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     Charles Ray Blades was born on 27 September 1928 in Oshtemo, Kalamazoo Co., Michigan.² He married second Alta Dorothy Sims, daughter of James Sims, in 1961 in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Co., Michigan.¹ He died on 24 June 2008 at age 79.² Memorial services were held at the McDowell Funeral Home in Reed City, Osceola Co., Michigan, on 28 June 2008.²
     He served in the U. S. Navy, and was stationed in Guam.² He worked for the Allied Paper Company in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Co., Michigan, for many years², and later for Hanchett Manufacturing in Big Rapids, Mecosta Co., Michigan.²

     Alta Dorothy Sims was born on 10 April 1937 in Reed City, Osceola Co., Michigan.^3,1 She married Charles Ray Blades, son of Charles Oran Blades and Frances Deliaha Woodin, in 1961 in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Co., Michigan.¹ She died on 21 November 1994 in Reed City, Osceola Co., Michigan, at age 57.³

     Mary Smith married Zerubbabel Endicott, son of John Endicott and Elizabeth Cogan, about 1654.¹ She died in 1677.²

     John Endicott was born before 1600.¹ He married as his second wife Elizabeth Cogan, daughter of Philobert Cogan, probably on 18 August 1630 in Boston, Massachusetts.¹ He died on 15 March 1664/65 in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts.¹
     He and his first wife (name unknown) came to New England on the ship Abigail, sailing from Weymouth, England, on 20 June 1628 and arriving in Naumkeag (later Salem), Massachusetts, on 5 September 1628.^1,2
     Many sources, both in print and online, name his first wife as Anne Gower. However, recent research has shown that the John Endicott who married Anne Gower was this John Endicott's grandson, son of Zerubbabel Endicott, and that the marriage occurred on 28 August 1688. John Endicott Sr.'s first wife apparently died in the spring of 1629. A letter dated 16 February 1628/29 from Matthew Craddock, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Company in England, to John Endicott says "... to hear that my good cozen, your wife, were perfectly recovered of her health and would be acceptable newes to us all."^2,3
     John Endicott served as governor of the Salem settlement for the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1628 and 1629; as a colony assistant 1630-34, 1636-40, and 1645-48; as deputy governor 1641-43, 1650, and 1654; and as governor 1644, 1649, 1651-52, and 1655-64. He also served often as a magistrate and selectman in Salem.¹
     He was selected as colonel of the Essex Co. militia on 13 December 1636, and served as sergeant major general in 1645 and 1646.¹
     He received several land grants throughout his life, including 300 acres north of Salem on 3 July 1632; 200 acres of freeman's land in 1636; 10 acres of meadow on 30 July 1637; "40 or 50 acres of meadow" on 2 November 1637; an acre of marsh on 25 December 1637; swampland on 7 May 1638; 500 acres on 6 June 1639; 20 acres in Salem on 13 March 1642/43; land at the head of the river on 5 March 1643/44; 300 acres of woodland on 14 October 1651, under the condition that he establish a copper works there within seven years; Catta Island (about 2 acres) near Marblehead on 23 May 1655; 1000 acres on 15 May 1657, in lieu of £75; and a quarter of Block Island on 19 October 1658.¹
     He was a staunch and stern Puritan, and one of the founders of the First Church in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1629, along with Rev. Samuel Skelton and Rev. Francis Higginson.^4,1 His strict religious views sometimes caused him trouble. In 1628 he admonished the settlers at Merry Mount for their unruly behavior, and in 1630 he had the "schismatists" John and Samuel Browne deported back to England, causing some in England to criticize him for being too rigid. In 1634 he defaced the militia's flag, because it was a "symbol of popish idolatry," an incident that resulted in him being suspended from public office for a year. He led a hundred-man expedition to punish the Indians in 1636, which helped cause the Pequot War the following year. He was especially intolerant with the Quakers, hanging three, including Mary Dyer.¹
     He was apparently low on cash much of his life, requiring support from the government several times, and at his death it was stated that "He died poor ... having more attended the public than [his] own private interests." (He did leave a sizable estate however.) In May 1671 the General Court was told that his widow had been "reduced to a very low condition," and renewed an annual grant to her of £30/year.¹
     John Endicott may have been married a third time, again to a woman named Elizabeth. His second wife Elizabeth, the mother of his two sons, was listed as 14 in 1623 during the Somersetshire Visitation, indicating a birth year of about 1609, while his widow Elizabeth was "about sixty" at a deposition on 13 April 1674, indicating a birth year of about 1614. In addition, his last wife Elizabeth apparently was troublesome for him about his will, according to his son John's father-in-law Jeremiah Howchin, possibly indicating a lack of interest in the welfare of his sons.¹
     He had two wills presented in court after his death, a written will dated 2 May 1659, and an oral will made in January 1664/65. The oral will was presented by Jeremiah Howchin, the father of his son John's wife Elizabeth. Howchin testified that the deceased John Endicott had asked him to write down his wishes. The oral will renounced the earlier written will, and the legacies in the two wills conflicted. The court ruled that Endicott's estate was to be administered according to the 1659 will, but that a farm called Chickering's that had been deeded to his son John, plus all the property left to John in the 1659 will, was to belong to John's wife Elizabeth during her lifetime if she were to outlive her husband.
     The estate was inventoried in Salem on 27 April 1665, and in Boston on 31 July 1665, and valued at £1031 8s 7d, with real estate accounting for £731 of the total. An undated third inventory listed additional lands without assigning values, including various 10-acre lots, 250 acres of upland and meadow, two farms, and Catta Island.¹

More Information / Background

• Puritan migration to New England (1620–1640)
  
• New England's Great Migration
  
• John Endecott
  
• Pequot War
  
• A "Short" History of the First Church in Salem
  
• Boston martyrs
  
• Mary Dyer.
  

     Elizabeth Cogan was born about 1607.¹ She married first (?) Gibson.¹ She married second John Endicott probably on 18 August 1630 in Boston, Massachusetts.¹ She died after 13 April 1674.¹
     She came to New England on the Arbella, part of the Winthrop Fleet, arriving on 13 June 1630.²

     Philobert Cogan lived in Chard, Somersetshire, England.¹ His will was dated 10 February 1640/41.¹

     (?) Gibson married Elizabeth Cogan, daughter of Philobert Cogan.¹

     John Endicott was born about 1632.¹ He married Elizabeth Howchin, daughter of Jeremiah Howchin and Esther Pigeon, on 9 November 1653 in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts.¹ He died in 1667.²
     He suffered from poor health¹, and he and his wife Elizabeth had no children.¹ His will was dated 27 January 1667.²

     Elizabeth Howchin was born about 1637.¹ She married first John Endicott, son of John Endicott and Elizabeth Cogan, on 9 November 1653 in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts.¹ She married second James Allen in 1668.¹
     She and John had no children.¹

     William Arthur Fralick was born on 10 January 1876 in Flint, Genesee Co., Michigan.^2,4,5 He married Ruby Irene Evans, daughter of Albert Elton Evans and Charity Mabel Burlingham, on 20 March 1905 in South Haven, Van Buren Co., Michigan.¹ Ruby filed for divorce on 26 August 1909 in Allegan Co., Michigan, charging failure to support, and the divorce was granted on 2 May 1910.⁶ He died on 19 March 1942 in South Haven, Van Buren Co., Michigan, at age 66.^4,7 He was buried at Chambers Cemetery (Plot 110) in Van Buren Co., Michigan.⁷
     He was a drayman (freight hauler).¹
     He and his wife Ruby married in 1905, but began having problems within a couple years. By late 1907 they had separated on various occasions, and Ruby and their son Willie, just under two years old, were living with her foster father Marcus Morehouse in South Haven.⁸
     On 20 November 1907 Ruby traveled to Grand Rapids, leaving her son Willie with Morehouse, as she had done several times previously. During the night Willie was shot in the head, and died the next evening.⁸ Morehouse was charged with the crime, and tried at Van Buren Co. Circuit Court in Paw Paw.^9,8,10 Although the evidence seemed to implicate him as the murderer, the jury was unable to reach a verdict. The case was later retried, and Morehouse was acquitted.^11,12,13
     On 23 March 1908 he was tried for abandoning his wife Ruby. He was found guilty, and sentenced to the reformatory at Ionia for a term of six months to three years.^14,15

     Claude A. Smith was born about 1878 in Portland, Ionia Co., Michigan.¹ He was married by John Blair, J. P., to Ruby Irene Evans, daughter of Albert Elton Evans and Charity Mabel Burlingham, on 5 June 1910 in Plainwell, Allegan Co., Michigan.¹ Ruby filed for a divorce on 5 January 1916 in Allegan Co., Michigan, but the case was dismissed in February 1916.² Three and a half years later, on 29 August 1919, Claude filed for a divorce in Calhoun Co., Michigan, which was granted on 19 April 1920.³
     He and his wife Ruby are listed together, as having been married for a year, in Plainwell, Allegan Co., Michigan, in the 1910 census, enumerated on 23 April, although Ruby's divorce from her first husband wasn't finalized until 2 May 1910, and they weren't actually married until 5 June 1910.^4,5,1 He was a laborer.¹

     Niden Radeff was probably born on 12 August 1891, in Bulgaria (his World War I draft registration says in Ledenik, while his World War II registration says Ternova).^2,3,4 He was married first, by John C. Loucks, J. P., to Ruby Irene Evans, daughter of Albert Elton Evans and Charity Mabel Burlingham, on 2 February 1921 in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan.¹ Niden filed for divorce on 12 September 1933 in Kent Co., Michigan, on grounds of desertion, and the divorce was granted on 15 December 1933.⁵ He married second Alta M. Demorest on 23 June 1934 in Oshtemo, Kalamazoo Co., Michigan.⁶ He died on 21 January 1979 at Kent Community Hospital in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan.^7,8 He was buried at Oakhill Cemetery in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan.⁹
     He also used the name Nicholas.^5,6
     He was working as a laborer for the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1917, as a machine hand at the time of his first marriage in 1921, and as a painter and decorator at the time of his second marriage in 1934, and was owner of Philadelphia Lunch in Grand Rapids in 1942.^3,1,6,2