The collection consists mostly of Chalker’s Diaries and some typed Transcriptions of the Diaries, 1904-1932. A few Photographs, Biographical Materials, and materials related to his work as a Free Methodist minister complete the collection.
Biography:
Gideon I. Chalker (1862-1932) was the son of Gideon S. and Mary S. Chalker. Gideon I. married Dora Vandevente (1861-1939) with whom he had a son, Linn E. (Jack) Chalker (August 3, 1897-1962). Linn eventually married Gertrude Benson.
Gideon farmed in Emerson Township (Gratiot County, Michigan) He was appointed an elder in the Free Methodist Church of the East Michigan Conference in 1911. Gideon also worked as a minister in Lupton; Alpena; West Branch, 1909, Porter; Bethany and Wheeler townships of Midland and Gratiot counties, 1911; the Livingston Circuit, (Fowlerville area); and Sandusky, Michigan, 1915. He also worked with the Gratiot County Road Commission in Ithaca, 1917-1932. (This information is from the collection and the paper of Linn E. Chalker, which are also housed at Clarke Historical Library.)
