8–9.  Truman Gilbert was born in Paris Township, Portage County, Ohio, on Friday, April 6, 1827, and died in Salem Township, Allegan County, Michigan, on September 17, 1919. He died of cerebral apoplexy. Henrietta P. Robbins was born in New York on Monday, June 2, 1834, and died in Salem Township on January 27, 1908. They were both buried in Winchester Cemetery, Byron Center, Michigan. They were married in Ohio in 1850. She took the name Henrietta P. Gilbert. They do not appear in Marriages in Portage County, Ohio. They do not appear in Marriages in Portage County, Ohio. He is the son of Walter and Hannah (Calvin) Gilbert. She is the daughter of Timothy Titus and Phoebe (Conklin) Robbins. They had seven children:

From an item in a local newspaper dated May 3, 1906

Truman Gilbert, aged 79 years, a resident of Byron township for more than forty years, is a hale old pedestrian. He has just accomplished the remarkable feat of walking from Barton avenue, ten miles, to the home of his daughter, Mrs. G. Lillie. He did not sit down to rest once during the tramp.

Another item dated April 6, 1914.

Mr. Gilbert is celebrating his eighty-seventh birthday today. He was born April 6, 1827, in Paris township, Portage County, Ohio, and has lived near Grand Rapids for 54 years on a farm in Byron township.     The secret of his longevity, he says, is his scrupulous habits of life. He smokes only moderately and never drinks.     He was married in 1850. Nine children were born, of whom six are living. He has two married grand-daughters in the city, whom he visits from time to time.     By a singular coincidence, a great-grandchild, the baby of Mrs. Addie Gamble of 29 Buckley street, S.W., is observing its first birthday today. Mr. Gilbert's other [grand-] daughter here is Mrs. John VanderVeen of 846 Eastern avenue, S.E.

Truman and Henrietta (Robbins) Gilbert

Truman Gilbert was a farmer. The 1870 History and Directory of Kent County gives his address as (section) 3 Byron, North Byron. The Atlas of Kent County, Michigan—1873 shows, on the map of Byron Township, the southwesternmost township in the county, that T. Gilbert owned two 40-acre tracts in section three. Therefore, "T. Gilbert" on the map clearly refers to Truman.

His death record (Allegan County, Michigan, Death Record, vol. 4, p. 155) confirms his parents' names and the states in which they were born. It gives his death date as September 18, 1919, and his age as 92 years, 5 months, and 11 days, while his tombstone gives it a day earlier: the 17^th. [The 17^th is consistent with his age and birthdate.]

One of the two tracts, at what is now (1983) the southwest corner of the intersection of Burlingame and 72nd, held his house, about 400 feet south of 72nd on Burlingame. A visit to the house in January, 1983, showed that part of it was very old, having been built on a stone foundation, and that it had been added on to many times. The current owners, while replacing the roof, found that the original roof was cedar shakes that had later been covered over by a "tin" roof. They found an 1869 Indian-head penny in the cedar shakes as they were being removed. Also, in the wall of what is now the bathroom was found an 1888 newspaper. The barn and other out buildings have been removed and the land sold. There is a contemporary, suburban house now standing where the barn stood. The current owners have just removed the old carpeting from the original floors revealing a rather old looking tongue-and-groove flooring on one of the many additions.

The information in the following tables taken from the indicated census records. They were found at the National Archives and viewed on microfilm.

Sources:

• Much information came from his son, Walter, grandfather of the compiler.
• Allegan County, Michigan, Death Records, vol. 4, p. 155.
• History and Directory of Kent County—1870
• Atlas of Kent County, Michigan—1873
• Federal census records