Pictured above is an aerial group photo taken at the 103rd Loveland Family Reunion August 18 in front of the Climax United Methodist Church.
(Photo by Bruce Rolfe)By Carla Sykora
On Sunday, August 18, 2024, the descendants of Jacob Frederick Loveland and Mary Ann (Winger) Loveland gathered in Climax, Michigan, for the 103rd Loveland Family Reunion. The reunion was planned for the Climax Village Park but due to a rainy forecast the reunion was moved to the Climax United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall.
Forty-six Loveland relatives attended from the Michigan towns of Climax, Battle Creek, Grass Lake, Chelsea, Kalamazoo, Monroe, Muskegon, Athens, Carleton, Jackson and St. Joseph. There was also one relative from Naperville, Illinois.
The afternoon included a potluck, group photo, business meeting, lively conversation, and ice cream, all quite like the activities of the 1st Loveland Reunion over 100 years ago.
On Sunday, August 18, 2024, the descendants of Jacob Frederick Loveland and Mary Ann (Winger) Loveland gathered in Climax, Michigan, for the 103rd Loveland Family Reunion. The reunion was planned for the Climax Village Park but due to a rainy forecast the reunion was moved to the Climax United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall.
Forty-six Loveland relatives attended from the Michigan towns of Climax, Battle Creek, Grass Lake, Chelsea, Kalamazoo, Monroe, Muskegon, Athens, Carleton, Jackson and St. Joseph. There was also one relative from Naperville, Illinois.
The afternoon included a potluck, group photo, business meeting, lively conversation, and ice cream, all quite like the activities of the 1st Loveland Reunion over 100 years ago.
1st Loveland Reunion all guests
The 1st Loveland Reunion was held in Climax on Friday, July 29, 1921, hosted by Warren and Jennie Griffith. It started when six of the seven Loveland children found each other after many years of separation. The 1921 article notes of the 58 family members 53 were present. The event was also the first time in 40 years the brothers and sisters had all been together.
Unfortunately, one sibling, Clara, had passed away in 1890.
(Photo by Bruce Rolfe)
Marilyn Loveland, who is now 100 years old and married her husband LeRoy in 1946, said she has attended many Loveland family reunions, even some before she was married. She was very happy to attend the 103rd in the Village of Climax, but she admits there were many at the reunion she did not know.
“The generations have grown so. I would like to know who belongs to who. I know the last names of some of them but I don’t know who they belong to. Like Grandpa Loveland’s sisters. He had a brother Eddie and a half brother Louie,” said Marilyn, who lives in the house next door to the farm she moved into in Grass Lake in 1929, drove a school bus for the Grass Lake School district for 23 years, delivered mail and helped her father on the family farm.
The Story of Jacob and Mary Loveland
By Edna Smith Farthing,
granddaughter of Susan Adelle Loveland
written in August 2000
The original last name of Lugansland was changed to Loveland around 1873.
Hard times and the death of their father separated these siblings when they were young. Now that they had found each other, they celebrated with this reunion. Their children and grandchildren remember each yearly reunion that followed as an important family event.
The first known record of Jacob Frederick Lugansland, a native of Germany, was the 1860 United States census. He was living in Mill Creek, Erie County, Pennsylvania with his wife Mary and son, Alvanus Benjamin. After Jacob and Mary’s daughter, Susan Adelle, was born in 1862, they moved to Indiana where Mary’s father was living. It has been said that they were there about two years. Their next move was to Allegan, Michigan, where in 1865 another daughter, Clara, was born.
Jacob enlisted in Regiment 16, Company A on March 4, 1865, and served in the Civil War. At that time, the descriptive roll of Company A stated that he was 25 years old, had light hair, blue eyes and was 5’3” tall. He was mustered out of the army in Jeffersonville, Indiana on July 8, 1865, and the regiment returned to Jackson, Michigan.
Jacob and Mary moved their family to Scipio Township, Hillsdale County, Michigan, as shown on the 1870 census with the addition of two daughters, Serena and Cora. Edward was born in 1873. His birth registration in Hillsdale is the first documented use of Loveland as their last name.
Sometime after 1874, Susan and Clara were sent to live with families in Kalamazoo County. They were to help with the housework. In those times, some parents did that when it was difficult to provide food and clothing for their children. Leonard was born on May 7, 1877. Jacob died soon after Leonard’s birth. No record has been found of Jacob’s his death. A handwritten note in the family record books says that Jacob was killed by stones falling on him when he was digging a well.
On August 5, 1878, the Probate Court for the County of Hillsdale ordered that Serena and Cora Lugansland be sent to the “State Public School for Dependent and Neglected Children” because they had been “maintained at the expense of the county for a period of eleven months.”
The 1880 Kalamazoo County census shows Mary as a widow with her three sons, Alvanus, Edward, and Leonard in the household. This time, the name Loveland is used. On May 7, 1882, Leonard was taken to live with the Hatt family. What happened to Mary Loveland after 1880 remains a mystery.
(Photos provided by the Loveland Family Reunion archives)
Loveland Descendants in Climax
One of the seven Loveland siblings was Susan Adelle Loveland. She met Elbert Wolcott of Climax and they were married in 1882. Susan and Elbert settled on a farm outside of Climax. They had six children - five daughters and one son. Their fourth daughter, Mary Wolcott, became the wife of Herbert Smith. Together Mary and Herb published the Climax Crescent from 1912 to the mid-1950s.
Long-time residents of Climax may remember Mary and Herb Smith and their family. Their oldest son, Edwin and his wife Fern were life-long residents of Climax. They raised their three children Bill, Bob and Joan at 129 N. Main. Their second son, Raymond, and his wife, Kate, published the Climax Crescent from 1953 to 1990. Ray and Kate’s two sons, John and Charles, grew up at the Crescent building, 150 N. Main. Charles lived in Marshall. Charlie and his wife, Nancy, recently moved back to Climax and built a new home. Mary and Herb’s daughter, Edna, married Frank Farthing and moved to Mattawan where they raised their three children, Carla, Frank and Tom.
History of the Loveland Reunion in Climax
The Loveland Reunion is held annually on the 3rd Sunday in August. The annual gathering has been interrupted only in 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has taken place in Climax twelve times over its 103-year history. Prior to the 2024 reunion the most recent Climax-held reunion was in 1995 when the 75th Loveland Reunion was celebrated.?
Interestingly, the reunions in 1995 and 2024 were both planned for outdoors but were moved to the same indoor location. This year’s hosts noted that the reunion in 1995 was hosted by their parents. It is meaningful to them to see the reunion continue from generation to generation and to have a part in the tradition.
The hosts of this year’s reunion were Bill and Donna Smith, Charles and Nancy Smith, Sharon Pulsipher, Ruth Ann Pearson, and Bob and Carla Sykora. All are descendants of Susan Adelle (Loveland) and Elbert Wolcott.
Reunion hostess Carla Sykora shared, “In 1921 the descendants of Jacob and Mary Loveland could easily be counted and the number was 58. At present the number of Loveland descendants is unknown.
The youngest children at the reunion this year represent the seventh generation from Jacob and Mary Loveland. The family tree has branched out in so many directions. Conversations at the reunion touched on what it might take to locate missing relatives. There is interest in doing so but the search would require a great deal of time and effort. Still, it would be exciting to find more Loveland descendants and invite them to the Loveland Reunion. If the Loveland siblings long ago could find each other, maybe we can connect with some of our unknown relatives as well.”
One of the seven Loveland siblings was Susan Adelle Loveland. She met Elbert Wolcott of Climax and they were married in 1882. Susan and Elbert settled on a farm outside of Climax. They had six children - five daughters and one son. Their fourth daughter, Mary Wolcott, became the wife of Herbert Smith. Together Mary and Herb published the Climax Crescent from 1912 to the mid-1950s.
Long-time residents of Climax may remember Mary and Herb Smith and their family. Their oldest son, Edwin and his wife Fern were life-long residents of Climax. They raised their three children Bill, Bob and Joan at 129 N. Main. Their second son, Raymond, and his wife, Kate, published the Climax Crescent from 1953 to 1990. Ray and Kate’s two sons, John and Charles, grew up at the Crescent building, 150 N. Main. Charles lived in Marshall. Charlie and his wife, Nancy, recently moved back to Climax and built a new home. Mary and Herb’s daughter, Edna, married Frank Farthing and moved to Mattawan where they raised their three children, Carla, Frank and Tom.
History of the Loveland Reunion in Climax
The Loveland Reunion is held annually on the 3rd Sunday in August. The annual gathering has been interrupted only in 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has taken place in Climax twelve times over its 103-year history. Prior to the 2024 reunion the most recent Climax-held reunion was in 1995 when the 75th Loveland Reunion was celebrated.?
Interestingly, the reunions in 1995 and 2024 were both planned for outdoors but were moved to the same indoor location. This year’s hosts noted that the reunion in 1995 was hosted by their parents. It is meaningful to them to see the reunion continue from generation to generation and to have a part in the tradition.
The hosts of this year’s reunion were Bill and Donna Smith, Charles and Nancy Smith, Sharon Pulsipher, Ruth Ann Pearson, and Bob and Carla Sykora. All are descendants of Susan Adelle (Loveland) and Elbert Wolcott.
Reunion hostess Carla Sykora shared, “In 1921 the descendants of Jacob and Mary Loveland could easily be counted and the number was 58. At present the number of Loveland descendants is unknown.
The youngest children at the reunion this year represent the seventh generation from Jacob and Mary Loveland. The family tree has branched out in so many directions. Conversations at the reunion touched on what it might take to locate missing relatives. There is interest in doing so but the search would require a great deal of time and effort. Still, it would be exciting to find more Loveland descendants and invite them to the Loveland Reunion. If the Loveland siblings long ago could find each other, maybe we can connect with some of our unknown relatives as well.”
––––– Thank You Climax! –––––
The Village of Climax, Michigan, made us feel so welcomed for the 103rd Loveland Family Reunion which took place on Sunday, August 18, 2024. Our grateful thanks to The Village of Climax for permission to hold the reunion in the Climax Town Park and to use village parking areas.
Reunion day turned out to be a rainy one so instead of setting up in the park we retreated to the Climax United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. Thank you to Climax UMC for providing such a comfortable alternate location.
Thank you to Patrick, Sharon and Kevin Harvey at the Prairie Historical Society for their help in researching the Loveland story and for their willingness to open PHS to reunion guests had we been able to meet at the park.
Thank you to Township Clerk, Marcia Lewis and Library Director, Bill Lewis, for their warm welcome and research help.
Thank you to Sunny at the Climax Market for going above and beyond to meet our needs, and to Robert for his outstanding barbecue pulled pork and chicken.
Thank you to Bruce and Crystal Rolfe for their enthusiastic support and for taking the group photo.
Thank you to the Climax Crescent for publishing articles related to the Loveland family.
All of these and more helped with the planning and 'day of' activities for the Loveland Reunion. We had a wonderful time, and it was very special to be in Climax once again.
—The descendants of Jacob and Mary Ann Loveland
Reunion day turned out to be a rainy one so instead of setting up in the park we retreated to the Climax United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. Thank you to Climax UMC for providing such a comfortable alternate location.
Thank you to Patrick, Sharon and Kevin Harvey at the Prairie Historical Society for their help in researching the Loveland story and for their willingness to open PHS to reunion guests had we been able to meet at the park.
Thank you to Township Clerk, Marcia Lewis and Library Director, Bill Lewis, for their warm welcome and research help.
Thank you to Sunny at the Climax Market for going above and beyond to meet our needs, and to Robert for his outstanding barbecue pulled pork and chicken.
Thank you to Bruce and Crystal Rolfe for their enthusiastic support and for taking the group photo.
Thank you to the Climax Crescent for publishing articles related to the Loveland family.
All of these and more helped with the planning and 'day of' activities for the Loveland Reunion. We had a wonderful time, and it was very special to be in Climax once again.
—The descendants of Jacob and Mary Ann Loveland
