Ask the Author: Thomas Funke
Answered Questions (4)
Thomas Funke
Mostly presidential & founding fathers biographies along with books to help with my writing project. Check out my tag "Michigan's Forgotten Trails".
Thomas Funke
In a nutshell, know your topic, have a good editor to review your work, and always have a journal handy to sketch out notes/ideas.
Thomas Funke
In a nutshell, know your topic, have a good editor to review your work, and always have a journal handy to sketch out notes/ideas.
Thomas Funke
It started James Stevens, Revolutionary War Patriot buried in Arlington Township, Van Buren County, Michigan. I started researching other Patriots buried in Michigan and marveled at how, at an advanced age, so many Patriots found themselves to the Michigan "wilderness". It so happens my brother, a retired Marine, lives in an old farmhouse on what used to be the plank road between Lawrence & Breedsville, and was likely an inn & tavern. Only a few miles north of the Territorial Road, it made me wonder how in the world these settlers found their way as homesteaders.
My project then became documenting all the graves & stories of these Patriots, where they settled, and how they got here. Many were coming via the Erie Canal, into Detroit, then taking old Native American trails that have been converted into rudimentary roads: Territorial Road, Old Sauk Trail, Grand River, etc., to find their way west.
While visiting Daniel Wilson at the Yorktown Cemetary in Ross Township, Kalamazoo County, at the foot of Gull Lake, I realized there were several routes in the area that were once Native American Trails now Roads, Railroads, and the Kalamazoo River was just south of this point, along with the Territorial Road. Two railroads nearby intersected, the Dundee to Allegan and the C, K & S, that went through Hastings, where I live.
Fascinated by all these routes, I shared this information on Facebook. My father then pointed me to Hinsdales's "Archeological Atlas of Michigan", which documents hundreds of Native American Trails and portages.
From there, I steered away from the Revolutionary War Patriot project (which may be a future project) towards finding these old trails, who used them, when they were abandoned or converted to other uses & why.
In the course of my research, I discovered that the discovery of "the west" went through Michigan, specifically through the Straits of Mackinac & Sault Ste. Marie. Many French & English explorers found their way to what is now Michigan in search of the Pacific Ocean. What they found instead was a land occupied by Native Americans and a wealth of furs.
The rest, as they say, is History.
This won't be written like a guidebook, but, a historical narrative of these trails, importance to Native Americans, European Explorers, and how they benefit us today.
My project then became documenting all the graves & stories of these Patriots, where they settled, and how they got here. Many were coming via the Erie Canal, into Detroit, then taking old Native American trails that have been converted into rudimentary roads: Territorial Road, Old Sauk Trail, Grand River, etc., to find their way west.
While visiting Daniel Wilson at the Yorktown Cemetary in Ross Township, Kalamazoo County, at the foot of Gull Lake, I realized there were several routes in the area that were once Native American Trails now Roads, Railroads, and the Kalamazoo River was just south of this point, along with the Territorial Road. Two railroads nearby intersected, the Dundee to Allegan and the C, K & S, that went through Hastings, where I live.
Fascinated by all these routes, I shared this information on Facebook. My father then pointed me to Hinsdales's "Archeological Atlas of Michigan", which documents hundreds of Native American Trails and portages.
From there, I steered away from the Revolutionary War Patriot project (which may be a future project) towards finding these old trails, who used them, when they were abandoned or converted to other uses & why.
In the course of my research, I discovered that the discovery of "the west" went through Michigan, specifically through the Straits of Mackinac & Sault Ste. Marie. Many French & English explorers found their way to what is now Michigan in search of the Pacific Ocean. What they found instead was a land occupied by Native Americans and a wealth of furs.
The rest, as they say, is History.
This won't be written like a guidebook, but, a historical narrative of these trails, importance to Native Americans, European Explorers, and how they benefit us today.
Thomas Funke
Almost Forgotten Trails of the Western Great Lakes with an emphasis on Michigan.
Documenting the history, use, & current status of canoe portages, inland water routes, great lake water routes.
Documenting the history, use, & current status of canoe portages, inland water routes, great lake water routes.
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