Fred Sackett

(1882-1956)
FatherFrederick Plummer Sackett (1837-1905)
MotherSusan Earl (1843-1916)
Fred Sackett (1882–1956) and Bessie M Olmstead
Fred Sackett, farmer, twin of Frank, son of Frederick Plummer Sackett and Susan Earl, was born in Gobles, Van Buren County, MichiganG, on 5 February 1882.1 He died aged 73 on 3 January 19562 and was buried at Covey Hill Cemetery, Van Buren CountyG.2 He married on 9 May 1906, Bessie Maud Olmstead.2
     Fred completed a World War I draft registration card on 12 September 1918. He was aged 36 and was a self-employed farmer. He was living at Sand Creek, Richland County, MontanaG, with his wife Bessie.3
     In 1930 Fred was living at Alamo Avenue, Kalamazoo, MichiganG, and was recorded in the census as Fred Sackett, a fireman or foreman (?) at a public school, head of household, aged 48. He rented his home. Living with him were his wife Bessie, 43, and their children, Wayne, 22, Beatrice, 20, Kenneth, 18, Frank, 17, Ida, 15, Vivian, 13, Herbert, 10, LaVern, 8, Richard, 3, and Bernard, aged ten months.4
At the age of five as [Fred Sackett] was playing with the other children he ran into the barn. At that moment the hay rope broke and the hay rack fell on him crushing his head. His mother reshaped his head, bound it with gauze and massaged his body continuously for two days. As a result of the injury Fred was like an infant again and had to learn to eat, walk and talk all over again. The injury caused ridges the size of a little finger around the sides of his head.

At the age of eighteen he worked one season for a farmer, George Haight, for $18.00 a month. From that time on he was never at home for any length of time. He worked for J.G. Clark in a grocery store, also for Orley Graham in the hardware store. While Fred was working for the grocery firm a customer came in for a can of oil. Fred inadvertently ran the can over and made a mess of it. When he haded[sic] it to the customer he said, "Mr. Miller, our measure runs everybody's can over". The storekeeper liked to tell about this incident as illustrating the fact that Fred had a way about him that kept anyone from getting irritated with him.

He married Bessie Maud Olmstead on May 9, 1906. She was born August 8, 1886. For a time Fred ran a general store in Bradley, Michigan and then they went on to a farm. The year 1912 found Bessie and Fred with three children on a homestead near Wolf Point, Montana in a house twenty foot square where they lived comfortably while the family grew to include eight children during eleven years while the farm prospered. However, there were two successive years of extreme drought. In 1924, Fred borrowed money to buy hay for his livestock and hauled it twenty miles on a sleigh but found it impossible to keep up. He and Bessie became discouraged and were forced to leave the homestead in the fall of 1925. With the heIp of the Gorton family who were their neighbors, Wayne, Beatrice, Kenneth, Frank, Ida and Vivian stayed in Montana to dispose of the remaining livestock and other possessions. They used the money to get back to Michigan.

With the family together again they lived on Alama Avenue in Kalamazoo. Bessie, with the help of the children, took in laundry and cleaned apartments to pay for dental care for her family which had grown to include eleven children. In 1940, they moved to a farm seventeen miles west of Kalamazoo. At the time of this move there were nine children living at home. He paid $5,000.00 for the farm and borrowed $500.00 on his note to make the first payment. With a farm of two hundred and forty acres and with about one hundred acres of work land badly run, with no farm livestock except two cows and no money, he started to work to make himself and his family a home. The house was a large two-story farm house, with a finished apartment on the east side where Frank and Wanda lived. This arrangement gave the family transportation to and from Kalamazoo for work and to shop. Herbert and Polly moved into the apartment in 1943. Jean moved into the apartment in 1962. When Herbert or Frank would take Fred to work in Kalamazoo he would work from 7:00 to 4:30 and then he would walk to the corner of Portage Street and Main Street where he would wait for Frank or Herbert whomever came first for a ride home and he would then start on his chores. At the age of sixty-five he decided to have a sale and with this he was able to pay the mortgage down to $2,200.00.

Fred bought his first and only vehicle in 1948, a Studebaker pick-up truck. He worked for the City of Kalamazoo until 1951, when he retired at the age of sixty-nine. He then had twelve cows and twenty-four head of young stock, plenty of feed, a good home and enough money to get along. It goes without saying that he was a hard worker, honest, and that his home was always a good place to have a good time. Fred died on January 3, 1956. His wife, Bessie, died March 2, 1972. Both are buried in Covey Hill Cemetery south of Gobles, Michigan.

— Andrew P Sackett, Ancestors and Descendants of Frederick Plummer Sackett.

Children of Fred Sackett and Bessie Maud Olmstead

  • Wayne Bell Sackett b. 16 Jul 1907, d. Jan 1983
  • Beatrice Marie Sackett b. 4 Jun 1909, d. UNKNOWN
  • Kenneth LaRue Sackett b. 10 Jun 1911, d. Mar 1985
  • Frank Glenn Sackett b. 2 Apr 1913, d. 28 Feb 1961
  • Ida Lucille Sackett b. 27 Nov 1914, d. 15 Sep 1954
  • Vivian Irene Sackett b. 19 Jul 1916
  • Herbert Gordon Sackett b. 27 Nov 1919
  • LaVern Fred Sackett+ b. 12 Aug 1922, d. 8 Dec 1944
  • Richard Milton Sackett+ b. 12 Sep 1926

 Notes & Citations

  1. Andrew P Sackett, Ancestors and Descendants of Frederick Plummer Sackett, published by the author (1983), 122.
  2. Andrew P Sackett, Ancestors and Descendants of Frederick Plummer Sackett, 124.
  3. "US, World War I draft registrations records 1917–1918" (FamilySearch image), Montana, Richland. Draft Division# n/a Roll#1711440.
    "Serial#1737 Order#1188, Fred Sackett, Sand Creek Richland Montana, Age: 36, b. 5 Feb 1882, white, native born, farming self employed, nearest relative: Mrs. Betsy? M Sackett at Sand Creek Richland Montana, Registrant: Med Ht, Med Build, eyes brown, hair dark brown, no disabilities, Reg: 12 Sep 1918 at Sidney Montana."
  4. 1930 United States Federal Census, Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0022; FHL microfilm: 2340733
    Alamo Ave, Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, 8 Apr 1930
    Sackett, Fred, head, home rented $35 pm, 48, m. at 24, b. MI, father b. MI, mother b. US, fireman?/foreman?, public school
    Sackett, Bessie, wife, 43, m. at 20, b. MI, father b. NY, mother b. MI
    Sackett, Wayne B, son, 22, single, b. MI, father b. MI, mother b. MI, machinist, paper mill
    Sackett, Beatrice A, dau, 20, single, b. MI, father b. MI, mother b. MI, finisher, paper mill
    Sackett, Kenneth, son, 18, b. MI, father b. MI, mother b. MI
    Sackett, Frank, son, 17, b. MI, father b. MI, mother b. MI
    Sackett, Ida, dau, 15, b. MI, father b. MI, mother b. MI
    Sackett, Vivian, dau, 13, b. MT, father b. MI, mother b. MI
    Sackett, Herbert, son, 10, b. MT, father b. MI, mother b. MI
    Sackett, LaVern, son, 8, b. MT, father b. MI, mother b. MI
    Sackett, Richard, son, 3, b. MI, father b. MI, mother b. MI
    Sackett, Bernard, son, 10/12, b. MI, father b. MI, mother b. MI.
Sackett line9th great-grandson of Thomas Sackett the elder of St Peter in Thanet
ChartsLine 3a (American)
Descendants of Frederick Plummer Sackett
Sackett Family Association descendants
Fred Sackett and Peggy Lockwood.
Generation.Tree10R.3
Last Edited23 Apr 2020
 

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