In 70 years, a lot has happened and then again, not so much has changed. Many of the buildings have stood the test of time. I’m especially proud of the pole barn, standing so straight and true, because my grandpa built it! But alas, the house burned down and some of the buildings are succumbing gracefully to gravity . . .
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Appreciation for an Old Photograph
Okay a little description . . . this photograph has been through the wringer! It is bent and torn in several places. There are numerous spills, discolorations and even some thumbprints. There are two thumbtack holes. There are stains and specks and smudges. One corner is very mangled and three corners are missing and it looks like another part of it is going to break off at any moment!
So there it is in all it’s pathetic glory! I’m so grateful that it has made it to me! It is pretty old, from about 1921 or 1922. (Margaret died the end of 1923, so it could not have been taken after that. ) It is a four-generations picture, so that is valuable and it has clearly been through a lot in the past 90 years.
Okay here’s the full old-photograph analysis . . .
- The coloring is quite yellow and the surface shiny.
- The size of the original is 3.75 inches x 6 inches.
- Written on the back: Mom & Dad Fjerstad, Fran, Atchie & Atchie’s mom.
- Fran looks to be about one or two years old, her mom was about 23, her dad was about 26, Atchie (May Williams was Claire’s mom) was about 46 and Margaret (Claire’s grandmother) was about 83 years old.
- I’m not sure where it was taken. Fran was born in 1920 in Toronto, South Dakota and I know they moved around a lot between the towns on the border between South Dakota and Minnesota. So I’m not quite sure where they were at this exact moment. I’m guessing this picture was taken in front of the house where they lived because their clothes look pretty casual.
Does anyone else have any more information about this photo?
The Basic Facts:
Margaret (Emma) JONES WILLIAMS
b. 9 Jul 1838, Chester, England
d. 4 Dec 1923, Staples, Todd, MN
m. 31 Aug 1867, England
May (Atchie) (Mary E) WILLIAMS ATCHISON
b. 25 Dec 1875, Beaver Dam, Dodge, WI
d. 15 Dec 1971, Staples, Todd, MN (Mary Rondorf home)
m. 27 Oct 1897, Staples, Todd, MN
Claire (Clara) ATCHISON
b. 2 Sep 1898, Staples, Todd, MN
d. 30 Aug 1951, St. Paul, Ramsey, MN
& Peter Ole FJERSTAD
b. 2 Oct 1895, Amhurst, Fillmore, MN
d. 2 Aug 1974, Robbinsdale, Hennepin, MN
m. 1919, Hendricks, Lincoln, MN
Evelyn Frances FJERSTAD HOLMAN
b. 23 Jan 1920, Toronto, Deuel, SD
d. 17 May 2002, Brooklyn Center, Hennepin, MN
m. 16 Feb 1937, Milbank, Grant, SD
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Holman Timeline for Four Generations
I have said it before and I will say it again: I don’t know how anyone decides they are done with family history! I have so much respect for all those people who published books. Anyway, I figure I have collected enough that this could be useful to someone, but please consider this a draft. Here are facts and their sources.
- 1830 – Abel Holman with 5 people in household Windham, Windham, VT (census)
- 21 Aug 1830 – Charles Holman born VT (binder)
- 26 Jul 1832 – Abbie Harrington born Windham Co VT (death cert) or 1831 (HK)
- 1850 – Charles in Windham VT (census)
- 1854 – Abbie and Charles married & moved to Dekalb IL (HK)
- 1856 – Abbie and Charles moved to Rockford IL (HK)
- 1858 – Abbie and Charles moved to Ogle Co IL (HK)
- 1860 – Charles & Abbie & kids in Dement, Ogle, IL (census)
- 1863 – Charles drafted for the Civil War with brother James in IL (draft reg)
- 7 Sep 1863 – George Holman born IL (binder)
- 1865 – Fred born Vermont (binder)
- 1866 – They moved to Kossuth IA – They were early settlers here (HK) Charles’ brother James moved there as well (Reed)
- 5 May 1867 – Nellie Benschoter born to Oliver and Sarah IA (death cert)
- 1870 – Charles & Abbie & 3 kids in Algona IA (census)
- 1880 – Charles & Abbie have 4 kids and a servant in Kossuth IA (census)
- 30 Sep 1880 – Charles died Algona IA (death cert)
- 1885 – Abbie has 3 kids in Kossuth IA (census)
- 25 Oct 1885 – George and Nellie married in Kossuth Co IA (marriage cert)
- 4 Sep 1892 – Fay born Algona IA to Nellie and George (draft card, death, birth cert)
- 22 Sep 1895 – Mabel Vipond born Moline to Isaac and Louise Belle (death cert)
- 1900 – George “Mary” and 5 kids in Kossuth IA (census)
- 1900 – Abbie is with Rose and Anton in Kossuth IA (census)
- 1905 – George, Nellie and 6 kids farming in Big Stone MN (census)
- 1910 – George, Nellie and 5 kids farming in Big Stone MN (census) (owned – look for land records)
- 1910 – Isaac Vipond and Belle and 5 kids farming in Big Stone MN (census)
- 12 Jun 1913 – Fay & Mabel married in Big Stone MN (binder)
- 18 Jun 1915 – Glen Holman born to Fay and Mabel in Odessa MN (death, birth cert)
- 5 Jun 1917 – Fay farming in Odessa MN, wife and 2 kids (draft card)
- 23 Jan 1920 – Frances Fjerstad born to Peter and Clair (death cert)
- 1920 – Fay and Mabel and 2 kids in Ortonville MN (census)
- 1920 – George, Nellie and Ruth in Mpls MN next to the McGaughey’s (census)
- 17 Nov 1923 – George died Algona IA (death cert)
- 6 Feb 1926 – Abbie died Algona IA (death cert)
- 1930 – Fay & Mabel & 5 kids in Big Stone MN (census)
- 16 Feb 1937 – Glen and Fran married in Milbank living in Ortonville MN (marriage cert)
- 1940 – Fay & Mabel & 4 kids in Big Stone MN, Isaac w/ them (census)
- 22 Nov 1944 – Nellie dies Todd Co MN (death cert)
- 1948 – Fay & Mabel in Mpls MN at 1721 4th Ave S (city dir)
- 9 Apr 1966 – Mabel dies Hennepin Co MN (death cert)
- 23 Jan 1968 – Glen Holman dies Hennepin Co MN (death cert)
- 1 Aug 1971 – Fay dies in Anoka Co MN (death cert)
- 17 May 2002 – Fran dies Hennepin Co MN (death cert)
- (As always, there are no details about living descendants to protect their privacy.)
*Fun discovery: Fay and Mabel were neighbors! There was just one family in between their families in the 1910 census. They married in 1913.
*Fay was a Rip Rapper in the 1940 census! What is that?
*I wish we could find out more on Charles parents! Who will solve the mystery?
Sources:
- HK=History of Kossuth, Hancock, and Winnebago Counties, Iowa from 1884: Click here for the ebook
- Reed=Reed’s History of Kossuth Co from 1913: Click here for the ebook (Check out p.301 for a great account of the destructive cyclone of 1894 where George & Nellie lost a child and all their buildings.)
- binder=The Holman-Benschoter Family binder made in 1996 by Marlin Albert McGaughey and Dorothy Lee Swanberg
- Plus all those birth, marriage & death certificates and census records!
The Basic Facts:
Charles Thomas HOLMAN
b. 21 Aug 1830, Windham, VT
d. 30 Sep 1880, Algona, Plumcreek, IA
& Abigail (Abbott) HARRINGTON
b. 26 Jul 1831, Rutland, Windham, VT
d. 6 Feb 1926, Algona, Plumcreek, IA
m. 23 Feb 1854
George Allen HOLMAN
b. 7 Sep 1863, Rockford, Winnebago, Illinois
d. 17 Nov 1923, Algona, Kossuth, IA
& Nellie BENSCHOTER
b. 5 May 1867, Algona, Kossuth, IA
d. 22 Nov 1944, Park Rapids, Hubbard, MN
m. 25 Oct 1885, Portland, Kossuth, IA
Fay Oliver HOLMAN
b. 4 Sep 1892, Algona, Kossuth, IA
d. 1 Aug 1971, Fridley, Anoka, MN
& Mabel Edna VIPOND
b. 22 Sep 1895, Moline, Rock Island, IL
d. 9 Apr 1966, Minneapolis, Hennepin, MN
m. 12 Jun 1913, Ortonville, Big Stone, MN
Glen Oliver HOLMAN
b. 18 Jun 1915, Odessa, Big Stone, MN
d. 23 Jan 1968, Minneapolis, Hennepin, MN
& Evelyn Frances FJERSTAD
b. 23 Jan 1920, Toronto, Deuel, SD
d. 17 May 2002, Brooklyn Center, Hennepin, MN
m. 16 Feb 1937, Milbank, Grant, SD
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Surprise! From Disney to Ostfriesland
After 20 years of genealogy, I can still be surprised! How delightful. Here is the story . . .
Recently my mother was reading a biography about Walt Disney and a name leapt off the page: Ubbe Iwwerks. You see, we have an Ubbe Iwwerks in our family tree and that doesn’t seem to be a very common name.
With just a little digging, yes indeed, the Ubbe Iwwerks that worked with Disney (he later shortened it to Ub Iwerks) was grandson to our Ubbe. The man who first drew Mickey Mouse! They even wrote a book about him, The Hand Behind the Mouse, and made a documentary. I think my grandma would have gotten a kick out of that, her first-cousin-once-removed worked with Disney and won Academy Awards!
My grandma gave me a scrapbook with stories and photos she had collected and in there she wrote that Ubbee Rempt Iwerks was born 13 Sep 1817 in Holland and married Margaret Von Vekeum. They had Dina (my grandma’s grandma and sister to Ub’s dad), born 3 Nov 1847 in Hanover, Germany. Dina told my grandma stories of ice skating on the Rhine River. I am not sure of her sources for that information.
In the book, The Hand Behind the Mouse, they write that Ubbe Reemt & Maike Iwwerks lived in and raised their children in the village of Abbingwehr which is 6 miles from Uttum in the province of Ostfriesland on the northwest coast of Germany. They say the land was below sea level and had poor soil, so there was limited agriculture and a focus on grazing cattle. They don’t have any information about their sources for that either, but I’m hoping that is right.
Clearly, I have more work to do here since there are some inconsistencies. I find several summaries online from people who have done some work on this part of the family, but I haven’t been able to get my hands on any original sources yet. From a quick look at Wikipedia, it looks like an interesting area with a long history and there were many Frisian dialects so that the different groups of people couldn’t even understand each other!
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1938 Photo Essay – Gertrude Middendorp & Sulo Laitala
Don’t they look young and happy?
Click here for the audio story of How Gertrude & Sulo Met
Click here for the 1938 Photo Essay
Big thanks to my grandma for giving me the stories and photos she had collected to get me started on my genealogical journey.
P.S. I made these with Keynote, Pixelmator and Audacity.
The Basic Facts:
Sulo Elmer (Shorty) LAITALA
b. 23 Sep 1911, Chisholm, St. Louis, MN
d. 5 Dec 1992, Minneapolis, Hennepin, MN
Gertrude Virginia (Toots) MIDDENDORP
b. 26 Nov 1918, Turtle Lake, Barron, WI
d. 1 Aug 1998, Minneapolis, Hennepin, MN
m. 13 Jan 1940, Duluth, St. Louis, MN
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French Tips for Genealogists (who don’t speak French)
A lot of the entries in parish registers follow pretty standard patterns and you can pick up what you need without having studied French for years. Also, quite a few of the words are very similar: septembre, marriage, baptise, etc.
For me, the hardest thing is reading the faint handwriting, so I often will take the image into a program like Pixelmator and zoom in and adjust the levels so it is easier to read.
(I should probably mention that I actually did study French for years and still consult my French-English Dictionary once in awhile. I first wrote these tips to help my mother who has not studied French but wanted to slog through many parish registers.)
The General Pattern of Important Information for Birth (Naissance):
- Date
- Baptised [name of child]
- Born from the legitimate marriage of [names of parents]
- Sometimes you will see occupation
- Godfather and godmother
The hardest thing is that they spelled out the dates. You need a translation helper for the months, so try this: http://www.girouard.org/cgi-bin/page.pl?file=months&n=6
And numbers are harder because there is this form: http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/ss/numbers.htm
And then you also see them like “deuxieme” which takes the number “2” and makes it “second.”
They wrote long numbers out so 1844 = mil huit cent quarante quatre or broken down:
- mil = 1000
- huit cent = 800
- quarante = 40
- quatre = 4
If you are unsure about boy v. girl, check the “born of a legitimate marriage” phrase – the word for born is spelled differently for boys and girls. Boys don’t have the extra “e” eg. Jean né v. Angele née.
And also watch for né hier v. né aujourd’hui (born yesterday v. today).
In this example from Yamaska (parish St. Michel):
- 6 May 1826
- Baptised Angele
- Born yesterday from the legitimate marriage of Regis Parenteau, farmer (agriculteur du lien = farmer of bond?), & Marguerite Lepire
- Godparents: Paul Feraux or Teraux? (that one is hard to read!) & Marie Lambert
The General Pattern of Important Information for Marriage:
- Date
- Marriage of [name of groom], son of [names of parents] on the one part
- And [name of bride], daughter of [names of parents] on the other part
- Witnesses
So in this example from Sherbrooke (Cathedrale St. Michel):
- 20 Sep 1850
- Peter Leclerc son of Charles Leclerc & Julie Chouinard
- Angelique Parenteau daughter of Regis Parenteau & Marguerite Lepire from the parish of St. David
- Witnesses: Charles Leclerc & Alprea Camiere
Also, watch for veuf and veuve (widower and widow) – that tells you who the previous spouse was.
And you will see a lot of “en cette ville” which is “in this town” and “en cette paroisse” which is “in this parish.”
P.S. It is always exciting to find a birth record for an ancestor and this one is from 1826 Quebec! However, this one was also disappointing. If you recall, the whole reason I started on this 20-year-long genealogical journey was that my grandma told me that her great-grandfather, Peter LeClair, was a fur trapper born in Canada and that he had married an Indian maiden. This woman, Angele, was supposed to be the Indian. Looks rather French and Catholic, doesn’t she?
The Basic Facts:
Peter LECLAIR HOULE
b. 27 Jun 1815, Quebec, Canada
d. 13 Oct 1922, Turtle Lake, Barron, WI
Angeline PARENTEAU
b. 6 May 1826, St. Michel, Yamaska, Quebec, Canada
d. 5 Feb 1911, Turtle Lake Baron Co WI
m. 20 Sep 1850, St. Michel, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
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