by Marian Matyn
Kathy Klok, a descendant of one of Jonathan Boyce's brothers, visited the Clarke on January 26th. She was surprised at the size of the collection and realized how much work nine students and I had put into it to organize, folder, box, inventory, create finding aids (one for each student's labors), understand what we read, make sense of it all, and catalog it. Two processing students visited to meet Kathy and check out the completed collection. Rarely does this happen that we complete such an arduous year-long project and someone directly related comes and is thrilled to conduct research in it. We are all very happy and feel validated. Here's a photo of Kathy with her family's papers. She's returning in the future to conduct further research. I hope some of the other students who worked hard on this collection will be able to meet her in the future. Her own genealogical research on her family is quite well done and extensive. Perhaps, we'll be able to share information and shed some more light on the Boyce family and businesses. Lumberman Boyce owned a wide variety of businesses, several steamers and schooners, a wide swath of property, notably in Roscommon, property in Grand Rapids, Essexville, and Muskegon, as well as a large farm in England.
One of his sons moved west where lumbering continued after it died down in Michigan. His collection consists of 67 cubic ft. (in 97 boxes, 6 oversize folders, 78 oversize volumes). It will be awhile before I get the extensive findings aids encoded, so for now, for more information check out the catalog record HERE or contact me, Marian at the Clarke.