose and Walter Gilbert 50th Anniversary

The Kalamazoo Gazette reported: Every St. Valentine's day Mr. and Mrs. Walter J. Gilbert, East Cork Street, have a special celebration. Not only are valentine greetings exchanged, but congratulations are in order, for it is their wedding anniversary. Feb. 14, 1901, the couple was married in her grandmother's Byron township home by the Rev. H. C. Chamberlain. To celebrate their golden wedding, Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert will hold an open house beginning at 2 Sunday afternoon, Feb. 18... Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert have a fine flower garden in the summer. Another hobby is "baby-sitting" with their nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Mrs. Gilbert pieces quilts, sews, and likes a good game of solitaire.

The break in the links with the past generations of farmers and tenant farmers, begun earlier as Walter chose not to follow in the agricultural footsteps of his father, was significantly widened by the decision to encourage their children to attend college. In 1922, the family moved to 942 Bellevue Place in Kalamazoo, near Western Michigan Normal School. Here they offered room and board to students. After receiving the required education and certification, their daughter, Iva, found a job as an art teacher. Soon, she and Harry Mohl were married and lived in the house. The Gilberts, unable to continue paying for the house due to the depression, sold it to them for one dollar.

In about 1934 Walter and Rose moved to Birmingham, Alabama. They lived there with their son, Raymond, and his family. Even there work was scarce. Walter spent much time building a large stall out of uncemented field stone to house the family cow. This structure reportedly stood for many years. A few years later they returned to Kalamazoo and lived on Hawley St. with their son, Raymond, and his family. At this time, their son in law, Harry Mohl, was working for the Sutherland Paper Company as a four color press operator. He found a job there for Walter as a maintenance man and cabinet maker. Walter took the position and remained there until 1945 when he retired.

In 1943, in preparation for his father's retirement, Truman Gilbert built an addition onto his house on Cork St. in Kalamazoo for his parents. It was a concrete block structure with a sunny, eat-in kitchen, pantry, bath, comfortable living room with a fireplace, and one bedroom. Walter built all of the cabinets and shelves in the house, and also some of the furniture. Later, a doorway was cut through between the two houses.

The initial impetus for developing this genealogy came from information that Walter Gilbert provided. He had the following information about their children's ancestry, which he used to draw in a diagram of concentric squares, with each larger square representing another generation. The comments and spellings are his.

Ancestry Chart Written by Walter Joshua Gilbert

Walter's health began to fail in his early 1950s, he became senile and was placed in the Norris Nursing Home in Galesburg, Michigan, where he died about a year later. About two years later, Rose's hip broke and she became bed-ridden. Her health deteriorated quickly and she died of stomach cancer in Matheson Nursing Home, Galesburg, Michigan.

It is interesting to note that Walter and Rose (Judson) Gilbert were twice sixth cousins, once removed: they both descended from Thomas and Sarah (Seabrook) Fairchild and from John and Mary Beach. They both died before these links was discovered

• [Author's note:] These are my paternal grandparents; I lived in a house attached to theirs for many years as a child. Most of the information here comes from personal knowledge or from interviews.
• Record of Birth, Kent County, Michigan
• Record of Marriage, Kent County, Michigan