Person:Susan Niven (1)

See notes for Susan included w/her marriage to Alexander WHITE.

also...Susan was mother of 7, 6 still living. 1872 came to Bay City. 1876 moved to rural Hampton twp & stayed there 41 yrs. 1866 went to Montreal, Quebec, Canada to work.

Family legend : delivered 300 babies (where?) as a midwife. She lost only one child. Her fee was five dollars for delivery and to stay with the mother the first night. Many times she was not paid but received goods for her services.

Member Free Methodist Church, Bay City but funeral held Church of Nazarene at 2nd & Johnson st, Bay City. Susan & Martin were charter members of Free Methodist Church at 1203 Garfield Ave, Bay City for many years. In 1900 Susan was a steward there & one set of minutes was written by her as secretary pro tem.

acc to George Albert PORTER: Martin & Susan lived on an eight acre farm on Youngsditch Road east of Essexville, MI. Susan bought the farm from Mr YOUNGS with the money she received from selling her late husband's (Alexander WHITE) railroad watch.

Susan died at home of dau Mrs Mildred TERRY, (406 McCormick St, Bay City, MI) after living with her for 16 years.

After Alexander was killed Susan came to Bay City where her brothers Robert & John lived. She kept house there for John until she remarried.

Susan's family were Methodists. (this refers probably to her own husband and herself & children...as her parents were probably Presbyterian.)... She was a wonderful story-teller with perfect recall. She loved to tell about her childhood and events in her life. She was a very adventurous person. She had many vivid tales to tell...one day her folks had gone into town. She had been told not to touch the old special teapot the family had brought over from Scotland and also not to go near the cave where the gooseberries grew. She thought she'd like to pick berries and she took the teapot along to put them into. Probably this was the occasion when said teapot was broken, or another time, when Susan met up with a bear who was eating blackberries (?) from the other side of the same bunch of bushes she was...she got scared, dropped the teapot and ran. She was punished severely. This was in Lanark, Ontario.

Susan never went down into the cave but her father, Mars, did. He told her there were stalagtites and stalagmites formed in there.

In 1961, when Betty Ruth ERWIN and some of her family made a trip to Lanark, they were only able to go partway into the cave as it had recently collapsed in/down. There were still gooseberries growing near the entrance.

Another day, in the woods nearby, Susan was startled by some deer who came running by terribly fast. She could hear wolves howling and scrambled up a tree. The wolves came in from 3 sides and attacked one of the deer right beneath the tree she was hiding in. She had to watch the wolves devour the deer before she could climb down and go home.

acc to paper written (circa 1919) by Susan herself, in possession of Betty Ruth ERWIN: (letter or diary)... Susan was born 3 Aug 1846...County of Lanark, Ontario 1866 went to Montreal June 1871 married Alexander WHITE 1872 came to Bay City 1876 moved to Hampton twp & resided there 41 yrs Nov 1879 married Martin PORTER her father was Mars NIVEN & her mother was Susan DON...both of Blantyre, Scotland her paternal grandparents were: Robert NIVEN & Margaret YUILL her maternal grandparents: John DON & Margaret HENDERSON, both of Blantyre, Scotland, County Lanark.

acc to neighbor: Susan was the one who gave the children their lickings (spankings)...but she was a wonderful woman who would help anybody.

Some relatives claimed Susan & Martin both buried Seaman's Cemetery in Bay City...but computer-on-line transcription for that cem (Feb 2004) does not list them there. Susan & Martin apparently owned Deed for sw corner lot 41 in Seaman's w/Lewis TERRY... Susan's obit says she is in Pine Ridge Cem. Martin's does not say where he is buried.

George Albert PORTER notes that Susan was on the train that killed her brother John Doane NIVEN. That Susan purchased her 8 acre farm in Bay county (from Mr YOUNGS) with money she got from selling Alexander WHITE's railroad watch. At one time, David LIVINGSTON's brass candlestick(s) were given to Susan...but are/is now in Canadian National Museum.

1.   Betty Ruth ERWIN. (15 May 1984.).
2.   Charley STEWART. (interview with Alma Isabelle NEVIN circa 1976.).