Surprising

 This week the prompt is "surprising." There have been several surprises I've found out while researching my family history. Here are a few surprises that I've discovered.

• 7th great grandfather David Pulsipher fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill. First, I hadn't really thought about any of my ancestors fighting in the American Revolution. I thought almost all had come over after 1776. I was surprised when I found out that David and his son, John, had fought at Bunker Hill, one of the most infamous battles at the start of the war. 
• Another surprising thing about the Pulsipher line is that the Pulsiphers who stayed in Ohio were quite active in the abolitionist movement in Ohio prior to the start of the Civil War. A Pulsipher cousin who stayed in Ohio even served with a son of John Brown in the Civil War.
• Another surprise, once again through the Pulsipher line, is that we are connected to the Mayflower. David Pulsipher's son, Ebeneezer, my 6th great grandfather, married Unity Reed. Unity goes back to Isabell Chilton on her father's side. Isabell came to America on the second ship after the Mayflower's arrival. Isabell's father was James Chilton. James and his wife arrived on the Mayflower. James is known as being the first passenger who died after arriving in America. Sometime in the future when I have time and money, I'd like to properly research this and obtain membership in the Mayflower Society. 
• Finding out that the Bellingers were originally from Germany was surprising. I'd always thought that Mildred Strand was English and Scottish and Irish. She was, but she was also German too. Finding out that Mildred and Carl could both speak German was surprising.
• On the Henrickson side, finding out that 2x great grandmother Ingrid Fahna had had a child out of wedlock was a great surprise. In actuality she had two children out of wedlock. I'd already discovered that she and her future husband Johan had a child before getting married. What was a true surprise was finding out that she had a child out of wedlock in her early 20's. Long before Johan. She was counseled by the Church on the wrongness of her act. I guess she forgot later. The child died around 3 months old. The child she had out of wedlock with Johan died around 1 year old. I wonder how the deaths of her first two children affected her relationship with George and Amanda. If any? 
• One more surprise involving the Swedish relatives was finding out that Carl Anderson, Malvina's father, was born to parents who were not legally wed. Again, Carl and his sister were born out of wedlock to their parents. In Carl's case though, the Church seemed to make an exception and welcomed his mother back with the same rights afforded a married woman. His parents, even though not legally wed, seemed to be accepted by everyone as a couple. They definitely need some more researching and looking into. 
• As a longtime fan of "Gone with the Wind" book and movie, the burning of Atlanta scene always fascinated me. I wondered how it must've felt to the citizens in General Sherman's path, and I wondered how it affected the soldiers marching. So, finding out that 3x great grandfather David Bellinger not only served in the Civil War, but marched with Sherman through Georgia and on to Charleston and Washington, D.C. was a big surprise.

Those are a few of the surprises I've come across in the past few years while researching. Every time I think I know someone, or I've searched a line as far as I can and I've found everything out, something new pops up. Regarding the Bellinger line, there seems to be a line that went with John Smith and Bringham Young to Utah and were Mormon pioneers. That's definitely a surprise! What are some of the surprising things you've learned and discovered? Leave a comment down below or email me. 

Challenge

 This week the prompt is "challenge" so I am keeping up with my own challenge of recording the births, deaths, and marriages of each month. February is the shortest month and as a result I didn't find that many results for February.

Births in February include:

Marvin Henrickson, born on Feb. 11, 1944.

2x great grandfather William Strandt, born on Feb. 15, 1876. (Chicago, Illinois)

Gary Thompson, born on Feb. 20, 1949.

3x Great grandmother Wilhelmina Gley Strandt was born on Feb. 21, 1841, Prussia (Germany)

Paternal 2x great grandmother Mary Bellegraph born on Feb. 26, 1869 in Pomerania (Poland)

Marriages

Despite being the month of Valentine's Day, February only contains two marriages.

Great grandparents George Henrickson and Malvina Anderson were wed on February 21, 1900.

Paternal 2x great grandparents Mary Bellegraph and Joannes "John" Knach Conors were wed on February 7, 1888 in Indiana.

Deaths

Great granduncle Frank Anderson (older brother of Malvina Henrickson) died on February 5, 1939.

Paternal 3x Great grandmother Abigail Eldred died on Feb. 9, 1847.

Marvin Henrickson and 2x Great grandmother Elnora Truman Bellinger both died on Feb. 28. 2005, and 1953 respectively.

That's for this month. Not a lot happening in February. March will be completely different. Just the number of birthdays to keep up with. April, too! :)

Feel free to add additional birthdays, deaths, and marriages in the comments below. I try not to go back too many generations, or, go too much into extended family.

Mary Bellegraph and John Knach Conors Wedding day 1888.

George Henrickson and Malvina Anderson Wedding Day 1900.

Unless noted, births, deaths, and marriages occurred in Michigan. If they occurred in another state, or in "the Old Country" I tried to note it, if available. 

Favorite photo, Nickname, Overlooked

 January has been a wild and crazy month. It literally snowed up to 9" of snow in Florida. This week I'm playing catch up with the prompts of the week of #52Ancestors. 

First prompt was "Favorite Photo." This is another photo of the Carl Strand family. I like this one because it's one of the few, maybe the only one, I have of Mildred Strand smiling. In most of her pictures she's looking at the camera with no smile. In this one she is smiling and looks to be laughing too. Carl has his arms crossed, as usual. Howard and Viola also look to be smiling. It's outside and the weather looks warm. Maybe it was taken on a Sunday visit to Mildred's parents' house for a Sunday dinner? I used the AI photo shop tools on Ancestry to enhance the picture as the original one is grainy. 

The next prompt was "Nickname." The most interesting nickname I've come across in my research is that of Johan Jonasson, the father of George Henrickson, aka Sven Goren Henrick Johansson. In the Swedish Church records, Johan Jonasson has the nickname of Styfva Johan. It translates to English as "Stiff" Johan. "Stiff" could have one of many meanings. It might refer to his appearance. He had stiff joints, or maybe he was strong and tall? It could also refer to his character. "Stiff" could mean that he was moral and of good character. He was proud, or arrogant. Maybe he was uncompromising? It's interesting to note that his father, Jonas Johansson also had the same nickname. Whatever it meant, father and son must've been the same. 

The next prompt was "Overlooked". In researching, I find that my female ancestors, the 3x and 4x great grandmothers often get overlooked. Women were treated as property of their husbands, and before that, taken care of by their fathers. It is hard to research female ancestors unless I can find a reliable document with their maiden name. Not all marriage certificates list parents. Sometimes I can find a maiden name, but I may not find first names of parents. Oftentimes in obituaries I'll find, Mrs. Edward Jones, wife of Edward Jones died yesterday. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Smith. Sometimes I don't even get that! Men have biographies, sketches, and full-blown obits about them. Women are just sidekicks and afterthoughts. 

That's it for this week. Do you have a favorite photo? Any nicknames of relatives, ancestors you'd like to share? Or who is someone you think is overlooked and would like to know more about? Leave me a note here or email me. I'm always looking for more material. 

In the Beginning

 Happy New Year! 

The first prompt of 2025 is "In the beginning." I decided to do something I've wanted to do for a while, compile a list of all the birthdays, deaths, and anniversaries on a monthly basis. January is the first month so it's a good place to start. 

Let's start off on a happy note with some of the birthdays I've found in January.

My paternal Great aunt Fern Thompson was born on January 1, 1927.

January 3rd has 2 birthdays, Sidney Henrickson in 1902 and my Dad in 1941.

Frank Ashley, a paternal Great Uncle was born on January 4, 1915.

Paternal 3x Great Grandmother Abigail Eldred was born on January 9, 1804.

Paternal Great Grandmother Emilia Dobbratz Ashley was born on January 15, 1888.

Great Grandfather George Henrickson was born January 19, 1875.

2x Great Grandmother Mary Pulispher Strandt was born January 20, 1877.

January 23 was the birthday of paternal 2x Great Grandfather Andrew Thompson in 1859 and paternal Grand uncle Orville Ashley in 1919

Toni Thompson was born January 28,1945.

Next up we celebrate the marriages that occurred in January.

Paternal 2x Great Grandparents Orville Ashley and Kate Eldred were united in marriage on January 1, 1863.

2x Great Grandparents Ingrid Fahna and Johan Jonasson were also united in marriage in January, on the 10th, in 1874.

Our In Memoriam segment is sadly, the largest. 

January 1 was the day Grand Aunt Esther M. Henrickson and Grand Uncle Lynn Bellinger passed away. In 1995 and 1981.

3x Great Grandfather Madison Truman passed away on January 2, 1884.

3x Great Grandfather Sven Fahna passed away on January 3, 1881 and Victor Henrickson passed away on the same date in 1923.

Howard C. Strand passed away on January 8, 2017.

Paternal 3x Great Grandfather Riley Thompson passed away on January 9, 1908.

Grand Aunt Helen Bellinger passed away on January 10, 1980.

3x Great Grandfather Carl F. T. Strand passed away on January 18, 1914.

Paternal 2x Great Grandmother Mary Bellegraph Conors passed away on January 21, 1941.

Grandfather Lawrence F. Thompson, Sr, passed away on January 19, 2006.

3x Great Grandmother Loretta Foster Bellinger passed away on January 30, 1912.

This list is by no means inclusive. If you know of any other birthdays, anniversaries or deaths in January, please list them below in the comments or email me. 

Colonel Howard C. Strand. Passed away on January 8, 2017.

Random Number-Madison Taylor Truman

 This week's prompt was "Random Number". Every ancestor was assigned a number. I asked Tina to pick one and she chose "26". "26" would be Carl Johan Anderson, who I've already written about, so, I flipped the number to "62" and that brings us to Madison Taylor Truman, grandfather of Mildred Bellinger Strand.

Madison Taylor Truman was born approximately September 20, 1849 in Hillsdale County, Michigan to Henry and Lydia Wilson Truman. Henry was originally from New York and made his way to Michigan via Ohio. Madison was the fourth child and third son born to Henry and Lydia. One more daughter was born to Henry and Lydia before Lydia died in November 1859 of inflammation of the lungs. She was 41 years old, and Madison was only 10. 

Madison's father, Henry, was active in Republican Party politics and was a farmer who participated in local fairs. I've found newspaper articles mentioning Henry's name in regard to local Hillsdale politics and entering bulls in local fairs for competition. Even placing second and third. 

On April 22, 1869 Madison married Harriet Mabbs, of the Mabbs family recently of London, England. Like his father, Madison also farmed for a living. Their first child, William Henry, was born March 18, 1870. Three daughters followed, Isabel in 1872 and Elnora on March 2, 1873. Mary was born June 16, 1877.

Madison's father, Henry, died in February 1880. We know that Madison and Harriet's next child, son Judson, was born May 28, 1880, in Little Rock, Arkansas. I have not been able to find out why, or when Madison and Harriet made the decision to move to Arkansas. I don't know if it's connected to his father's death or not. Henry's will states that he gave Madison twenty acres of land before his death as part of Madison's inheritance. Either way, Madison and Harriet live in and around Little Rock, Arkansas. Judson is the infamous Uncle Judson that Mildred's brother Ray spent a summer searching for in Oregon and Washington. Madison is listed in the 1880 United States Federal Census as living in Totten, Arkansas and profession is Farmer. 

I haven't been able to find any records of Madison's life in Arkansas. For whatever reason, Madison and Harriet make the decision to move back to Ransom, Michigan. Madison dies on January 2, 1884. I haven't been able to find a cause of death either. Madison was only 34 years old. Elnora Truman was 10 years old. The same age her father was when he lost his mother. Elnora would go on to marry Charlie Bellinger and raise Mildred Bellinger. 

Madison Taylor Truman is something of a mystery. He's been a difficult man to find information on. I've found many articles in the newspapers mentioning his father, but none about him. I know he may have gone by the name Elwin, and Judson's middle name is even Elwin. I haven't found any pictures of him either. 

How Madison fits into the family tree:

Madison Taylor Truman is the father of

Elnora Truman, the mother of

Mildred Bellinger, the mother of

Howard, Viola, Marylaine, Yvonne, Milton, Joyce, Fred

1850 census. First mention of Madison Truman

Least: Ruth Strandt Carlisle

 The prompt for this week is "least." I decided to write about the least known member of the Strand(t) family, Ruth "Bessie" Strandt Carlisle.

Ruth Strandt was born November 27, 1904 in Otsego, Michigan to William and Mary Strandt. William's occupation was listed as farmer. They were living in Otsego at the time. Before they came to the current Strandt family farm. Ruth was the third child born, and second daughter of William and Mary. Carl was the older big brother. 

Ruth Strandt birth record. 

When Ruth was 5 she moved with the family to Illinois, where younger brother, Howard, was born. Not able to find work to support his growing family, William moved everyone back to Michigan, ending up on the Strandt family farm in Watson township.

I haven't been able to discover much about Ruth. She hasn't come up much in stories from the past. Either from Eva's remembrances, or stories from Carl. I didn't even know Ruth existed until I started researching the family. Howard was the only Strandt sibling I had ever heard stories of.

We know Ruth attended Allegan High School and later transferred to Kalamazoo Central High School, which she graduated from in 1924. The quote next to her picture says " An idle brain is the devil's workshop." There are no extracurricular activities listed by her name. I couldn't find her, or any Strandt, living in Kalamazoo in 1924 for that matter. Her picture is in the yearbook. If she graduated in 1924, she would have been 19 years old at the time.

Ruth Strandt's Senior High School picture 1924.

On July 26, 1925 she married Gerald Carlisle. They lived in Kalamazoo where Ruth worked as a clerk at the Kalamazoo Stationary Company. According to notes in the Strandt family Bible, Ruth had a baby that died when it was born. I haven't been able to find any records of this birth so far. 

Gerald and Ruth Carlisle

 

Ruth passed away on May 24, 1928 at Old Borgess Hospital, after surgery for appendicitis. Her death certificate lists cause of death as a ruptured tubal abscess. A Double Salphingectomy was listed as a contributing cause of death and had occurred 5 months before her death. Ruth had had both fallopian tubes removed 5 months before. 2 days before her death she'd had an operation for appendicitis. She must've been in a lot of pain. Doctors didn't have the imaging technology and tests they have today to more accurately diagnose conditions. Not to mention antibiotics and pain killers. 

High school photo and newspaper death notice of Ruth. 

 

I've heard it mentioned that the two deaths that most upset Carl in his lifetime were the deaths of Ruth, and his daughter, Yvonne.  

Top row: Carl and Eva
Bottom row: Howard and Ruth

Do you have any information, pictures, or memories of Ruth Strandt Carlisle? Post them below or email me. I'd love to hear more about this least known member of the Strandt family.

 

All Mixed Up: The Strange Tale of Lewis Bellinger's job

 The prompt for the upcoming week is "All Mixed Up." I found this strange news article about Lewis Bellinger and decided to write about it.

Lewis Bellinger, sometimes spelled "Louis" was born December 21, 1845 in Allegan, Michigan to Oliver and Margaret "Elmira" Jones. The family had recently moved from Ohio to Michigan to start a new life. He was the first child born in Michigan. Older brother, David, had been born in Ohio.

On August 11, 1862 David Bellinger enlisted in the Union Army to fight in the Civil War. Lewis was not quite 17 years old and not old enough to fight. After turning 18 years old, Lewis enlisted on February 25, 1864. He joined the Michigan 3rd Cavalry, which was organized in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After enlisting, the Michigan 3rd was based primarily in western Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana and they mustered out in San Antonio, Texas. Lewis was not injured and survived the war to come home and marry Martha Burdick. They raised 3 children, 1 son and 2 daughters. Lewis is listed as a farmer and laborer on Federal Census Records. He also briefly worked as a nightwatchman for Allegan County. There is where the strange tale comes in.

In May 1889 the man who had been working as the nightwatchman at Allegan County buildings left for another job. Some of the influential men in Allegan suggested a Union veteran, John Kelly, who had fallen on hard times be given the job. He had been injured during the war and had a large family to take care of. This man was very appreciative and began telling friends that the job would be his. People he knew were going to tell the County Treasurer to hire him for the job. However, a couple of those men did no such thing. Instead of recommending John Kelly for the job, they recommended Lewis Bellinger. Lewis was described as a good hard worker, a Veteran, and of good character. The County Treasurer, not knowing either man, went with the recommendation of Lewis Bellinger, and Lewis was hired as the nightwatchman for Allegan County. 

Needless to say, the friends of John Kelly who had put him forth for the job were not happy. They argued that while Lewis was a fine choice, he didn't "need" the job the way Kelly did. I tried to research this a bit more and I'm not sure if Lewis kept the job or not. It received several inches of press in the Allegan Gazette. 

Questions, comments about Lewis Bellinger?

How Lewis Bellinger fits into the family:

Lewis Bellinger, younger brother of David Bellinger

David Bellinger, father of Charles Bellinger

Charles Bellinger, father of Mildred Bellinger

Mildred Bellinger Strand, mother of Viola Strand Henrickson

Lewis is my 3rd great, granduncle. He passed away on April 16, 1924, of angina pectoris, aka coronary artery disease. He was 78 years old.

PS. One of the men advocating for John Kelly was a Colonel Mix. Colonel Mix was in the "Mix up" over the job. :)