Loss

 This week I thought I'd combine Women's History with the 52Ancestors prompt of "Loss." This is the story of Ingrid Svensdotter, mother of George Henrickson, my great, great grandmother.

Ingrid Christina Henrickson Fahna Svensdotter was born November 22, 1840 in Slatthogg, Kronobers, Sweden. Her parents were Sven Andersson Skold Fahna and Kajsa Johansdotter. She had 2 sisters and 2 brothers. Her father served in the Swedish army and was given a cottage/croft to live in. This is copied from Family Search and explains what a "croft" was.  The new system divided the parishes into “rotar” and each “rote” (several small farms) was to recruit a voluntary soldier to the infantry and also to provide a croft with a small piece of land and whatever else the soldier and his family needed to subsist. The soldier would live on his land, take part in military training, and serve in active duty during times of war. According to information I found on another website from Fahna relatives, Sven was a very intelligent man and an excellent writer. The other men would come to him for advice and have him write letters for them. He was well thought of in the community.

Ingrid worked as a housekeeper for a local bachelor when she got older. His name was Johan Karl Jonasson. He was known to the local authorities for taking his neighbors' property and causing disturbances. Nevertheless, in January 1874, Ingrid married Johan. She was 33 years old. In January of 1875 a son was born, Sven Goran Henrik Johansson, later known as George S. Henrickson. That November Ingrid's first born daughter, Amanda, died. She was 2 years old, which means she would have had to have been born in 1873, before Ingrid and Johan were married. I'm not sure if the dates for Amanda's birth and the marriage are entirely accurate. Or if Johan is indeed the father of Amanda. That time period is still grey.

In July 1877 Ingrid and Johan have a daughter, named Amanda, to honor the daughter who had died earlier.

In 1878, Ingrid's older sister Anna dies. Her father passes away in 1881 and her mother in 1883. Her son Sven leaves for America in 1892, and her daughter leaves in 1900. By this time Ingrid is living with her sister Sarah, who is blind. Ingrid's 2 brothers also use this time to move their families to America. 

In 1903 Johan passes away. In 1907 her brother Anders, who had moved to America passes away. Finally, in August 1912 Ingrid's sister Sarah passes away. On November 21, 1912 Ingrid leaves Moheda to begin her travel to America. She departs Gotenberg on December 11, 1912 to sail to Grimsby, England to continue on to New York and to then join her daughter Amanda and her family in Illinois. She is 72 years old and makes the journey by herself. Her brother Jonas passes away in 1914. Ingrid is the last survivor of her brothers and sisters. 

She lives with Amanda's family until she passes away at the age of 81 in 1922. Newspapers list her age as 85 but according to church records she was only 81. 

Ingrid had a hard life, and suffered a lot of loss. But she was a survivor. She took care of an ailing sister and then joined her children in America when she was able to. To travel alone, across the ocean, at age 72 took a lot of strength. And she was definitely traveling in steerage, not first class. I like to think that life was easier for her once she got to America. 

Our Connection to Ireland

  For St. Patrick's Day I decided to write about one of our lesser known connections to the Emerald Isle. While most of our heritage is Swedish, German and English, we do have a bit of Irish in us. Our Irish heritage goes all the way back to my 4th great grandmother, Lavina Sadler. Lavina was born June 22, 1823 in New York to Mary McElroy and John Sadler. John Sadler was born in Northern Ireland and came to America sometime before 1820. Although John was born in Northern Ireland, he did not consider himself Irish. His family had originally come to Northern Ireland from Scotland. He and many other Scot-Irish considered themselves to still be Scottish. It was only when they came to America that they were referred to as Irish, which they took great offense to.  John is listed as a shoemaker in the 1850 census. He is living in Allegan, Michigan. In the 1860 census he's listed as a farmer.  

Mary McElroy, John's wife, is listed as being born in Dublin, Ireland. I haven't been able to go any further back than that. Mary came to New York sometime before 1820, when she met and married John. All of Mary and John's children are born in New York before they move to Michigan, sometime between 1840 and 1850.

Lavina marries John William Brownell in November 1839.  She is 16 years old and John is 27. They live in Ogden, Monroe County, New York. Their first son is born in February of 1840 in Allegan, Michigan. So, apparently they traveled from New York to Michigan in the winter. And while Lavina was pregnant. I need to research this some more. Especially their marriage date. 5 more children are born, including their youngest child Eva Brownell, my great, great, great grandmother. Mother to Mary Pulsipher, and grandmother to Carl Strandt. 

Lavina dies on September 10, 1873 of "brain congestion." She was 50 years old. I've looked up "brain congestion" and it means swelling of the brain. In Lavina's case it could mean she had some kind of stroke. It could also mean that she suffered some type of trauma or injury to her head. Without more information it's impossible to say. 

Here is a picture of Lavina. 

Here is the relationship:

John Sadler and Mary McElroy marry

(daughter) Lavina Sadler marries John Brownell

(their daughter) Eva Brownell marries Albert Pulsipher

(their daughter) Mary Pulsipher marries William Strandt

(their son) Carl Strand marries Mildred Bellinger

(their daughter) Viola Strand marries Ray Henrickson

Lela Mae Thompson

 In honor of Women's History Month I decided this month to write about some of the incredible women ancestors I've discovered in my research. The first up is my great grandaunt Lela Mae Thompson. She was sister to my great grandfather Frank Thompson.

Lela was born November 22, 1894 at her parent's home in Allegan, Michigan. She was the fourth of eight children. When she was 14 she heard a nurse talk about her work in China at church. Lela had always been interested in helping the sick and injured. After hearing this nurse talk, Lela decided that she, too, wanted to be a nurse. When she informed her parents, they were against this idea. They told her that if she wanted to be a nurse, no money would be given to her. She would have to earn it herself.

Lela worked as a nanny caring for the 2 small children of a couple, even moving to Grand Rapids with them when they moved. She also was able to take some classes in High School. She then went to work at the D.A. Blodgett boarding school for children. She helped care for 120 children aged from babies to 15. She worked there long enough to earn the $350 needed for 3 years of nursing school.

On September 22, 1919 she entered the Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan and began nursing school. Her parents were still opposed, and even the family doctor had tried to persuade her not to become a nurse. He did give her these words of advice though: "Since I see that you are determined to take up nursing, which is a wonderful profession, I hope that you will carry with you these ideals: Be courteous, sympathetic, thoughtful and kind with your patients. At all times be calm. Do not look for praise. Be interested in every patient."

Lela lived at the hospital with 2 other roommates. She gained practical experience from working in the hospital and took classes from the Junior College in Grand Rapids. After 3 years she graduated. Circumstances prevented her family from attending her graduation ceremony, but the family she had been a nanny to showed up and clapped for her when she received her diploma. She said she had never felt closer to anyone before.

On November 22, 1922, her birthday, she was appointed Pediatric Supervisor at Butterworth Hospital. She worked there for 3 years before accompanying a friend on a vacation to Orlando, Florida. 

When she came to Orlando, it was in the wintertime. She said she saw the city and the beautiful weather and decided that she didn't want to go back to Michigan. She interviewed for and was offered a job at Orange Memorial Hospital, known today as Orlando Regional Medical Center. She mailed her letter of resignation and only went back to collect her belongings.  She worked at Orange Memorial for the remainder of her nursing career. Her specialty was in the maternity ward where she delivered an estimated 40 thousand of babies. 

In January 1930 Lela married William Stokes but never had any children of her own. She retired from nursing in 1968.

In 1985 funds were raised to name the delivery unit's head nurse's office at the soon to be built Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital after Lela.

Great Aunt Lela appeared on the Fall 2018 cover of "Reflections" the quarterly magazine ;put out by the Historical Society of Central Florida on their issue of Orlando Health 100 years of caring. 

Lela Thompson Stokes is an inspiration.