Calvert Malcolm Coleman
 (1840-1919)

Calvert Malcolm Coleman was probably born in New York State sometime between 1836 and 1842.  He died at Eloise State Infirmary in Wayne county, Michigan, on March 3, 1919.  His death certificate lists his parents as Patrick Coleman and Bridget Hand and states that their place of birth was Ireland.

This first official record that could be found for Calvert was that of his marriage.  Calvert married Sarah Elizabeth Westfall in Van Buren Township, Michigan, on December 24, 1863.  Their first child, William, was born nine months later.  In all, Calvert and Sarah had eight children over the course of 20 years.  The youngest was Arthur Roy Coleman who was born in 1884.

Calvert and Sarah seem to have had a troubled marriage.  They moved several times.  They had a mortgage foreclosed.  Calvert had a problem with alcohol dependency.  Eventually, Sarah left him and moved to Detroit where she lived as a single mother with children.  She late divorced him and remarried.  He survived financially doing odd jobs he got from friends.  Near the end of his life, he lived at Eloise State Infirmary, an institution for those who were destitute, mentally ill, or who suffered from chemical dependency.

When he died, Calvert was buried by an old friend, James Pullen, who owned a funeral home in Belleville.  His burial plot did not have a headstone or other marker.  The photo below shows his great granddaughters, Carolyn Skalnek and Diane Coleman Rogers, standing in the vicinity of Calvert's grave.

In 2011, great grandson Tom Coleman invited family members to contribute some money so that we could buy a grave marker for Calvert.  Several people responded and, as a result, Calvert's grave site now have a proper marker.

For a larger image of this marker, click here.

For more information about Calvert, click here.