CLAUD EDWIN COLEMAN (Sarah Westfall 8, Samuel 7, George 6, John D. 5, Simon 4,

Jurian 3, Symen 2, Jurian 1) son of Calvert M. Coleman and Sarah E. Westfall; b. 12 Jan. 1875, New

Boston, MI; d 18 Aug. 1915, Belleville, MI. Claud mar. 8 July 1894, Detroit, MI, to JENNIE MAUDE

HEATH, daughter of William C. Heath and Annie E. Gettins. Maude Heath was b. 3 Dec. 1878, Chicago,

IL, and came to Detroit, MI, when she was a child. She d. 24 Apr. 1962, Wayne, MI, of heart failure.

Claud died from diphtheria at his home in Belleville, MI. Maude Heath Coleman remarried about two

years later to D. Wayne Johnson, a widower. Wayne Johnson d. in June 1950. Claud and Maude are buried

on the Coleman plot at Hillside Cemetery in Belleville, MI; Wayne Johnson is buried on the Johnson plot in

the same cemetery.
 

In 1891, Claud Coleman lived in Detroit with his parents at 277 15th Ave .. He worked as a butcher in

Detroit until 1894, when he went to work as a hostler at Cadillac Stables ..

Claud Coleman and Maude's brother, Edward Heath, opened a butcher shop in Belleville in 1899. They

advertised in the Bel1eville Enterprise newspaper in April and June 1899:

Coleman and Heath the one-price meat market

is now doing business in first class style.

Orders taken for chickens * Meats are the very best * Free Delivery to any part of the village

* Highest cash market price paid for eggs and poultry *

Coleman and Heath are now prepared to furnish

first class cuts of meat at the lowest possible price.

Give them a trial and be convinced. A good supply of fresh, salt and smoked meats

Unfortunately, the meat market business was not successful. The young Coleman family moved back to

Detroit and, in 1901 and 1902, Claud worked as a conductor on the Detroit street cars. By this time, he and

Maude had three children and lived at 1072 Porter St., Detroit The young parents decided that rural

Belleville would be a good place to raise their family, so in 1903, they moved into the small, white

clapboard house at 59 Liberty St., Belleville.

Claud operated a blacksmith shop in Belleville, MI, at Five Points where the City Offices now stand.

Author, Alger Buell Crandell, tells about the Coleman family in his book, "Belleville the Happy Town."

"Much of the smithing for the farmers in our south country went to Krebs at New Boston, some to

Baxter at Willis and some, of course, to Coleman at the five points in Belleville. There used to be active

smiths at Martinsville, West Sumpter, and Rawsonville, but the shops had crumbled into ruins before our

time. Coleman seemed to be the biggest and strongest of all, perhaps because we were so often treated to

the sight ofhis load of children at quitting time. His home was across a vacant field, on the far side of the

old ravine. His wife, sweet Maude, used to release a half dozen of the smaller ones to 'Go get Papa,' and

they'd scurry down and up and across for the gay ride, 'horseback,' home. On his wide-spread shoulders, on

his back, straddle each hip, and wherever little arms could find a handhold, and muscled arms could circle

them, the youngsters would shout their joy while their sire galloped to the house. Victorine, aged seventeen,

was more apt to stand laughing, though Beatrice claims she wouldn't have missed it for all the gold in the

mountains. Vic was one of my girls in school, and her account impressed me with the man's love of his

children."

Alger Buell Crandell also says that Coleman's blacksmith shop was a hangout for old Civil War

veterans. Claud's step-father, Jim Renton, was probably one of those veterans. Jim had joined the Michigan

Regiment early in the War. The fITSt-hand accounts of Civil War experiences must have been thrilling to

hear.

Pearl Coleman Mitchell and Beatrice Coleman Riggs had some wonderful memories of their childhood

in Belleville. Beatrice told that their house was across the street from the Huron River which at that time

was a meandering stream, not yet dammed. The ''flats'' at the bottom of a ravine bordered the river, and

here, her father kept a horse and a cow. When he wanted the horse, he'd whistle and it would come up the

slope. The children loved to pick raspberries and violets which grew on the "flats," and the paw-paw bushes

were a good place to change clothes when going for a swim in the the river.

Every Sunday, their father, Claud, would hitch up the horse to the sUrrey, which even had a fringe on

top, and they would all go for a drive. Claud also had a sulky which he would take to the track at Amrhein

Lumber Co., and exercise his horse. Sometimes the men would race their horses there.

Pearl remembered riding in the surrey to visit Uncle Walter Westfall in Ypsilanti. She said that she'd

always fall asleep on the way home, as the horse clopped along the back roads. Pearl was the first of the

Coleman children to be born in Belleville. As a child, she wanted so badly to say that she had been born in

the big, beautiful city of Detroit, instead of the little town of Belleville. Pearl with her long black curls,

sparkling brown eyes, and round face, was her father's favorite. And no wonder, for she and her mother

looked so much alike.

Those were happy days for the Colemans. Maude loved her family and made their home a wann, safe

haven. She was very active in the Methodist Church, and made many life-long friends in the small town. By

1913, there were seven children. The second oldest son, Clarence, had a sweet singing voice, Pearl

remembered. He had some problem with his heart and barely reached adulthood when he died in 1919.

The greatest blow to the family came in 1915, when Claud developed diphtheria. This beloved husband,

grief-stricken.

Soon after Claud's death, his sister, Jennie Coleman Freer, wanted to adopt Pearl and Beatrice, since she

and her husband had no children. Claud's wish was for Maude to keep the family together, so she declined

Jen's offer.

To support her large family, Maude went to work at the Anderson Hotel as a maid. Each family member

the train depot Even the younger children helped by picking violets for the hotel's dining tables. They sold

them for five cents a bunch.
 

Maude's parents, William and Annie Heath, would come by train from Detroit bringing roasts and hams

from the Broadway Market. Beatrice said that the children would meet their grandparents at the train and

carry their valises to the house. They couldn't wait for Grandma Heath to open her valise as she always had

Sanders candy for them. The Heaths would stay the weekend and on Sunday morning, they'd say, "Put on

your Sunday clothes and we'll all go to church."

Since the Coleman house was quite small, the girls would give up their bed for their grandparents, and

brown bread for her father. He was from Boston, MA, and loved the traditional baked beans and ham.

Wayne and his four children moved into the Coleman house, filling it to overflowing. His daughters soon

married. Warren Johnson, the oldest son, was mentally impaired and was put in a home called Wagameega,

near Lapeer, MI. Fred Johnson was raised with the Coleman children.

One of Maude's talents was her needlework. She made many quilts, hand-sewing the pieces together and

quilting them on a large frame. Some of these were given to grandchildren who treasured them. She also

crocheted doilies, runners, pot-holders, afghans, and embroidered countless pillowcases that she finished

with crocheted edges. Her hands were rarely idle.

Wayne Johnson worked for Ford Motor Co., at the Rouge plant in Dearborn. When he retired, he was

watchman at Victory Park at Five Points in Belleville. Wayne and Maude were a happy couple, well suited

to one another in temperament, mutual affection and respect. When Wayne died in 1950, his many friends

After Wayne's death, Maude lived by herself in Belleville for several years before going to stay with

Beatrice and Ovid Riggs in Wayne, MI. She kept busy with her needlework and had visitors from

children married and she had sixteen grandchildren. She was preceded in death by two husbands and

children, Clarence, Alger, Victorine and Sumner. Her faith kept her strong and able to cope with life's

trials. Maude had a final heart attack and died in Wayne, MI, on 24 Apr. 1962.

Enterprise Roman; Belleville, Ml

Wed., May 2, 1962; page 4

"Jennie Maude Johnson of35622 Michigan Ave., Wayne, and formerly of 59 Liberty St., Belleville,

with interment at Hillside Cemetery. Arrangements were made by Roberts Brothers Funeral Home.

Surviving Mrs. Johnson are her children Mrs. Pearl Mitchell of Ypsilanti, Mrs. Beatrice Riggs of Wayne,

Children: COLEMAN

Victorine Violet b. 9 Mar. 1896, Detroit, MI; d. 23 June 1952, Ann Arbor, MI; mar.

about 1917, Wayne Co., MI, to George H. Harrison
 

Sumner Hopkins b. 8 May 1898, Detroit, MI; d. 21 Oct. 1955, Ypsilanti, MI; mar. 21

Apr. 1917, Belleville, MI, to Elizabeth H. Sinkule

Clarence C. b. 5 Dec. 1902, Detroit, MI; d. 31 Jan. 1919, Belleville, MI

Pearl Annie b. 1 Aug. 1905, Belleville, Ml; d. 21 May 1987, West Branch, MI;

mar. 20 Dec. 1921, Belleville, MI, to William T. Mitchell

Beatrice Irene b. 25 Oct. 1907, Belleville, MI; d. 13 Apr. 1997, Belleville, MI;

mar. 16 Dec. 1934, Toledo, OH, to Ovid M. Riggs

Paul Dane b. 8 Aug. 1910, Belleville, MI; d. 14 May 1997, Detroit, MI;

mar. 11 Aug. 1931, Wayne, MI, to Kate Collyer

Alger Bernus b. 13 Apr. 1913, Belleville, MI; d. 2 Oct. 1934, Ann Arbor, MI; mar. to

Margaret Fodor

Source: "The Westfall and Coleman Family History" by Clarice Koester Coleman (2003)