DNA

 This week's theme is "DNA". When I first started tracing the Strand(t) family I quickly discovered the ship's manifest of Carl and Wilhelmine Strandt sailing to America from Germany. They sailed with their 3 small children: Charles, 11 yrs; Caroline, 7 yrs; and Wilhelmine, 3 yrs. They sailed in November of 1871. The first census in the US that they're on is the 1880 census. That census lists Carl and Wilhelmine, and their youngest son, William, who was born in America. No mention of any other children. The oldest son, Charles, is listed living on his own in 1880. No mention of the daughters Caroline and Wilhelmine. On the 1900 census, Carl and Wilhelmine live with their son William and his wife Mary, and their daughter Eva. The 1900 census asked wives how many children had they ever given birth to, and how many children were still alive. Wilhelmine lists 4 children as being born, and 2 children still being alive. I had always assumed that the four children she gave birth to were Charles, Caroline, Wilhelmine and William. The 2 children still alive were assumed to be Charles and William. There was plenty of documented evidence for them. No evidence or trace could ever be found for the 2 girls. Caroline and Wilhelmine were assumed to be dead. However, no death certificates could be found for either one so their whereabouts were simply unknown. They were mysteries. DNA evidence has helped solve at least one of the mysteries.

After taking an Ancestry DNA test I was able to find a cousin who descended from Charles Strand, William's older brother. According to the DNA, we only shared one common ancestor, not 2. After some investigation, it was discovered that Carl Strand had 2 wives. Carl had married Dorothea and fathered Charles. After Dorothea died he married Wilhelmine and fathered Caroline, Wilhelmine and William. So, DNA helped find Charles Strandt's real mother and also showed that Charles was NOT a son of Wilhelmine. In 1900 though, Wilhelmine said she had 2 living children, and had given birth to 4 in total. William is living, and with no mention of the girls, where is this other Strandt child? DNA helped explain that mystery too.

I was recently sent a picture of the Strandt family Bible that had a brief history of the Strandt family written in it. In the Bible it states that Carl and Wilhelmine came to America and that Charles was the son from Carl's first wife. That supports and confirms what we had already found with the DNA evidence. It goes on to state that Charles and Fredricka stayed in Chicago, while Carl, Wilhelmine, and William eventually moved to Michigan. Fredricka? This was a brand new name I'd never seen before. The Bible also stated that Fredricka married a Fred Sagert. A quick search of Ancestry records showed a Fredricka Strandt marrying a Fred Sagert in Chicago. Fredricka said she had been born in Feb. 1864 and came to America in 1871, just like Caroline Strandt. Could Fredricka Strandt really be Caroline Strandt? In Germany it was quite common for people to have 3 names. Carl Friedrich Theodor and Wilhelmine Marie Friederike. Maybe Caroline was really Caroline Fredricka? The ship's manifest would only record one of their names, not all 3. The birthday and the immigration dates for Caroline and Fredricka matched up but we needed more evidence that Caroline and Fredricka were the same. DNA to the rescue!

A tree was mapped out for Fredricka Strandt and Fred Sagert. Then, a DNA match was found on Ancestry. This person traced their ancestry back to Fredricka and Fred, AND matched DNA with the offspring of Charles Strandt AND William Strandt. The only way this person could match Charles and William Strandt would be if Fredricka's father was also Carl Strandt. So, Fredricka Strandt was really Caroline Strandt. Caroline Strandt hadn't died or disappeared. She just used another name when she got to America. With Caroline being alive, then she would be the 2nd living child of Wilhelmine in 1900, with William being the other. Wilhelmine, the youngest daughter, must've passed away sometime between 1871 and 1880. Also, Wilhelmine, the mother, must've given birth to another child somewhere along the way who died young. Maybe in Germany before they immigrated, or in America before or after William's birth.  

Thanks to DNA we were able to find a lost branch of the Strandt family tree, and find the real mother of Charles Strandt.