George B. Getty was born
October 7, 1867, in Helena Township, Antrim
County, Michigan. He was a musician,
director of the Kalkaska Military
Band, and
member of the Cornet Band. For years he
worked as a traveling salesman and
bookkeeper for the Freeman Manufacturing
Company, makers of wooden products.
On October 30, 1893, he
was married to Clara B. Cronin, daughter of
Cornelius and Catharine McClusky Cronin, by
B. McDermand, Pastor of the Baptist Church
in Kalkaska. Witnesses were Hattie Clark and
Fred D. Flye. A lengthy account of the
wedding, which appeared in the Kalkaska
Leader, stated that "the marriage took place
in the spacious residence of Mr. C. Cronin,
which was crowded to its utmost capacity
with invited guests". Nearly one and one half columns were devoted to
descriptions of the bride and groom and
their attendants, and it listed each and
every gift, naming the givers.
George and Clara had a
son, Clarence, who spent a good share of his
early life with his grandmother, Addie. He
served in the War of the Nations. The
following is an excerpt from a letter he
wrote to his Aunt Irene on May 24, 1918. He
mailed the letter from Newport News, Camp
Hill, his Port of Embarkation. "Yesterday I
was lucky enough to get over to Hampton, Va.
and there saw airplanes flying as free as
birds very numerous. It seemed so queer.
They fly over camp here too nearly each
day." After his discharge, Clarence worked
for Buick Motor Co., making his home in
Flint, Michigan.
George served in the 34th
Michigan Regiment in the Spanish American
War, in the Philippines. After the war,
while George was touring the country as a coronetist in a military band, Clara ran off
with another man and a divorce followed.
George's second wife was a young Scotch
girl, Alice
Alma Rattray from Grand Rapids.
A daughter, Dorothy Mae, was born in 1906.
The family moved to Puyallup, Washington,
and lived for a short time with William, Jr.
On March 3, 1912, William John and Winifred
Jean, twins, were born, and baptized on May
12 by Rev. W. J. Getty, rector of the
Episcopal Church. George died in Tacoma,
September 21, 1939. He was accidentally
asphyxiated by illuminating gas.
GEORGE BAIRD Getty
DOROTHY MAE, WINIFRED JEAN, WILLIAM JOHN,
and LOUISE (daughter of William, Jr.)
