Follow Friday–Fab Finds for 6/1/12

My Fabulous Finds for this week actually are from the last two or three weeks.  So here they are in no particular order -

1. Questioning the Scanner by Ancestral Breezes
2. Camera People vs. Scanner People  by Marian’s Roots and Rambles
3. Using OneNote to Keep Up With Those Ancestors by 4 Your Family Story
4. More OneNote Features to Rock Your Researching World by 4 Your Family Story
5. Creating an Ancestor List ("Ahnentafel") in Legacy Family Tree 7.5 by Genea Musings
6. The Best Way to Network: Serving People  and 25 Blogging Tips for Newbies and Veterans by Jeff Goins
7. Sepia Saturday: On the Street Where You Live by Jollette etc.
8. Why Genealogy Blog Comments are Important by Blogging Genealogy
9. Honoring Civil War Veterans at The Ridges by A Sense of Family
10. SnagIt by TechSmith (nope, it’s not a blog, but it is a new discovery to me and I’m having fun with this new tech tool)

Treasure Chest Thursday - My Webster Family: Coming Full Circle - From The U.S.A. to Brazil and Back Again - Part 2

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family. 

Debs Warren Webster

Mr. Harper C. Pendry and my grandfather Debs Warren Webster apparently became friends following the amazing assistance Mr. Pendry provided to my grandfather in helping him connect with his Webster family here in the United States.  The following is a letter from Mr. Pendry to my grandfather written in January of 1952. 

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I’ve included the envelope for this letter as well. I like how my grandfather wrote the word “valuable” on the outside of it. Yes, grandpa, you were right, this is very valuable!

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Transcription of Mr. Pendry’s letter:

Dear Dr. Webster:

The day I received your welcome Christmas card a reporter from the local paper dropped in and was fascinated by the story I told him about our correspondence.  From the file he wrote up a short story about the incident which was carried in the Athens Messenger on January 1, 1952.

I enclose the page on which your story appears.

My best wishes for a happy New Year.

Yours very truly
ATHENS BOARD OF TRADE

Harper C. Pendry
Secretary-Manager

So, how cool is it that my grandpa’s story was written up in The Athens Messenger newspaper?  My grandfather saved the newspaper article and I am including it in this post, with the permission of The Athens Messenger.

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Transcription of newspaper article:

Board of Trade Search Finds Brazil Man’s Kin
By Charles Woodruff

You may suppose that the Athens Board of Trade is only interested in affairs connected with commerce, that it is a completely impersonal thing.

But you’d be wrong.

Take the recent case of the South American dentist for an example.

Dr. Debs Warren Webster, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, wrote to the Athens board asking for information.  Dr. Webster said that he was hoping to locate relatives in Athens because his father had been born here.

The letter, written in an ornate script reminiscent of old world handwriting, said that his father’s name was Frederic Emory Webster; his grandfather, Abenezer Webster, and his grandmother, Cinthia Maria Webster.

Dr. Webster concluded that the reason he wanted to locate his relatives was because “I intend to go back to the states as soon as I get in touch with them.”

Harper C. Pendry, secretary-manager of the Athens Board of Trade, got hold of the letter last August, and things began to happen.

He acknowledged the letter to Dr. Webster and asked for more definite information, meanwhile conducting local inquiries and writing to the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, D. C.

Pendry asked old-timers around Athens if they knew anything about a family of Websters.  He learned that the only Websters in the county lived in Canaanville, and that they were not related.

The next letter from Dr. Webster provided the clue that ended the search.  After relating that he was born in Santos, Brazil, in 1914, three years after his father went there, and that his mother, a native Brazilian, died in 1920, the dentist described a visit to the United States in 1921.

It was while he was in Chicago that he met an uncle, Rollin Waterman Webster, his father’s younger brother, who worked in a pumping station for the New York Central Railroad.

From there on it turned out to be easy for Pendry.  He merely swiveled around in his office chair, took the Chicago city directory off the shelf and looked up Rollin Waterman Webster.  A quick letter to the Chicago uncle followed, and Pendry soon learned he had the right party.

The board secretary wrote a letter to Dr. Webster giving him the good news on Sept. 29.  Dr. Webster wrote back on Oct. 15, an excited letter offering profuse thanks and sending a picture of himself.

No, sir, you never know what job might fall to a board of trade office.

(In the newspaper article it states that Debs' mother was a native Brazilian.  That was incorrect.  She was actually born in Mexico.)

Mr. Harper C. Pendry and my grandfather must have kept in contact over the years because I have a letter from Mrs. Alice E. Pendry to my grandfather dated July 10, 1961 informing my grandfather of  the death of Mr. Pendry.  Here is her sweet letter:

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Transcription of Mrs. Pendry’s letter:

July 10, 1961

Dear Friends,

This note is to inform you of the passing of my beloved husband and your friend, Harper C. Pendry on June 16, 1961.

I wish to extend deep appreciation for the many kind notes and letters which brightened his days through his prolonged illness.

Sincerely,

Alice C. Pendry


Thanks for reading!

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Wordless Wednesday–Sarah Vasques Madeira

Sarah Vasques Madeira

This is Sarah Vasques Madeira, my maternal grandmother.  Unfortunately I never knew her as she died on 14 July 1942 in Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.  She was born on 23 February 1900 in Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.  She was the wife of my grandfather, Debs Warren Webster, whose briefcase I wrote about in a previous post.  She was also the daughter-in-law to my "Traveling Dentist" Great-Grandpa Frederick Webster, of whom I’ve written several blog posts.

More about Sarah in a future post.  (Yes, yes, I know, this wasn’t wordless was it?  I just can’t seem to stick to the “wordless” rule on these.) 

Thanks for reading!


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Tombstone Tuesday–Civil War Soldier: Richard Engle

This is the tombstone of Richard Engle, the husband of my 2nd Great-Grand Aunt Sarah Amanda Waterman.  You may remember Sarah Amanda Waterman from a previous post.  She lived to the remarkable age of 103 years old.  Richard and Sarah are buried at the Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, Los Angeles, California.  Below is a picture where you can see both of their grave markers (Richard on the left, Sarah on the right) with the “Engle” marker above their individual grave markers.



Richard was born on 8 November 1831 near Barnesville, Belmont, Ohio and passed away on 26 April 1917 in South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California.  He was the son of Caleb Engle and Sarah Fawcett, both from Ohio.

Richard served in the U.S. Civil War in Company G of the 63rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

 Richard's Find A Grave Memorial

Thanks for reading!


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Sepia Saturday 127–Frederick E. Webster’s Dental Office

Sepia Saturday provides an opportunity for genealogy bloggers to share their family history through photographs.







There are no cows or markets in this photograph, but it IS an interesting building with an interesting group of people in front of it.

This group of people are posed in front of the Dental Office of my great-grandfather, Watson Emory (Frederick) Webster.



Yes, you’ve heard of Frederick before.  He is also known as The Traveling Dentist and as an inventor in previous posts on my blog.

Frederick is the one seated to the far right with his arm around his son (my grandfather Debs Warren Webster).



This photograph was taken in Louisiana in 1926.  The back of the photo actually lists the people in the picture, so in case there are any of their descendants reading this post, I’ll go ahead and list their names:

From Left to right:

Sitting - Alice Jaques, Esther Allen, Alice Pickett, Geo. T. Pickett-General Mgr., Pauline Vanhorn, Dr. F. E. Webster, Debs Webster.

Standing – W. J. Hoag, Douglas Briger, Esther Jacobson.

Now for some curious observations about this photo: 

If you look closely at the lady seated in the middle of the picture, she is holding what looks like a dental teeth model. 


Also, take a look at those beehives that are sitting right in front of the group. Yikes!



On the back of the photo is typed the phrase, “Hiven (sic)  wiht (sic) 11 Caucasian and Carniolan Queens in them to take to Brazil.”  It looks like the first two words had some typos in them and are supposed to read “Hives with.”  I did a Google search and Caucasian and Carniolan are types of bees.

I don’t know about you, but I would NOT want to be sitting that close to beehives!  Oh, and I would NOT want them as traveling companions on my way to Brazil either!

Thanks for reading!


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Treasure Chest Thursday - My Webster Family: Coming Full Circle - From The U.S.A. to Brazil and Back Again - Part 1

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

Debs Warren Webster

Rollin Waterman Webster

Who would have thought that a simple letter of inquiry to the Athens Board of Trade in Athens County, Ohio, would result in the reuniting of my grandfather with his uncle.  But it did!  It's even more amazing because my grandfather, Debs Warren Webster, was living in Brazil, and his uncle, Rollin Waterman Webster was living in Chicago, Illinois at the time.  Why was Debs living in Brazil?  Well, actually, he was born there!  He was the son of Watson Emory (Frederick) Webster, a.k.a "The Traveling Dentist."  I have written about Frederick in several blog posts.  So, if you have read these posts, you know why my grandfather Debs was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In September of 1951, my grandfather sent a letter to the Athens Board of Trade in hopes of finding information regarding his family there in Athens County, Ohio because his father, Frederick Webster, was born there.  A kindly gentleman named Mr. Harper C. Pendry replied to my grandfather.  Below is his letter of reply -

I can't imagine how excited my grandfather must have been to receive Mr. Pendry's letter!  And when my grandfather received this letter from Mr. Pendry, he found his Uncle Rollin's letter to Mr. Pendry included as well.  Here is Rollin's letter of reply to Mr. Pendry:

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Our sweet Uncle Rollin was 81 years old at the time he wrote this letter.  You can see a picture of a younger Rollin from a previous post HERE.  Just in case it's difficult to read Rollin's letter, I've included a transcript below - I have included some, but not all, corrections in brackets.  I used to work as a Proofreader for a major corporation many years ago, so it has taken a lot of will power to keep from correcting more.  But I wanted to keep it as close to the original as possible for historical value, thus, the brackets.


Chicago Ill 20

Mr. Harper C. Pendry

I received your letter the 26 Sept, yes you telling me about Debs Webster,  His father Fred and the 3 children from Sapaula [Sao Paulo], South Americ [South America], came here from there to 319 E. 41^st St, Chicago after their visit, they went to Arkansa [Arkansas], doing Dental work, and to Louesana [Louisiana], and later went to Old Mexic [Old Mexico] where one of his daughters died her name was Edna.  Charlotte[Carlota] got married in Mexicoto a Mexican She stayed there and Debs and his father went back to Sapaul [Sao Paulo], So, America [South America].

Ebenezer Parry [Perry] Carlile Webster, my father, was born in Pomeroy Ohio, my mother’s name was Cinthia Maria Webster, her maiden name was Waterman, she was born in Athens.  My father mooved [moved] to Illinoisand then to Iowawhere I was born.  I was the youngest in the family.  My oldest sister Mary died in infantry [infancy].  Laura [Lura] Elizabeth died 1932, Watson Emory, Debs' father who changed his name to Fred in early days, you say “1946 died.”  Dr. Frank Summers died 1941, a Dentist.  Lillian died at the age of 46.  So you see I am the last Webster left,  I was born 1870.  I am retired from the Santa Fe R.R. since 1937.  I had 31 years R.R. service as Stationary Eng.  I worked 10 years for the I.C.? R.R., 21 years Santa Fe R.R.  I started with the Denver & Rio Grand Western, with Debs’ father 1890 he was a Coach Trimmer of R.R. coaches, for the Rio Gr R.R. in 1890.  Now you see Dr. Debs surley [surely] have found his relative for sure and tell him to write to me, and I thank you very much for your trouble.  Please write me soon.

Rollin Waterman Webster

8937 S. Paulina

Chicago 20
Ill,

P.S.  If you want to you may send this letter to Debs

This letter from Uncle Rollin is just filled with genealogical treasures!  For one thing, it helped to prove (in addition to Frederick's death certificate and Frederick's father's pension file) that my great-grandfather Frederick truly did change his name from Watson Emory to Frederick Emory.  It also provided details about Debs' sister Edna's death and his sister Carlota's marriage in Mexico, plus other details about Rollin's siblings.  I wonder if Rollin was unaware of the death of his brother Frederick because he said in his letter, "Debs' father who changed his name to Fred in early days, you say '1946 died.'"  That makes it sound like he didn't know about that.  How very sad!

I am so grateful to Mr. Harper C. Pendry for going above and beyond his normal duties in his job at the Athens Board of Trade in helping my grandfather find his family here in the U.S.A.

I will continue the story of "My Webster Family:  Coming Full Circle–From The U.S.A. to Brazil and Back Again" in a future post. J

Thanks for reading!

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Tombstone Tuesday–Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster

Photo by Dave Avery 2010 from Findagrave.com

This is the tombstone of my 2nd great-grandfather, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster. He was born on 11 August 1838 in Racine, Meigs, Ohio and died 6 May 1915 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Ebenezer's parents were Moses Augustine Webster and Amanda Melvina Carlisle.

Ebenezer married Cynthia Maria Waterman on 25 July 1858 in Athens, Ohio. Cynthia was the daughter of Asher Waterman and Bathsheba Paulk. I first introduced you to Asher Waterman in my post Sunday's Obituary - Asher Waterman.

Ebenezer and Cynthia were the parents of six children, one of whom was my "Traveling Dentist" Great-Grandfather Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster. I introduced the rest of Ebenezer's and Cynthia's children in my post The Webster Brothers.

Ebenezer served in the U.S. Civil War in Company E of the 74th Illinois Infantry. He didn’t serve for very long and was discharged due to health problems.

I found this interesting document on Ancestry.com. It's a page from the U.S. Civil War Draft Registration Records.  Ebenezer is listed on line 18.  It states that Ebenezer had six months of former military service. This reflects his previous service during the Civil War. He first enlisted on 7 August 1862 and was discharged for disability on 18 February 1863.



Source Citation: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110, Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau (Civil War); Collection Name: Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records); ARC Identifier: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 2 of 3.

Source Information:

Ancestry.com. U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

I have Ebenezer’s Civil War Pension File and will be posting more about him in a future post.

Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster's FindaGrave Memorial

Thanks for reading!


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Sunday’s Obituary–Asher Waterman

This is Asher Waterman, my 3rd great-grandfather.  He was married to Bathsheba Paulk.  They had 12 children, all of whom were born in Athens County, Ohio:  Eliza, William B., Charles Wesley, Eunice, Homer Clark, Jerusha, Jason C., Nancy Jane, Sarah Amanda, Cynthia Maria (my 2nd great-grandmother), Lucy Mae, and Lewis.

In a previous post I wrote about The Waterman Family Books by Donald Lines Jacobus.  In Volume 1, page 565, the recollections of a niece of Asher Waterman are quoted.  She said, "Asher Waterman was a man of great piety and some learning, also strong and handsome.  The Bible and Clark's Commentaries were his chief reading.  When a thunder-storm came on at night, he had all the family get up and dress and he read the Scriptures till the storm passed over. Sunday was kept in as great strictness as was possible and all misdeeds were strictly punished on Monday morning by Solomon's rule, and the boys, being the chief offenders, were more anxious to get to the fields to work or to the hills for the cattle than on any other morning in the week.  They were Methodists.”

The following obituary notice was from The Athens Messenger dated 4 Feb 1875:

Ancestry.com. The Athens Messenger (Athens, Ohio) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

Original data: The Athens Messenger. Athens, OH, USA. Database created from microfilm copies of the newspaper.

Transcript of Obituary:

"During the past week our vicinity has suffered by death, the loss of two of our most prominent and respected citizens, whose death requires something more than a mere passing notice.  Asher Waterman was born in Duchess county, New York, in the year 1792, came to Ohio and settled in the neighborhood where he has always lived, Troy township, in the year 1810.  He died January 19th, 1875, in the triumph of the Christian faith.  He joined the M. E. Church in 1819, under the labors of the Rev. Curtis Goddard and ever after lived to exemplify his profession.  He was a member of Capt. Gregory's Company and served in the war of 1812.  The death of Father Waterman has caused a vacuum which, perhaps, will not soon be filled.  For sixty-four years he lived and worshipped in the same neighborhood, and his life is a part of the history of Athens county."

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Sepia Saturday–The Webster Brothers

Sepia Saturday provides an opportunity for genealogy bloggers to share their family history through photographs.

The Webster Brothers

No, "The Webster Brothers" is not a singing group, comedy act, or even a group of traveling salesmen.  (Oh, wait a minute, one of the brothers did do a bit of traveling, didn't he?) J

This handsome trio are, left to right: Rollin Waterman Webster (age 13), Frank Summers Webster (age 18), and Watson Emory (Frederick) Webster (age 20).  The picture was taken around 1884.  Watson (Frederick) is my Great-Grandfather whom I have written about in several posts on my blog.  You may remember him as "The Traveling Dentist."  I first introduced you to Rollin with my post linked HERE.

Watson (Frederick), Frank, and Rollin are the sons of Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster and Cynthia Maria Waterman, both from Ohio.  Ebenezer and Cynthia had six children:

1. Mary Alice - born in Winnebago, Winnebago, Illinois on 28 August 1859; died there on 8 March 1862.
2. Lura Elizabeth - born in Winnebago, Winnebago, Illinois on 4 October 1861; died 12 January 1946 in Alhambra, Los Angeles, California.
3. Watson Emory (Frederick) - born in Coolville, Athens, Ohio on 14 February 1864; died 21 July 1946 in Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
4. Frank Summers - born in Blairstown, Benton, Iowa on 19 April 1866; died 25 February 1939 in Carthage, Jasper, Missouri.
5. Lillian Dell - born in Blairstown, Benton, Iowa on 17 January 1868; died 28 August 1914.
6. Rollin Waterman - born in Blairstown, Benton, Iowa on 21 October 1870; died 9 October 1962 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

I will be writing more about this Webster family in future posts.

Thanks for reading!


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Wordless Wednesday–Shark Anyone??

Looks like my Great-Grandpa Dr. Frederick Webster (The Traveling Dentist) not only pulled teeth out of people’s mouths, he pulled sharks out of the water too!  Actually, I’m not sure how that shark got there, or who caught it.  But that sounds like a good fish story right?

By the way, that isn’t Frederick Webster next to the shark.  The back of the picture says it’s Antonio Zeferino Nasiso.



Here’s another shot of the catch.  Frederick Webster is to the left of the shark this time.

P.S.  Ya, I know...this post isn't exactly "wordless" is it?

Thanks for reading!

© Copyright Jana Last 2012

Tombstone Tuesday–Sarah Amanda Waterman Engle

This is the tombstone of Sarah Amanda Waterman Engle.  She is my 2nd great grand-aunt.  Yes, you are reading those dates correctly!  1836-1939…This remarkable lady lived to be 103 years old!

Sarah was born on March 15, 1836 in Coolville, Athens, Ohio and passed away on December 5, 1939 in South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California.  She is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, Los Angeles, California.  Sarah parents’ are Asher Waterman and Bathsheba Paulk.

I will definitely be writing a follow-up post (or two) about Sarah.



Sarah Amanda (Waterman) Engle

Sarah's Find A Grave Memorial

Thanks for reading!


© 2012 Copyright by Jana Last

Follow Friday - 52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy Week #19: Blog Series

I started my genealogy blog on April 5, 2012.  I was and still am a total newbie to the blogging world.  I guess you could say I'm a "baby blogger," maybe starting into my toddlerhood.  Early on I submitted my blog to Geneabloggers and was accepted on their list.  I was so excited!  I also learned a lot by perusing other genealogy bloggers' blogs.  So, it’s difficult to decide on only one blog series that I’m thankful for and which has helped my blogging experience.  (Hmm, I can see I will need to post in the Follow Friday section of GeneaBloggers more often to list my other favorite blogs.)  Okay, so in keeping with the assignment to choose one blog series for this post, I'd say that I'd have to choose GeneaBloggers as the blog series I'm most thankful for.

GeneaBloggers is authored by Thomas MacEntee.  Thomas runs an amazing website!  He has been so welcoming to me as a new blogger!  And he has gone above and beyond in helping me with a technical difficulty I was having recently with my blog posts not getting uploaded to his fabulous GeneaBloggers website.  I love the Daily Blogging Prompts that help us bloggers with topic ideas for our own blogs.  And GeneaBloggers is also a great and fun way to get genealogy blogs noticed and read by fellow genealogy bloggers, as well as others searching for their ancestors.  And the Blog Resources section is very helpful.  All in all, it's just a great website!

So thank you Thomas MacEntee for your awesome website GeneaBloggers!

Thankful Thursday–FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, and Names In Stone

I was so thrilled to find my 2nd great-grandmother's death certificate on FamilySearch.org recently! Her name is Karin Johnsson and she was born in Sweden on July 9, 1850. Karin is the grandmother of my Grandma Ingrid. I introduced you to Ingrid in my earlier posts Wedding Wednesday - Arthur Harry Iverson and Ingrid Anna Gilberg and Matrilineal Monday: Flour Sack Dresses - Ingrid Anna Gilberg. Karin’s parents' names are Johan Larsson and Johanna Christina Lycka. Karin married Johan Erik Carlsson. She immigrated to the United States sometime before 1910.

In the 1910 Federal Census she is listed as "Carrie," not Karin and she was living with her daughter Hilda Gillberg's family in Salt Lake City, Utah.[1] The census also lists Karin's year of immigration as 1891. That is a different year than what was recorded in my Grandmother Ingrid's history. I'll have to do some research to resolve this. I also find it interesting to see that according to this census, Karin (Carrie) could speak English, while the rest of the family could not, and instead spoke Swedish.
 


1910 Federal Census

I had been looking at how I could order Karin's death certificate online. Little did I know that it was waiting for me here on FamilySearch.org! It turned out the death date I had was incorrect. I was off by a year, and I had the wrong month. It was great to see the correct date on the death certificate so I could update my records. The informant on Karin's death certificate is Mrs. Hilda Gillberg, who is Karin's daughter. I was able to find Hilda and her family in the 1940 Census. I also see that Karin's father is listed as Larson Grip. Not sure what that means. Actually I guess it means more research. J

I’m also thankful for Ancestry.com because I was able to find cemetery records for Karin so now I can go visit her gravesite.

Speaking of Karin's gravesite, I discovered a really awesome website called Names In Stone. Maybe I'm a latecomer in regards to knowing about this website, but just in case there is anyone out there who doesn't know about it, I wanted to share. I googled Salt Lake City Cemetery, which is where Karin is buried and found this awesome website Names In Stone. I was able to pinpoint Karin's exact plot at the cemetery using their website's search engine. How great is that? Here's a link to Karin's actual plot map so you can see what this page on the website looks like: Carrie Carlson. And if you click on the Cemetery Info tab at the top you see a map of the cemetery and the location of your ancestor's grave. This should definitely be helpful when I visit Karin's grave sometime in the future.

More about Karin Johnsson in an upcoming post....

Thanks for reading!


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

[1] Year: 1910; Census Place: Salt Lake City Ward 1, Salt Lake, Utah; Roll: T624_1605; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 0096; Image: 667; FHL microfilm: 1375618. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

Wednesday’s Child–Henry Adolph Olson

Henry Adolph Olson is my 1st cousin twice removed.  He is the son of Eilert Christopher Olson and Julia Randina Iverson.  Eilert was born in Bergen, Norway on June 15, 1872 and died in St. Cloud, Stearns, Minnesota on September 1, 1964.  Julia was born in Olivia, Renville, Minnesota on July 8, 1876 and died in Hennepin, Minnesota on April 17, 1973.

Henry Adolph Olson was born on August 10, 1904 in Sedan, Pope, Minnesota and died on March 17, 1905 at only seven months of age.  He is buried at the Chippewa Falls Cemetery in Terrace, Pope, Minnesota.

The pictures of Henry’s gravestones were taken by Jim Olsen.  I thank him for taking these pictures and for giving me permission to use them in this post.

If you look closely at Henry’s gravestone, you will notice the words "Birth" and "Death" are written in Norwegian as "Födt" and "Døde."

Henry's Findagrave Memorial

Thanks for reading!


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Matrilineal Monday: Flour Sack Dresses–Ingrid Anna Gilberg

This is my paternal grandmother, Ingrid Anna Gilberg. She was born on November 5, 1913 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her parents were Carl Albert Gillberg and Hilda Maria Carlsson, both of whom were born in Sweden. Carl and Hilda immigrated to the United States in 1909 and 1910, respectively. Ingrid was the sixth of ten children:

1. Judith Maria  (b. 1898 in Sweden)
2. Margaret Limpea (b. 1902 in Sweden)
3. Carl Martin (b. 1904 – d. 1906 in Sweden)
4. Naomi Hildegard (b. 1907 in Sweden)
5. Ruth Katherine (b. 1911 in Utah)
6. Ingrid Anna (b. 1913 in Utah)
7. Helen Albertina (b. 1915 in Utah)
8. Ida Martina (b. 1916 in Utah)
9. Edith Elizabeth (b. 1916 in Utah)
10. Ruby Hilda (b. 1920 in Utah)


Ingrid shared her personal history vocally back in 1977. My dad, Jan Iverson, recorded this history.  It is so precious and in it Ingrid tells about her life and even sings Swedish songs. Here’s a little snippet from Ingrid’s life where she tells about wearing flour sack dresses in her own words:

“And I remember of (sic) mother taking flour sacks that father brought home and making clothing.  She would take these flour sacks and she would dye them.  And she would make dresses out of them.  She would crotchet around them….And she would make quilts out of these flour sacks.  My father was a very good provider and he worked very hard for his family.  But we were, to an extent, poor.  There were times when we didn’t have shoes to go to church.”

Carl’s occupation is listed as a baker in both the 1920 and 1930 censuses. In these census records, Carl's family was living in Salt Lake City, Utah and in Los Angeles, California respectively. The family relocated to Los Angeles because during the Great Depression Carl was out of work and couldn’t find employment in Salt Lake City.  Ingrid’s two older sisters were living in Los Angeles, so Carl went there to find employment. Once Carl saved enough money to support the family, Hilda and the rest of the family joined him in Los Angeles.

I can't imagine how difficult life must have been for my grandmother and her family during the Great Depression. I'm sure I sometimes take for granted the relative ease of my life compared with my grandmother's and others' lives during that time in history. After all, I have never had to wear dresses made from flour sacks or go to church without shoes.

It was while Ingrid was in Los Angeles that she met her future husband, Arthur Harry Iverson.  They were married in Ely, Nevada in 1931, where her parents had moved because of an employment opportunity.  I shared a picture from their wedding day in my post Wedding Wednesday - Arthur Harry Iverson and Ingrid Anna Gilberg.

Ingrid passed away on December 25, 2002 in Vancouver, Washington.

Thanks for reading!

Copyright © Jana Last 2012