Off to Work: Mildred Strand

This week's prompt is "Off to work." Besides farming, the other profession that keeps repeating itself in our family is teaching. We have had a great many teachers over the years. Granted, women did not have many opportunities for other careers back in the day, but it is interesting how many women in our family have taught over the years. Carl Strand's mother, Mary Pulsipher, taught school before marrying William Strandt. Mary even taught school again in her later years. She attended Western Michigan College in the 1940's to add to her teaching credentials. Her daughter and Carl's older sister, Eva, also taught school. Eva's daughter, Ruth, grew up to be a schoolteacher in Florida.

June 1941

On the Henrickson side, George Henrickson's aunt, Sarah Lena Fahna, taught school in Sweden. She taught until she retired. 

Mildred Strand also came from a line of teachers. Her mother, Elnora Truman, taught in a one room school before marrying Charles Bellinger. 

After graduating from high school, Mildred earned a diploma from a Normal School and was allowed to teach. Normal schools were educational institutions dedicated to training teachers. Mildred attended one for one year and was then credentialed to teach school in the state of Michigan. 

It states that Mildred V. Bellingar has successfully completed the prescribed course of study and completed practice teaching at Allegan County Normal School. Dated June 12, 1919.

Mildred taught for one year before marrying Carl Strand on July 9, 1920. While Mildred gave up teaching to become a wife and mother, she never stopped learning. She read voraciously and loved to study and learn new things. Several of Mildred's grandchildren and great grandchildren work in education today. 

I haven't been able to locate where Mildred taught yet. I'm still working on that. Mildred's high school diploma has also been found. Here's a copy of that.

It says that Mildred Bellingar has completed the scientific course of study and is declared a graduate of the High School. Dated May 30, 1918.

Many thanks to Mildred's son, Fred, who recently found these diplomas. They are the only records at the moment of Mildred graduating high school and Normal school. I'm very thankful they were saved and shared.

Questions, comments, more info to add? Leave them down below in the comments or email me. 

March Notables

 March has been a month filled with lots of activities. Lets get down to birthdays, anniversaries, and deaths in the month of March.

Birthdays:

March 2:

 1840, Joseph Bellegraph, my 3x great grandfather on my paternal side, born in Pomerania, Poland.

1873, Elnora Truman, my maternal 2x great grandmother. Born in Michigan.

March 10:

1883. Selma Anderson, my maternal great grandaunt. Born in Michigan.

1901. Carl Strand, my maternal great grandfather. Born in Michigan.

1921. Victor Henrickson, my maternal granduncle. Born in Michigan.

 Ilene Henrickson, my mother. Born in Michigan.

March 14:

 Paul Henrickson, my maternal uncle. Born in Michigan.

March 19:

1913. Catherine Ashley, my paternal grandaunt. Born in Michigan.

March 22:

1916. Carl Thompson, my paternal granduncle. Born in Michigan.

March 23:

1856. Eva Brownell, my maternal 3x great grandmother. Born in Michigan.

March 24:

1912. L. F. Thompson, my paternal grandfather. Born in Michigan.

March 27:

1834. Carl F. T. Strandt, my maternal 3x great grandfather. Born in Mecklinberg, Prussia, Germany.

1873. Charles Bellinger, my maternal 2x great grandfather. Born in Michigan.

March 28:

1862. Joannes "John" Knach Conors, my paternal 3x great grandfather. Born in Pomerania. Poland.

March 31:

1916. Esther M. Henrickson, my maternal grandaunt. Born in Michigan.

Anniversaries:

March 26, 1874. Albert Pulsipher and Eva Brownell.

Deaths:

March 9:

1965, Sidney Henrickson. Maternal granduncle.

March 12:

1989, Eulalia Henrickson. Maternal grandaunt.

March 21:

1951, Evald Henrickson. Maternal granduncle.

March 10 definitely stands out with 4 birthdays on it. Out of the 31 days of March, there are birthdays, anniversaries and deaths on 14 of them. 

Did I miss anyone? Let me know.

Carl Strand, upper left. Born on March 10, 1901.

Family secret

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about finding things that surprised me while doing family research. This week's prompt is "family secrets." I haven't found any long-lost relatives on the Henrickson/Strand side. Yet. :) This is more of a surprise, and I guess it could be a secret too.

Something we often hear when people bemoan modern society is that no one stays married anymore. That back in "the good old days" people got married and stayed married forever. Celebrating 50 and 60 years of wedded bliss. That is false. People have been getting divorced since the beginning of time. It may not have been socially acceptable, and it may have been difficult if not at times impossible, but divorce has always been an option our ancestors had. I have found instances of ancestors getting divorced starting back in the late 1800's. Many times, there were no children involved, and the couple had only been married a year or two. The divorce that surprised me the most, though, was finding out that William and Mary Strandt had been divorced, back in 1917. 

William Strandt and Mary 'Matie" Elizabeth Pulsipher were married June 8, 1888. By all accounts William and Mary often struggled to make ends meet. William farmed, trained horses, and worked as a laborer. He also drank alcohol, often getting drunk. One time William got drunk and into an argument with oldest son, Carl. William ended up chasing Carl around the house with an ax. William also moved the family to Illinois to find better work, promised by other Strandt family members. The better work never showed up, so William moved the family back to Michigan. Upon moving back to Michigan is when Mary's uncle gave her the deed to the Strandt family farm, which was wisely placed in Mary's name.

Finally, on January 13, 1917, Mary filed for divorce from William. She alleged Cruelty as the reason for divorce. "Cruelty" could mean anything from William being unfaithful, to him being a drunkard, to him being physically and mentally abusive. It was probably a combination of all of the above. One of my research goals is to find the divorce complaint that Mary filed that would cite the reasons for cruelty. We know that William contested the divorce. I would also love to hear his reasons defending himself. According to a newspaper article from the time, there was not enough evidence to grant a divorce. The lawyers got together and came up with a plan where William was given machinery, money, and a chance to visit the children at certain times. A full divorce was granted to Mary on July 31, 1917. She was 40 years old, had 4 children at home, and no job, that we know of.

When I found the divorce record, at first I thought it must belong to another William and Mary Strandt. The more I investigated it though, the more I realized that it was my William and Mary Strandt. I had never heard any mention of Carl's parents getting divorced. I knew he had a feud with them, and with his siblings, but I had never heard of a divorce. My mother had never heard of a divorce either. So, this was a family surprise/secret. 

Now, I had heard the story of how Carl had fought with his parents over control of the farm so I wondered how that could have happened if William and Mary had been divorced? None of this was making any sense. I kept researching and then I found my answer. William and Mary HAD divorced, but then they had remarried.

On July 15, 1918, William and Mary Strandt remarried. They were married by J. Ford Stratten, Probate Judge. This record also confirmed that the William and Mary who divorced on July 31, 1917, were the same couple. According to the record, Mary was a housekeeper, which could have just meant that she kept house at home. Not that she was employed as a housekeeper. William was listed as a taxi driver living in Otsego.

William must've used the last year to try and win Mary back. I'm sure he said he was a changed man, maybe he offered to give up drinking? Either way, he got Mary to take him back. Not happy with the family reunification was oldest son, Carl. Carl and his father never seemed to get along and Mary taking William back was the last straw for Carl. Shortly after William moved back home, he and Carl resumed their fights. Carl moved out. The 1920 Federal census shows Carl working and living with a young couple as their hired hand. Later that year he would marry Mildred Bellinger and begin his own family. 

I don't see this so much as a family secret, but as, a family event not talked about. Something better not talked about.

If you have any information or can add more to William and Mary's divorce, or marriage and relationship, please add them in the comments below. You can also email me.

Also, as you can tell from the divorce ledger above, there were a lot of couple filing for divorce in 1917. Most of them were by women, but a few men filed too.

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. 

In the Beginning

 Happy New Year! 

The first prompt of 2025 is "In the beginning." I decided to do something I've wanted to do for a while, compile a list of all the birthdays, deaths, and anniversaries on a monthly basis. January is the first month so it's a good place to start. 

Let's start off on a happy note with some of the birthdays I've found in January.

My paternal Great aunt Fern Thompson was born on January 1, 1927.

January 3rd has 2 birthdays, Sidney Henrickson in 1902 and my Dad in 1941.

Frank Ashley, a paternal Great Uncle was born on January 4, 1915.

Paternal 3x Great Grandmother Abigail Eldred was born on January 9, 1804.

Paternal Great Grandmother Emilia Dobbratz Ashley was born on January 15, 1888.

Great Grandfather George Henrickson was born January 19, 1875.

2x Great Grandmother Mary Pulispher Strandt was born January 20, 1877.

January 23 was the birthday of paternal 2x Great Grandfather Andrew Thompson in 1859 and paternal Grand uncle Orville Ashley in 1919

Toni Thompson was born January 28,1945.

Next up we celebrate the marriages that occurred in January.

Paternal 2x Great Grandparents Orville Ashley and Kate Eldred were united in marriage on January 1, 1863.

2x Great Grandparents Ingrid Fahna and Johan Jonasson were also united in marriage in January, on the 10th, in 1874.

Our In Memoriam segment is sadly, the largest. 

January 1 was the day Grand Aunt Esther M. Henrickson and Grand Uncle Lynn Bellinger passed away. In 1995 and 1981.

3x Great Grandfather Madison Truman passed away on January 2, 1884.

3x Great Grandfather Sven Fahna passed away on January 3, 1881 and Victor Henrickson passed away on the same date in 1923.

Howard C. Strand passed away on January 8, 2017.

Paternal 3x Great Grandfather Riley Thompson passed away on January 9, 1908.

Grand Aunt Helen Bellinger passed away on January 10, 1980.

3x Great Grandfather Carl F. T. Strand passed away on January 18, 1914.

Paternal 2x Great Grandmother Mary Bellegraph Conors passed away on January 21, 1941.

Grandfather Lawrence F. Thompson, Sr, passed away on January 19, 2006.

3x Great Grandmother Loretta Foster Bellinger passed away on January 30, 1912.

This list is by no means inclusive. If you know of any other birthdays, anniversaries or deaths in January, please list them below in the comments or email me. 

Colonel Howard C. Strand. Passed away on January 8, 2017.

William Frederic Strandt

 The prompt for this week is "Spirit". I decided to remember the 'spirit' of my great, great grandfather William Frederic Strandt, who died on October 30, 1962 in Allegan, Michigan. He also liked the spirits of alcohol a little too much.

William Frederic Strandt was born on February 15, 1876 in Chicago, Illinois to Carl Friedrich Theodor Strandt and Wilhelmine Marie Friederike Gley. Carl and Wilhelmine had come to Illinois with their 3 children in November 1871 from northern Germany. They were joining Strandt family members who already lived in the area. Meanwhile, Wilhelmine had a sister who lived a bit further away in Allegan, Michigan.

The 1880 Federal census finds William living with Carl and "Amena" in Downer's Grove, Illinois. Carl's profession is Farmer. William is the only child still living at home. Older brother Carl is working as a laborer on another farm, while older sister Caroline has moved out. She would be 16 so I'm guessing she probably was living with another family as a servant. She marries and starts a family in 1884. Younger sister Wilhelmine Johanna has disappeared completely. I have not been able to find any record of her death, or marriage, or anything related to her after the family comes to Chicago. If anyone knows anything about her, please let me know. 

The next big event in William's life is marrying a young Mary "Matie" Elizabeth Pulsipher in Allegan, Michigan on June 8, 1898. William is 22 years old and Mary is 21. I often wondered how William came to Allegan when he lived in and around Chicago. While researching his mother's family I discovered he had an aunt and uncle who came to Allegan, before his parents came to America. My guess is that on a trip to visit his aunt and uncle he must've come across and met Mary. After marrying Mary, William put down roots in Allegan. Almost a year later, their first child was born, Eva Wilhelmina Strandt. She was born on April 20, 1899 in Allegan. She's named after both of her grandmothers. 

William and Mary Strandt, Baby Eva 1899.

On March 10, 1901 their son Carl Albert Strand is born. Carl is also named after both of his grandfathers. The 1900 Federal census finds William and Mary and baby Eva living with William's parents, Carl and Wilhelmine in Watson Township. Both Carl and William are listed as Farmers. 

Mary Strandt in the middle. William Strandt on the far right with a young Carl Strand. 1903. Possibly Carl and Wilhelmine Strandt. Others unknown. 

In 1904 daughter Ruth Bessie is born in Otsego, Michigan and son Howard is born in 1909 in Hinsdale, Illinois. Sometime between Ruth's birth and Howard's birth, William decided to move the family back to Illinois, where he thought he might have better luck in earning money. It was not to be though, and the family moved back to Michigan. The 1910 Federal census finds the family living with William's father Carl in Trowbridge Township. Both William and Carl are listed as Farmers. 

It is sometime around here where Mary's uncle, Charles Richard Brownell, who was very successful in the lumber business in Louisiana, deeded a farm to William and Mary. From what I've been able to find out, William didn't seem to have much luck in farming. He wasn't very good at it, or at training horses. Younger son, Carl, was good at farming, and training horses. Carl had one pair of horses trained so well he could drop the reins and the horses would continue down the row and wait for Carl at the other end. Carl was also very good at farming. He liked to farm "the German" way and had disdain for his neighbors who farmed "the American" way. These disagreements led to many arguments between William and Carl. The one thing William did seem to be good at, was drinking. By all accounts, William drank. A lot. William would get drunk and become belligerent. Arguing and yelling. One time he became so drunk he chased Carl around the outside of the house with an ax, threating to kill him. Daughter Eva would often fear for her mother's safety. Not trusting what William might do. Finally, Mary had had enough and filed for divorce from William January 13, 1917, citing Cruelty. William contested it but a divorce was granted on July 31, 1917. It was Absolute. 

Carl was happy about the divorce and began to farm the farm his way. Unfortunately for Carl, William and Mary reconciled and almost a year to the day, on July 15, 1918, William and Mary remarried and William moved back home. Upon moving back home, the arguments between William and Carl started back up again. The final straw came when William sold Carl's favorite work horses that he had trained so well. Carl was still upset about it, years later talking about the incident. Carl then moved out.

The 1920 census finds William, Mary, Eva, Ruth and Howard all living in Watson Township at the Strandt farm. In 1926 William, Mary and Howard are living with son Carl and his family in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Both men are working as drivers. Carl started his own trucking company and allowed his parents and younger siblings to move in with them so Ruth, and then Howard could attend high school. After Howard graduated from high school, William and Mary moved back to the farm.

William's lack of farming skills really showed during the Great Depression. Unable to pay bills and in danger of having the farm foreclosed on by the bank, William and Mary asked Carl and his family to move in and take over running the farm. William and Mary agreed to move out. Carl agreed. Carl took out loans, bought supplies, and got to work. He was able to turn things around and get the family farm stable again. However, William and Mary decided to stay, and not move out as they had agreed to. This led to more arguments between William and Carl and led to an eventual lawsuit filed by Carl against his parents, to get them to move out. The case went to the Michigan State Supreme Court. Carl eventually won, and William and Mary moved out. The case left such a bad taste in Carl's mouth, that he never spoke to William and Mary again. He also forbid family members to speak to them. Something which, his family did not respect. I've heard many stories of Carl's children, and wife Mildred, sneaking over to visit William and Mary and not letting Carl know. 

The 1940 Federal census finds William and Mary living next door to Mary's younger sister, Florence and her husband. William's occupation is Laborer, and the home is rented.  William also says he only went to 7th grade in school. Mary had worked as a teacher off and on over the course of her life. Her income as a teacher helped support her and William.

The 1950 Federal census finds William and Mary living just down the road from granddaughter Viola and her family. Viola would sneak down and visit William and Mary and not say anything to her father, Carl about it. William's occupation is listed as a Farmer once again. 

William's wife, Mary, passed away in November 1961, and William passed away October 30, 1962. I haven't been able to find a cause of death yet, but he was 86. After Carl cut off contact with William and Mary, and forbid others from seeing them, I don't know how William was as he got older. If he mellowed and drank less, or if he continued to drink. I'd like to know more about William. Did he drink because he was unsuccessful in earning a living and supporting his family, or, was he unsuccessful because he drank? Which came first? The drinking or the economic failure? Maybe it was a combination of both? 

William and Mary in later years.

A hymnbook belonging to William Strandt.

Another picture of William. 
 

Traveling back in time with the Pulsipher Family

 The prompt for this week is "travel". I've written before how our ancestors traveled to Michigan, or traveled the country. So today we're going to travel back in time with one branch of the family.

Carl Strand's maternal grandfather was Albert E. Pulsipher. Albert was born in Ohio in 1849 and some time before the age of 10 he had moved to Watson Township, Michigan with his family. He married Eva Brownell and they had 7 children, including Carl's mother, Mary. Albert was a farmer and passed away in 1927. I'm not sure what kind of relationship Carl had with Albert, if any. 

While Albert was born in Ohio, that's not where his family was originally from. Getting into the "Way Back Machine" we're going to travel back with the Pulsipher family to Vermont.

Albert's father was a man named Horace Pulsipher. Horace was born in 1824 in Stowe, Vermont. His father was a man named Ebenezer Pulsipher, who was born in Rockingham, Vermont in 1787. His father was also named Ebenezer and was born in 1759 in Massachusetts to David Pulsipher and Elizabeth Stowell. 

Some time after 1759 David moved his family from Massachusetts to Vermont. David was one of the founding members of Rockingham and helped to organize the first church of Rockingham, donating land for the church and cemetery. David was active in local affairs. When the revolution for American independence started David and his son John went off to fight. The story that is recorded, that was told by the family and handed down, is that David went off to fight and was involved in the Battle of Bunker Hill. David would have been 66 years old at the time of the battle. It's not known whether he was killed fighting or died of disease. He just marched off one day and never returned. 

Two of David's sons, John and Ebenezer, also fought in the revolution. John fought in the Battle of Ticonderoga and Ebenezer marched to Manchester where two different battles took place. One of which involved Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys. 

All of the information above I found in a book I found online.

Source: History of the Town of Rockingham, Vermonth, 1753-1907 (1907) MyHeritage.com [online database], MyHeritage Ltd. https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-61145/history-of-the-town-of-rockingham-vermonth-1753-1907-1907  Record: https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-61145-654/history-of-the-town-of-rockingham-vermonth Unknown  Citation: History of the Town of Rockingham, Vermonth, 1753-1907 (1907) Place: Rockingham, Vermont Page: 654

The book was found online on the MyHeritage website.

Branching Out

 This week's theme is "Branching Out." I thought I would write about an interesting branch of the Pulsipher family. In the 1850's 3 of Ebenezer Pulsipher's 6 sons moved from Geauga County, Ohio to Allegan County, Michigan. One of them was Horace Pulsipher, great grandfather to Carl Strand. 2 brothers remained in Ohio, and 1 brother moved to California. I'm going to write about the brother who moved to California.

Orrin Pulsipher was the older brother to Horace Pulsipher. Orrin was born in 1817 in most likely Stowe, Vermont. Sometime in the 1830's Ebenezer moved his family from Vermont to Ohio, settling just outside Cleveland. In the 1850's Ebenezer's sons started to make their own way in the world. While 3 of the brothers decided to go to Michigan, Orrin decided to go to California. The 1850 census finds Orrin and his wife Sarah living in Ohio. Their daughter, Rebecca, birth is recorded on September 27, 1856 California. I haven't been able to find a document of Rebecca's birth, but all her records list that day, and place as time of her birth. From various newspaper articles I've found Orrin living in Sacramento, California from 1859 to 1863. His job is always listed as Carpenter. I've found him listed as a plaintiff and defendant in lien cases against property, sheriff sales of property, letters left behind at the post office needing to be picked up, and in 1862 he was a juror in a case involving a charge of arson. In 1863 he is listed in the city directory of San Francisco. He is still working as a carpenter. In 1866 he appears on the list of voters in San Francisco. His address is 122 Fourth Street, in the Tenth Ward of the city. 

However, on the 1870 census Orrin is listed as being denied the right to vote, on grounds other than rebellion or other crime. 

I have been researching this and I can't find WHY he was denied voting rights, especially since he was on the voter rolls in 1866. I'm thinking it may have something to do with California law and maybe one of the property lien cases he seemed to be involved with. It is a mystery.

In 1869 an ad appears in the San Francisco Examiner asking contractors and builders to come to a meeting to devise ways to thwart LUMBER THIEVES that are infesting the city. Orrin is specifically named. 

The next time we see Orrin in the newspaper, unfortunately, is for a "probably fatal" accident he took. 

Orrin's death was very tragic, but as I continued researching his family, I learned it wasn't the only tragic death. 

Orrin's daughter Rebecca married a man named John Hucks. John had been born in England and came to California with his family as a child. John started a photography studio and was very successful. In the 1880 census they lived at 904 Market Street in San Francisco. They had 2 children and seemed to have a happy life. Rebecca was involved with the Rebekah Lodge. Unfortunately, Rebecca had her own tragic death, as reported in the newspaper. From December 28, 1892.

Rebecca was only 36 years old. You would think this would be the end of tragic deaths for this family, but, no. There is one more tragedy to come.

On October 30, 1915, apparently despondent over his declining health, John decided to end things by taking his own life. His son found him dead in the studio the next morning.

Going further with this family, I found the obituary for the son George A. in the paper. He died suddenly at the age of 52 in 1928. Sarah Pulsipher, the wife of Orrin, lived to the ripe old age of 80 years and 11 months.  She passed away in 1901.

I thought this branch was especially interesting because most of my ancestors stayed in Michigan. This is one of the few branches to go somewhere else, and to California in the 1850's no less! It must've been exciting to be in California then, and to be in San Francisco at the start and to help with the building of the city. 

 

Favorite photos

 The theme for this week's #52ancestorsin52weeks is "Favorite Photo." Looking through the family photos I've been lucky enough to acquire over the past few years I've come up with a few favorites. Most of these have been graciously shared with me. I very much appreciate the generosity. 

The first photo I really like is one of my grandmother and grandfather when they were dating, and my grandmother's older brother. On the left is Howard Strand, my granduncle. Kneeing is my grandmother, Viola Strand. Standing on the right is my grandfather, Raymond Henrickson. The photo is dated August 11, 1939. I love this photo because I think all 3 just look really cool. They're young and look like they're ready for an adventure. Grandma is even wearing pants and heels. Very fashion forward for the day. Howard was 18. Viola was 16, one month away from turning 17. Ray was 26. Viola and Ray would get married April 20, 1940. 

Moving back in time, another photo I really like is this one of my great grandfather Carl Strand, circa 1917. He's about 16 years old and he's leaning against a plow in the field. I like this one because I think the expression on his face seems to capture his personality. I only remember meeting him once, but from what I've learned about him, he seems to have been a serious, hard working man. Not that he didn't have faults, we all do, but he seems to have tried to do the best he could with what he had. Life wasn't easy for him, but he tried his best. Carl is Viola and Howard's father. 

Going back in time again, this time to about 1903. It's a picture of the Strand and Pulsipher families. My great, great grandmother Mary Elizabeth "Matie" Strand is in the dead center of the photo. Her husband, and my great, great grandfather William Strand is on the extreme right. The small boy beside him is my great grandfather Carl Strand. I like this one because it has Matie right in the middle of the picture. Everyone has their eyes on her. What is she going to do? What is she thinking? She's the star of the show! The other people in the picture are members of the Pulsipher family, and the Strand family. 

The last favorite photo I'm going to show today is another one of Matie and William Strand. This one was taken with them and their first child, daughter Eva Wilhelmina. Eva was born April 20, 1899, so I'm assuming the picture was taken a few months later that year. Once again, it's a picture of a young, happy couple. They have their first born child and the whole world is open to them. Eva Wilhelmina also happens to be named after both of her grandmothers. Matie's mother was Eva Brownell, and William's mother was Wilhelmina Gley. 

I'm always looking for family photos. Sometimes the people in them are known, sometimes not. I've actually been able to solve a few photo mysteries by comparing known photos, looking at dates and places, and by documentation. 

What are some of your favorite photos? Leave a question or comment below, or email me.

Conflict: Strand v. Strandt

 This week's prompt was "Conflict." I can think of no bigger conflict in my family tree than the court case of Carl Strand suing his parents William and Mary Strandt over ownership of the Strandt farm. Sources for this post come from a summary of the final case before the Michigan Supreme Court, personal remembrances from family members, newspaper articles, and city directories. This is by no means a complete story of the case. Hopefully that will come later with more information.

William Strandt and Mary Pulsipher were married June 8, 1898. The 1900 census finds them living in Watson Township with William's parents, Karl and Wilhelmina Strandt. Oldest child Eva is one year old. Carl and Ruth are born in Michigan. Youngest son Howard is born in 1909 in Illinois. Soon after though the family moves back to Michigan. The 1910 census finds the family living in Trowbridge Township. William's father Karl lives with them but William is listed as the Head of household. In 1920 the family is listed as living in Watson Township again. There are no addresses listed on any of these census records so I'm not exactly sure WHEN William and Mary came into possession of their farm. I DO know that the farm was given to William and Mary by Mary's uncle Charles Brownell. Charles was involved in the lumber trade and made a lot of money. He moved to Louisiana and was QUITE successful there. He'll get his own blog post one day. Here's a picture of the farm from the early 1900's. 

Here's a picture of William and Mary standing by the well.

Fast forward to 1926. William and Mary are living in Kalamazoo, Michigan with Carl and his wife Mildred. According to the Kalamazoo City Directory, William and Mary and son Howard are living at the same address as Carl and Mildred and their three children, Howard, Viola and Marylaine. Ruth has married, but she did graduate from Kalamazoo Central High School, so I'm guessing she may have lived with Carl and Mildred too? This surprised me as I didn't know the two families had previously lived together.

William and Mary go back to the farm. The Depression hits and everyone is facing financial hardships. William falls into debt and is in danger of losing his farm to the bank for failure to pay taxes and bills. A deal is struck with Carl and Mildred. Carl and Mildred will move in and take over the farm. William and Mary will move out. If William and Mary become unable to care for themselves they can move back to the farm.  An agreement was entered into on November 3, 1933. Carl took possession of the farm on February 1, 1934. Carl secured a loan of $2000 from a bank. He spent $1800 paying off the mortgage, liens, and back taxes. He spend the other $200 to make improvements to the farm. Putting up fences, fixed the roof, bought 2 cows and a manure spreader and made the farm workable again.  All parties agreed that Carl's hard work saved the farm from going under. However, William and Mary, who had agreed to move out, didn't, and therein lies the rub. 

On October 24, 1935 Carl filed suit to have William and Mary leave the house, as they had agreed. William and Mary, and Carl, Mildred and their now 5 children were all living in one small house. Each occupying different parts of the house. William and Mary's claim was that they needed help and support and couldn't live on their own. They filed a counter suit against Carl and Mildred. Carl had agreed that if his parents needed help they could return home, but they had never left in the first place, and the house was simply too small for all of them to live there peacefully. Carl and William argued over farming techniques and property. Supposedly Mary didn't help Mildred much with the housework. 

This is taken from the testimony.

We quote from the cross-examination of Carl Strandt:

" Q. Your parents have always treated you pretty nice, haven't they?

" A. I never had much complaint up until we moved down there.

" Q. The trouble is now that two families can't get along in that house?

" A. That is the foundation of it."

The court found in favor of William and Mary in the first trial. Carl and Mildred appealed and the case went to the Michigan Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court threw the case out, saying that neither party had proved their part. Even though neither side officially won, William and Mary DID move out of the farm after this case. During the trial, Carl's brother Howard and older sister Eva apparently sided with their parents and thought Carl should just let them live at the farm. Because of this, Carl grew mad at them and decided to stop talking to them. He never spoke to either one again, and forbid other family members to speak to William and Mary. From what I've heard though, other family members, including Mildred, DID speak to William and Mary after the case. Even visiting them. they just made sure not to tell Carl. ;)

When Carl passed away, Raymond Henrickson, husband to Carl and Mildred's daughter Viola bought the Strand farm. I believe one of Ray's sons owns the farm today. So, 100+ years later, the farm is still in the same family. 

This is a complicated story to tell. Every time I research the Strandts or find new family members I seem to get a few more pieces added to the puzzle. If you have anything to add, stories, comments, corrections, please comment below.

Thanks for reading!

PS. This is from the Strand family Bible. It contains hand written history of the Strand family, coming to America, and of the court case. It's very cool because this is first person testimony. I've tried to make the picture as big as I can so it can be read. The part about the court case is near the bottom.