Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Culver, Lavina (Lockwood) 1914
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Portland Observer, 30 Jul 1914

Mrs. Lavina Culver Dies in 78th Year

Pioneer of Portland Expires at the Noon Hour Friday at Home of Her Daughter.

Culvertown Got Name From Her Husband

Farm Where Couple Settled in Early 50’s Also Retains Family Name Through Four 
Generations.

Following a year’s gradual declination in health, due to the infirmities of old 
age, Mrs. Lavina Culver, a pioneer of Portland, expired at the noon hour Friday 
at the home of her daughter, Mrs. George A. Knox, in this village, with whom 
she had made her home for many years.  The obsequies were held at the late 
residence Saturday afternoon at 2:30, conducted by Rev. David E. Millard, an 
old acquaintance of deceased, and interment took place in Portland cemetery.

Mrs. Culver’s maiden name was Lavina Lockwood.  She was born at Port Byron, 
N.Y., May 30, 1837, making her upwards of 77 years of age at the time of her 
death.  In the early 50’s she married Charles G. Culver, a resident of Lyons, 
N.Y., and the couple came to Portland immediately after the ceremony, settling 
on a piece of land west of the Pere Marquette depot which has retained the name 
of the Culver flats through four generations.  That section of the village 
known as Culvertown also got its name from Mr. Culver, who was one of the first 
residents of the locality.  The couple came the entire distance from Detroit by 
stage, and both could relate interesting stories of pioneer life.  Mr. Culver 
died March 1, 1909 at the age of 83.

Of six children born to this union only three are positively known to be 
living.  These are Charles L. Culver, a conductor in the employ of the Missouri-
Pacific Railway System with headquarters at VanBuren, Ark., Mrs. George A. 
Knox, of Portland, and Oliver Culver, of Ringling, Mont.  A son, John Culver, 
was in Idaho when last heard from eight years ago, but his present whereabouts 
are a matter of conjecture.  His long silence has adhered some members of the 
family to the belief that he is dead.  Besides the children mentioned deceased 
is survived by an aged sister, Mrs. Martha Godfrey, of Port Byron, N.Y.

Although an Episcopalian by birth, Mrs. Culver identified herself with the M.E. 
church shortly after coming to Portland.  She was also a member of the Women’s 
Relief Corps, but was obliged to give up her social and religious activities 
following the loss of her eyesight about ten years ago.  She had been totally 
blind since.  During the past few years she had seldom been away from her 
daughter’s home, and with the reaper steadily thinning the ranks of her 
friends, her acquaintance was limited at the time of her death.  Her character 
was above reproach and her friends always spoke of her in most glowing terms.


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