Translation: Strandt Travel Documents

 Another prompt was "Translation." Having many ancestors who migrated from "the Old Country" I've found documents that needed translating. Google translate helps some. Having a wordlist also helps. The best thing I've found is to find someone who speaks and has knowledge of the language needing translating. Languages are living, breathing things. Just as English from 2023 is not like English from 1723, German and Swedish from today is not like German and Swedish from the 1800's and before.

One particular document that needed translating was this piece of paper that Fred Strand found in the old Bible kept by Carl and Mildred Strand. 

I recognized it immediately as having to do with Carl Friedrich Theodore Strand, grandfather to Carl Strand. Carl Friedrich is the first Strand, in our family, to come to America. The letter is written in old German handwriting and I had no way of translating it. I sent a copy of it to Heidi Strandt Andrews. Heidi is descended from Carl Friedrich Strandt, Carl FT's oldest son, and half brother to William Strandt. Heidi posted the letter on a genealogy Facebook group she belongs to and someone on there was able to translate it. It roughly translates to:

Carl Friedrich Theodore Strand

legitimate son of the former Hunter (southern German term for farmer-archaic) of Gros Schonfeld Christian Friedrich Strand and his wife Anna Dorothee born Winter, is of Gr. Schonfeld on March 27, 1834 - on March seven and twentieth of the year a thousand eight hundred and four and thirty-born and on was baptized April 6 of the same year. Baptismal witnesses were: Carl Schulz, Kathner zu Gr.Nice-field; Fritz Krempin, farmhand at Dianehof; Dorothee Strand, father's sister. The literal agreement of the previous standing information with the local baptismal register officially certified and certified bigt Rodlin May 14th, 1871.

This letter is important for 3 reasons.

Our guess is that this was some kind of certified birth certificate that Carl FT could use for travel papers. It was a document proving his identity. It's dated May 14, 1871 and the Strandt family left Hamburg on October 27, 1871. I believe this shows that Carl was preparing then to move to America. 

Another interesting note about this paper is the spelling of the name "Strandt". Strand is spelled without the letter "t" on the end. This is how Carl Strand (1901-1996) started spelling it sometime in his teenage years/ early 20's. On the passenger lists coming to America Carl FT's last name is spelled "Strandt" with the "t". The "t" always seems to be appearing and disappearing. Even in Germany. 

The final reason this letter is important is because it tells us the identity of Carl FT's father and mother. When Carl died, William filled out the death certificate. For father he listed "John Strandt" and for mother he listed "not known". He also listed Carl's birthday as March 25, 1834. He was off by 2 days. Not only does this letter give us the correct name of Carl's father, it also provides us with his mother's name and her maiden name. We also have a place of birth of Carl too. A place to start researching in Germany. 

If anyone has any extra insight or knowledge of this letter or what it might have been or means please let me know. Big Thank You to Heidi Strandt Andrews for getting this translated.

Here is the death certificate of Carl FT Strandt, for comparison's sake. Since William was born in America and was the youngest he must not have known much about his family's life in Germany.

 

Gone Too Soon: Victor Henrickson, Yvonne Strand, Norma Thompson

 When I hear the prompt "Gone too Soon" I think of all the young children who died early deaths. Children who never got the chance to grow up and lead lives of their own. I'm going to highlight some of the young deaths I've found researching my family.

George Henrickson and Malvina Anderson were married in February 1900. They moved quite often, most likely because of George's job as a minister. By 1916 they were living in Allegan, Michigan, where Malvina's parents owned a farm. Upon her father's death, Malvina and George took over the farm. On March 10, 1921 George and Malvina's 12th and youngest child was born, Victor Eugene Henrickson. Unfortunately, Victor did not have a long life. According to his death certificate he came under a doctor's care on December 23, 1922 and passed away on January 3, 1923. The official cause of death was tuberculosis meningitis. This is caused by the same bacteria that causes tuberculosis. It's caught by inhaling droplets that contain the bacteria. Today the disease can be treated with medical care. It can also be prevented with vaccines. 

The local paper also reported on Victor's death.

I don't know if any pictures of Victor exist, but if anyone has one I would love to see it.

Another child gone too soon is Yvonne Strand.

Yvonne Ruth Strand was born October 10, 1930 to Carl and Mildred Strand. Yvonne's middle name of Ruth, I'm assuming, comes from Carl's deceased sister, Ruth Strandt. Yvonne was born with Hirschsprung's Disease. Hirschsprung's disease is a disease that affects the large intestine and causes problems in passing stool. It is present at birth. Nerve cells are missing from the large intestine. It is usually diagnosed when a baby fails to have a bowel movement within 48 hours of being born. Other symptoms include a swollen stomach and vomiting. The disease can appear by itself or accompany other genetic disorders like Down Syndrome. In cases where it appears by itself about half are linked to a genetic mutation and about 20% are found in families. The rest of the cases are of unknown origin. If the parents are otherwise normal than the next child has a 4% chance of having Hirschsprung's. 

Yvonne lived with a lot of pain. At that time, there was no cure or treatment for Hirschsprung's. Carl and Mildred even took her to the University of Michigan hospital in Ann Arbor for help. Local neighbor Fred Germain helped transport her. They laid a board between seats for her to lay down on as Yvonne was in so much pain. Yvonne stayed for 2 weeks but they were unable to help her. She returned home. A local practical nurse would come to help. One night Yvonne was in so much pain that the rest of the children were sent upstairs and that night Yvonne passed away at home. It was May 13, 1942. Yvonne was only 11 years old. I remember my grandma Viola, Yvonne's older sister telling me that Yvonne wanted to live long enough to see Viola's baby born. Viola was pregnant with her first child at the time. Yvonne also wanted to see sister Marylaine celebrate her 18th birthday. Yvonne was buried, instead, on Marylaine's 18th birthday, and Viola gave birth to her first child, Janice 9 days later. Yvonne's death had a great impact on Carl. Carl wept openly at the funeral and Mildred is reported to have said that that was the only time she ever saw Carl cry. Mildred also felt that Carl blamed her for Yvonne's death as he never seemed the same afterwards. A Swedish-America surgeon, who discovered the cause of Hirschsprung's came up with a surgical technique to help patients with the disease. This was in 1948. Today, depending on the severity of the disease, it can be treated with medicine, diet, and surgery. While there is no cure, there is treatment available to help patients lead longer, better lives. 

Yvonne with younger sister Joyce. 

Norma Jeane Thompson was born November 3, 1929 in Allegan, Michigan to Frank and Anna Thompson. She was the youngest of 8 children. Norma was only just one year old when her father Frank, my great grandfather, passed away a year later on November 10, 1930. Norma lived with her mother and older siblings in Allegan. On August 8, 1937 she passed away from polio complications. She was only 7 years old. From her obituary I learned she had been in a car crash just prior to catching polio.

Norma Jeane, taken at the fair.

Norma Jeane with sisters and cousin. 

There is still no cure for polio, but it can be prevented through vaccination. 

All information on Hirschsprung's disease taken from here. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirschsprung%27s_disease

Information on Yvonne Strand provided by Fred Strand and Joyce Strand. Galloway.

Questions, comments or additional information, photos to add? Comment down below or email me.