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.
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.
Was there a Henrickson child killed by the train that ran beside the farm?
ReplyDeleteYes. That was Malvina Olivia Anderson. Our grandmother Malvina Christina was named after her. She was the older sister to our (great) grandmother. Died in 1879. The first person buried in the cemetery. Since I had already written about her in a prior post I didn't include her here.
DeleteYes Grandma Hendrickson sister died before she was born hit by the train that's why she was the first person in the cemetery at the farm and also if Yvonne died on the 13th that would be 8 Days Later from when Janice was born
ReplyDeleteThank you for this. It was very well done. I worked with Victor Anderson at Rockwell International in Allegan in the 1950s. He was the namesake of Victor Henrickson, the son of Selma Henrickson Anderson.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's nice to know the name lived on. In Sweden it was the tradition that if a young child died, the next child of that gender born was given the same name.
DeleteMaybe that was why Aunt Viola was so upset any time she saw us kids near the railroad tracks? I remember she would open the door and yell "you kids get away from there!" and we would have to run back into the field. We liked to wave at the train when it went past. Years later I discovered the engineer was my Uncle Russ on the Smalla side.
ReplyDeleteI also remember sneaking down to the tracks with Esther, Carol and Alan where we would walk down them a ways, but have to run back if the 'big kids' heard the train coming. I think Alan would put a penny on the tracks? Do you remember any of that? I just remember it being really exciting and knowing we'd get in deep trouble if Aunt Viola caught us. Good times at the farm :-)
I've heard stories about Grandma Henrickson threatening kids who played by or near the railroad tracks. One time she told them they should all be shot at dawn! Lol.
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