Migration

 The prompt for this week is "Migration." Our ancestors all migrated here from somewhere else. I thought I'd take a look at some of them this week.

Prior to 1875, when the Supreme Court ruled that it was the responsibility of the Federal Government to make and enforce immigration laws, there was no overriding immigration policy. Some states had their own laws regarding immigrants but the United States as a whole had no policy. Anyone, from anywhere, arriving on a boat could immigrate to America.

On August 22, 1833, William Mabbs,Jr and his parents, William and Hannah Mabbs arrived in New York City on the ship "Amity." They had departed London, England and sailed in steerage to America. William and Hannah came with their 7 children ranging in age from 12 to 1 year old. We don't know why they decided to sail to America. William had a business selling soap in London and was a Methodist. He may have felt he could be more prosperous in America, or perhaps he felt he could practice his faith more openly. Either way, he decided to make the journey across the sea, leaving his parents and siblings in England.

After getting off the ship they lived in New York City for a time until William lost his money in a bank failure. He then brought his family to Michigan to start anew as a farmer. William Mabbs, Jr, was the grandfather to Elnora Truman Bellinger.

On May 13,1870, Carl Johan Anderson and his wife, Ulrika, left Sweden to immigrate to America. We know that Carl had been a farmer in Sweden and Sweden had had 2 bad famines in 1868 and 1869. The area where Carl and Ulrika lived had a very large number of people leaving in 1869 and 1870. The famine almost definitely played a part in their decision to leave Sweden for America. Especially since they were newly married and trying to start a family. They sailed on the ship "Orlando" from Goteborg, Sweden to Hull, England. From Hull they took a train to Liverpool where they would sail on a ship to New York City. The manifest lists New York as their final destination. I'm not sure how long they stayed in New York, but they quickly came to LaPorte, Indiana and then onto Allegan, Michigan. Looking at the manifest most of the other immigrants are going to the Midwest. Some of the destinations listed are Chicago, Kalamazoo, and Cleveland.

On October 27, 1871, Carl Friedrich Theodor Standt and his wife, Wilhelmine, along with their three children, departed from Hamburg, Germany on the ship "Hansa" to sail to Hull, England. From Hull they would also continue by train to Liverpool where they would sail to America. They arrived in New York City on the ship "Minnesota" on November 17, 1871. From New York they made their way to Chicago, where apparently other family members were already living. Their youngest child, William, would be born in Chicago in 1876. According to the Strand family Bible, there were already Strandt family members living in Chicago. That would be one reason for immigration. Also, the Franco-Prussian War had just been fought from July 19, 1870 to May 10, 1871. Prussian Prime Minister Otto Von Bismark successfully unified all the German states into the German Empire on January 18, 1871. Needless to say, all the wars fought between Germany and other countries took a toll on the people. I'm sure that also played a part in the Strandt family decision to come to America. Wilhelmine had a sister who lived in Allegan, Michigan. William traveled to Allegan and at some point met and married Mary Pulsipher, where they started their family. 

On November 29, 1892, Sven Goren Henrich Johansson left from Malmo, Sweden and sailed to Copenhagen, Denmark on the ship "Kopenhamn". From Copenhagen he sailed directly to America on the ship "Hekla" arriving on December 19, 1892. He was 17 years old. From the manifest we know that his ticket was paid for by someone else. We know he already had several family members living in the United States. He had aunts and uncles and cousins. It is most likely that one of his uncles paid for his ticket to America. What is slightly unusual for Sven, who later changed his name to George Henrickson, is that he left from Malmo and sailed to Copenhagen, instead of leaving from Goteborg and sailing to Hull, train to Liverpool, and then ship to America. I learned that it was cheaper to go from Malmo to Copenhagen and then sail to America. George also lived in southern Sweden so Malmo may have been easier to travel to then Goteborg on the west coast. 

Ellis Island opened on January 1, 1892, so George would have passed through here. He would have seen the Statue of Liberty as he sailed into New York harbor and then waited for a ferry boat to take him to Ellis Island to be processed. He would have been asked identifying questions, given a physical, and then released to be on his way. We know he probably went to extended family first in Indiana and Illinois. He eventually made his way to Allegan, Michigan where he married Malvina Anderson, daughter of Carl and Ulrika Anderson. 

On December 11, 1912, our last ancestor came to America. Ingrid Fahna, the mother of George Henrickson, left Goteborg, Sweden and sailed to Grimsby, England on the ship "Salmo." She took a train to Liverpool where she sailed on the "Lusitania". She arrived at Ellis Island on December 21, 1912. She passed her physical and had $25 with her. She stood 5'2" and had gray hair and blue eyes. She listed a cousin as a contact in the "old country" and George Fahnstrom as her contact in America. George was listed as her brother-in-law but was really her son-in-law. While Ingrid sailed third class on the Lusitania her experience was far better than anyone else's. She had her own bedroom and was able to eat at a table and walk around on a nice ship. Much better than steerage in the 1800's. 

That's just a brief history of our immigrant family. As a reminder, NO NAMES were changed at Ellis Island. The inspectors checked the passengers' names against the manifest from the departing country. If any names were changed, they were changed by the immigrants themselves. Sven Goren Henrick Johansson decided to change his name to George Henrickson when he became a naturalized citizen. It was his choice to change it.

 

 

 

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.