Jill Holman

Mercer Raceabout Type 35

February 2, 2014 by Jill Holman

Mary & her mother & ? — Mary & her mother in a Mercer Raceabout

More about this picture I published last time – this is a special car!

Thanks to cousin Gordon, self-professed car nut, I have learned that this is a Mercer Raceabout Type 35 and it was made from 1911 to 1915 with a total production of under 1,000.

They say it was “one of the most advanced cars of its time” & I am ever so curious how these two women ended up in this special car!

Did they have racing in Staples? Cousin Gordon suggested it could have been an older car used for dirt track racing by the time the picture was taken.

I had guessed this picture was in 1910 in Staples, but it must have been later. Margaret died in 1923, so it has to be before then. Mary moved to Canada in 1913, but she did come back to visit several times, so perhaps this picture was taken on one of her trips back to Staples.

This picture & more information available here at Wikipedia.

There are also some great pictures of a 1913 Mercer Raceabout here at Jay Leno’s Garage where they describe the car “as little more than a hood, two bucket seats and a 25-gallon gas tank.”

Thanks to Cousin Gordon!

P.S. Added February 9, 2014:
A bit more from my clever & persistent mother in response to this post . . . Note: the number 5 on the car, how old the car looks, no leaves on the trees BUT the men are in their shirtsleeves, and the style of clothes they’re wearing. My guess is this is around 1920 or 21, in the spring. I have no record of Mary’s visit in 1920, BUT in 1921 she came in the spring. All the other visits were in late fall or early winter. And in 1920, son Charles was living with Margaret. He would have been 39. My guess is he’s one of the men in the picture.

Thanks Mom!

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Histories, Mysteries and Little Old Ladies

November 24, 2013 by Jill Holman

Guest post from my mother! . . .

Some people go to the beach, I like to spend my summers investigating a family history “mystery.” This summer it was Efner Atchison [see the last post for more on him] and Mary Ellen Williams, from the Fjerstad/Atchison branch of our tree.

We had very little information on Efner. He was my “Mystery Man.” Or so I thought.
Mary Ellen Williams, or Mae Atchison as she was known in later years, was my husband’s great-grandmother. I had met her, at family gatherings and her annual two week visits with my mother-in-law. She was a feisty, little old lady. This was someone I actually knew, no mystery there. Or so I thought, again.

To investigate a family history “mystery,” I gather all the information I have (fact or not). See what’s missing and begin a list of questions I don’t have answers for. Then I go in search of those answers. Find the facts and put the pieces together. Simple, right? Maybe for Sherlock Holmes.

Efner and Mary Ellen were married in 1897 in Staples, MN. Efner seemed to have died in 1909. That left Mary Ellen a young widow with 3 children to raise. And apparently she stayed a widow right up to her death, 1971 in Staples, MN. That intrigued me. How in the world did she support herself and raise 3 children? Did she live in Staples all those years? 60 years of missing pieces?!?! Now I had a “Mystery Woman,” too.

She lived in Staples, she had family and friends there. Yet she seemed to have moved to Canada somewhere around 1913. I had trouble believing that. Why would she have packed up her children and moved to another country? Putting myself in her place, I guessed that either she was traveling with someone or that she knew someone where she was going.

Canadian records for that time and area are sparse. She seems to have visited someone in Canada according to a 1912 Border Crossings from the U.S. to Canada record. Further searches showed me that she had a brother living in Saskatchewan at the time. The 1916 Census of Canada shows that she did indeed live in Saskatchewan, beginning in 1913. Border crossing records show that between 1917 and 1921 she returned to Staples several times. Maybe to visit her parents? Fact: she lived in Canada from 1913 to 1921.

Only 50 missing years to go. Since the Canadian resources had dried up, what other facts did I have? The end of her life! She died in Staples in 1971, how long had she been there? By searching through newspaper archives, I found “resident tidbits” about her all the way back to 1942. Bingo, the last 30 years of her life were spent in Staples. Some of those years were spent in a local retirement home.

Still 20 missing years. And this time I had the 1930 and 1940 U.S. censuses to help me. 1930 turned up nothing, that was disappointing. But in 1940 she shows up in Duluth, MN working as a housekeeper for the Spencer family. And the Duluth City Directories show her living with them back to 1935.

1921 to 1935 – 14 years still missing. Totally frustrating for me. Where was she? In Canada? Duluth? Staples? Or someplace else? Why didn’t I ask her about her life when I had the chance? Maybe there wouldn’t have been a mystery, or missing years. But then what would I do with my summers?

P.S. Note from Jill . . .
I just want to underscore how surprising this all was. From the stories I had heard, I thought this little old lady had lived in Staples her whole life. But no, she got around! I was so surprised she lived in Saskatchewan! It also seems good to mention that she lived for 95 years – so she had a lot of time to move around & have an interesting life.

Extra bonus – I thought I would share a couple more pictures I have of Atchie, as we called her. I wish I knew more about these images. It is easy to pick out May/Mary in the black dress & her mother Margaret in the white dress. I don’t know who the other people are in this one:

And here they are again in this car. I am guessing around 1910 in Staples? Perhaps the man on the left is Margaret’s husband John, but it is hard to tell for sure.

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The Efner Atchison Breakthrough

September 22, 2013 by Jill Holman

As you may remember from my earlier post, we had a mystery on our hands. The family story was that Efner worked for the railroad & died in a hotel fire, perhaps in Wadena or Staples MN. The death date for him in the family Bible was 28 Oct 1909, but I hadn’t found a death certificate.

So my clever & persistent mother has been at it again. She decided to tackle this problem. First she got all organized & made her fact sheet. She found a census record for him that I had missed – he was listed as Efner Efnerson in 1895!

Then when she ran out of leads, she contacted the Wadena County Historical Society & they provided several helpful tidbits:

1) Cemetery information – Efner M. Atchison, May Atchison, Clair Atchison Fjerstad, Nettie Kilts and Ruben Kilts are buried at Evergreen Hill Cemetery, Section 4 old east Lot/row L62/W/1/2 in Staples, MN. (Hooray we have more information about where he is buried!)

2) Wadena Pioneer Journal 11/4/1909 “Last Thursday the relatives in Thomastown of Dick Atchison of Staples were advised that his death had occurred in Minneapolis where he had been for a couple of weeks for treatment. The funeral services were held from the Methodist Church, Rev. L. Dodds officiating. The remains were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery north of Staples. The deceased leaves a wife and three children and numerous other relatives to mourn his loss.” (Dick!? When did Efner go by Dick!?)

3) Wadena Pioneer Journal, Neighborhood News 11/4/1909 “Owing to the recent fire, the Hotel Ransford at Brainerd, has been closed. Thomas H. Beace, who has been managing the hotel, will not renew his lease, as he has arranged to manage a new hotel at Virginia.” and “Brainerd had a bad fire Thursday of last week. The damage amounted to between $150,000 and $200,000. The fire started in the Schwartz drug store. The Columbia block and contents were a total loss. The Odd Fellows block and post office burned, and the Ransford hotel was practically ruined. The Masons, Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows and Red Men lost heavily.”
(There was a fire, but no link that Efner was involved & it looks like he was already in Minneapolis having his treatment at the time.)

Then my clever & persistent mother decided to search for the death certificate by the date. (Luckily the last name starts with A!) She found one for Richard Achison & enough information matches up that we think it is him.

So, it looks like we have another family story that doesn’t appear to be true. We can’t find any evidence he worked for the railroad (& others do say they worked for the RR in the census). And on his death certificate it says he died from: chronic nephritis with valvular disease of the heart, which doesn’t seem fire related.

I was surprised that he wasn’t listed at a hospital on the death certificate, since he was supposedly in Minneapolis for treatment according to the newspaper article. I was very curious who or what was at “304 Aldrich Ave S” in 1909 and found that the address listed was not a valid address. (I spent some time with the 1909 City Directory & some old maps.) And my clever & persistent mother also looked up the doctor that signed the death certificate and he was located on Nicollet Ave., pretty far away.

Still another mystery for someone to solve! And there is so little information for Efner’s son Glenn – who wants to work on that puzzle?

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Ingalls & Seaward – Sibbel Seaward’s Ancestors

July 21, 2013 by Jill Holman

Found another gem of a book!: A Genealogical History of the French and Allied Families by Mary Elizabeth Queal Beyer. It is from 1912 and yippee! You can read it online. I learned a lot about Sibbel Seaward’s ancestors. There is even a picture of her, which is now the oldest portrait of an ancestor that I have.

Sibbel Seaward's Pedigree — Sibbel Seaward’s Ancestors

Here are a few of my favorite stories & discoveries . . .

Ingalls

How fun is this!? Scandinavian pirates! Here is a quote from page 219:

“The name is supposed to be Scandinavian, and derived from Ingialld. During the ninth century the Scandinavian pirates often descended upon the east coast of Great Britain, and in after many years of this nationality made settlements in Lincolnshire. These people were a hardy seafaring race, owing to the nature of their country, but under changed conditions of environment settled down to tilling the soil. The name of Ingalls is still common in England, its etymology being ‘By the power of Thor.’ “

Edmund came to Salem in 1628, only 8 years after the Pilgrims at Plymouth.
Sibbel’s grandfather, Henry, was in the Revolutionary War and later was town clerk for Richmond, NH. President Garfield was a descendent!

Seaward

The story on the name according to Mary on page 239:

“The Seawards are of Scotch-English descent, a tradition in the family giving the name originally as Ward. Some of the family living near the sea were designated as Sea Wards, and thus they finally came to be known as Seaward or Seward.”

William was born in England & came to Taunton MA by 1643. He took the oath of fidelity to Guilford 4 May 1654. As the author states on page 240:

“He was a tanner, a man of considerable property and eminence in the town, and was for a long time commander of the train band. He frequently represented the town in the General Assembly.”

Caleb was also a tanner who was the first settler when he moved to Durham CT 4 May 1699.
Ebenezer was a doctor who moved to New Bedford MA 1737.
Stephen had a wool mill until 1812 & then he was a tavern keeper on the road to Albany. He moved in 1828 to the far west, which was Cattaraugus NY. He lived with Sibbel at the time of his death.

Fun story from page 247:

“The following incident has been handed down by the descendants of Stephen Seaward, who was at one time the owner of a valuable iron gray horse of which he was very proud. One night it was stolen from his stable, and while he made diligent search throughout that part of the country, no trace of the missing animal could be found. A year or so afterward, a neighbor who had been to Albany, told him of having seen in a stable in that city a horse which he believed to be the one he had lost. Stephen immediately went to that city, where he explained the situation to the man who had the horse in his possession, to which explanation the man replied: “If you can prove your statement, the horse is yours.” “I will prove it by the horse himself,” returned Stephen Seaward. He stepped into the barn and the horse neighed, as had been his habit upon the approach of his master. He then went up to the horse and patting him, said: “Prince, address yourself!” and he immediately stretched himself upon his hind legs, and then on his fore legs. Then his owner said: “Take my hat,” which the horse immediately did; then he requested him to make a bow, which the animal proceeded to do. “The horse is yours,” said the man, and Stephen returned home, happy to again be the possessor of this much prized animal.”

Poor Lucy died from childbirth with her ninth child.

There is a picture of Sibbels’ gravestone here, though it is a bit hard to read.

Big question: it says Almira (Sibbel’s daughter) was married three times! I only know about two: Benjamin & William. Who knows the answer to this mystery?

The Basic Facts:
Sibbel SEAWARD
b. 15 Apr 1811, Decatur NY
d. 2 Apr 1891, Franklinville, Cattaraugus, NY
m. 17 Mar 1829 William McNALL, Franklinville, Cattaraugus, NY

Longevity!

June 23, 2013 by Jill Holman

Recently, I got to thinking . . . it seems like my ancestors lived to be awfully old. Lots of them lived to be in their 80s & 90s. And didn’t people used to have a shorter life expectancy? And lots of women used to die in childbirth. I think I only have found one case of that with my ancestors.

So I went searching and I love what they have done here at the Mapping History Project graphing life expectancy. I managed to grab a screenshot showing all three of these at once:

The black line is life expectancy for both men & women from birth
The red line is life expectancy for men at age 5
The yellow line is life expectancy for women at age 5

It really shows how infant mortality was a huge problem – look at that big gap between the black line & the other two lines between 1850-1890.

Then I put my ancestors on the chart by hand:

Longevity Chart — My Ancestors Lived Longer than Average!

Blue dots – my paternal female ancestors (It is a little hard to tell the blue from the black, but the black are the small dots & the blue are the larger dots.)
Black dots – my paternal male ancestors
Green dots – my maternal male ancestors
Red dots – my maternal female ancestors

Since the original chart is average age of death, you would expect my ancestors (the dots) to be equally above & below the lines. But they are not. There are so many that lived much longer than you would have expected.

Here are my Longevity Stars (the ones that are off the top of the chart):

Sarah Crose Van Benschoten died 22 Nov 1944 at the age of 103
Peter Leclair Houle died 13 Oct 1922 at the age of 97
May Williams Atchison died 15 Dec 1971 at the age of 95
Abigail (Abbott) Harrington Holman died 6 Feb 1926 at the age of 94
Foelke Janshen Tholen Iwwerks died 7 Jun 1874 at the age of 94
Anna Olsdtr Bjaastad died 13 Jul 1928 at the age of 91
Dena Ubben Iwwerks Middendorp died 7 May 1939 at the age of 91
Jane Anisworth Williams died 9 Nov 1872 at the age of 90

What a fun exploration – I hope I inherited those longevity genes!

Early Atchinsons in America

May 26, 2013 by Jill Holman

Buel Atchinson's Pedigree — Buel Atchinson’s Pedigree Chart

Wow. I never thought I would be able to trace my ancestors to colonial Massachusetts!
I have just been reading The Atchinson Book compiled & written by Court Atchinson. If you are an Atchinson descendant, you should really check it out. There is a lot of detail! So much he did it in three volumes! And it is available online:

Of course, I have not verified this all myself, but here are a few things I wanted to highlight . . .
The origin of the name is not known for sure, but one theory is that we are descendants of King Arthur! How fun is that!?

John & Deliverance Atchinson
Not much is known about them, but he was killed by Indians 19 Sep 1677 Hatfield MA. It is likely that she was a Puritan because of her name & those of her children. It is likely he had Scottish heritage because several descendants from different branches of the family heard that story and it was not a desirable thing to claim then. The majority of the Scots that were shipped here were criminals & political prisoners. It is likely that John was an indentured servant with a 6-8 year term. If so, it is surprising he was allowed to marry & if he was done with his term, why didn’t he request land? A mystery we may never get solved.

The Burts
Henry Burt was a prosperous clothier from Harberton Devonshire who died in 1617. His son Henry became prominent in Springfield MA. His wife, Ulalia, was nearly buried, but showed signs of life at her funeral. Then she went on to have 19 children! As Court puts it, “Two daughters had close encounters with witchcraft.” And there were some famous descendants as well: President Grover Cleveland, Ethan Allan & Oliver Wendell Holmes.

John & Dorcas Burt Atchinson
John was born 23 Mar 1675 or 1676 Hatfield MA. In 1702, he requested land in Longmeadow MA. Dorcas was born 10 Feb 1680. John & Dorcas married 25 Feb 1703 Springfield MA. John was active with community service for 18 years in Springfield MA. Then went to Brimfield, which was later called Monson. He died 26 May 1731 or 1732 and she returned to Longmeadow MA. She died 21 Oct 1770. (From what we guess about his father, it looks like the Atchinsons went from “criminal” to prominence in one generation!)

Deliverance & Mercy Warriner Atchinson
Yes, a boy named Deliverance was born 6 Feb 1722 or 1723 Longmeadow MA. Deliverance & Mercy married 20 Jul 1758. Her parents were Benjamin Warriner & Mercy Bartlett of Wilbraham MA.

John & Phebe Kibbe Atchinson
He was born 28 Jun 1762. He probably served in the Revolutionary War, but there are 2 of them and not enough information to be sure. John & Phebe married 5 Oct 1783. She had been born 6 Nov 1765 in Somers CT to Joseph & Phebe Wright Kibbe. He died in 1790 & she remarried.

John & Lydia Packard Atchinson
He was born 1787. John & Lydia married 22 Jan 1807 in Jericho VT. Lydia was born 1 May 1786 to George & Margaret Prouty Packard. John enlisted in the War of 1812 25 Sep 1813. He served 1 month 23 days. Lydia died 5 Aug 1840 Underhill VT.
If you want to see more on the younger generations, see this post.

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Jill Holman

Ingalls

Seaward

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