The collection includes the family papers of all of Ada’s relatives who are named above and her papers, 1856-1945. She also collected children’s art and display materials, 1950-1960 and undated (Boxes 3-7). Most of the materials document Ionia, Michigan, business records, including accounts of Angelo E. Tower when he was postmaster of Ionia, 1886-1890; Tower and Thompson Lumber Company, ledger and legal papers, 1868-1882; Webber Block (housing) papers, 1929-1936; Webber and Wilson (George W. Webber and H. J. Wilson’s mercantile business) ledger, 1866-1867; and Webber Road Construction Company, 1921-1937. There are also some legal records regarding the Topinabee Hotel, 1931, which was on Mullet Lake, near Cheboygan, Michigan. Unidentified land records are filed at the end of Box 2, and children’s art is housed in flat boxes 3-7.
Biography:
Ada Tower Heath Owsley (Born circa 1900?) was the daughter of William B. and Caroline Tower Heath. During World War I, Ada served as a Red Cross Secretary in France. After the war, she married Merrit J. Owsley. Together, they had a son named William, born in 1924. Ada and her family lived in Ionia, Michigan.
Ada’s father, William B. Heath, was the son of Alfred Heath. Her mother, Caroline, was the daughter of Angelo E. and Abbie Lovell Tower. Abbie’s siblings were Louis S. Lovell and Nellie Lovell (Mrs. John Thompson). (This information is from the collection.)
IMargaret Heath, Ada’s sister, married Maxwell H. Webber (1896-1937), son of George W. Webber (1825-1900), who served as a U.S. Representative in Congress, 1881-1883. (See Michigan Biographies, p. 417)
