Francis B. Egan (1846-1916)

Today, Memorial Day, I went to find a family headstone at Mt. Hope Cemetery here in Lansing. I had no idea that I had family buried in Lansing until a distant relative told me so. The grave I was looking for was “Grandma’s Schryer’s father” in my current family lexicon – that’s Francis Bartholomew Egan, 1846-1916. He had a son and grandson named after him and the name Francis continues as a middle name into the current generation of my family.

Francis Egan was born on 13 Oct 1846 in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada. He apprenticed in the printing business in Canada and then settled in Detroit. According to the Early history of Michigan, with biographies of state officers, members of Congress, judges and legislators; published pursuant to Act 59, 1887 he was “an active worker in labor organizations, and held prominent positions in that connection. He was deputy commissioner of labor in 1885-6, and is now [1887] Deputy Secretary of State. In politics, a Republican.”

He married his wife Emeline Wright in Montreal and they had four children: Francis (born 1874), Ida (1879-1888),  Elizabeth (1880-1888) and Emeline, my ancestor.

In 1888, while the family was living in Lansing, Emeline’s two sisters, aged about 8 and 9, died of a fever within a few weeks of one another. They were buried beside one another at Mt. Hope Cemetery. When their father died 28 years later he was buried alongside them. We saw Ida and Elizabeth’s graves there as well. Their headstones are wearing quite a bit but Francis Egan’s is very clear.

For any other family looking for him, they’re in section B near the cross section of sections R, N, M and B approximately 50 feet and 15 rows in between the Brodegan and French family markers.