You Wouldn't Believe It!

 This week's prompt is "You wouldn't believe it." I've uncovered a lot of surprising things about my ancestors and relatives over the past few years. One of the facts that I really found surprising was when my mom told me that her father, Raymond Henrickson, had surprised her and her siblings by playing a bit of a tune on a piano one day. No one knew that he could even play the piano!  I dug deeper into it.

Raymond Henrickson was the 9th child born to George and Malvina Henrickson. Ray most likely learned to play the piano from his parents. Both Malvina and George played the organ at the local Lutheran church. Malvina had even helped donate money, and traveled to Detroit, Michigan to bring back the first organ for the church. From Allegan to Detroit and back again with a horse and wagon. Ray wasn't the only child of theirs to play. Oldest daughter Selma also is listed in the church records as church organist for a time. I'm unsure if any other of Ray's siblings knew how to play the piano/organ, but I'm sure there must've been others.

After establishing where Ray and his siblings learned to play the piano, the next question is how did George and Malvina learn to play? Malvina already knew how to play the organ when she met George. Her parents, Carl and Ulrika Anderson, had immigrated from Sweden. Carl was a farmer, as he had been in Sweden. Both came from poor families. Carl had worked at a railroad station and Ulrika had worked for many different families as a maid before they met and married. After marrying, Carl farmed. It seems unlikely either family had a piano. Ulrika's parents were both dead by the time she was 7. Perhaps she learned somewhere along the way from one of the families she worked for? 

George Henrickson immigrated from Sweden as a 17-year-old boy. His family also was poor, but his maternal uncles were a bit better off. One immigrated to America in 1869 and became a successful farmer. Another one worked as a tailor in Sweden, and then in America. George also had a maternal aunt who worked as the local schoolteacher. It seems music and dancing seemed to be fun pastimes in his mother's family. I found this excerpt from a letter written by one of his sister's descendants: 

 Karl and Sven George Henrickson were handsome men, several of the Fahnstrom's and the Johnson's were good looking people, also musical and some loved to dance, guess that's something I inherited. Grandpa George and his sons played accordion by ear, Great Uncle Fred's sons, Wesley (Jack) Elmer (Unk) and Leslie (Pete) were very good and played accordion, guitar and banjo for dances.

At this Mid-summer picnic George was enough of a singer to be part of a quartette, singing, so he must've enjoyed it, and had a good voice!

Our ancestors, especially the ones who lived in Sweden, had hard lives. They weren't easy, filled with hard work. Oftentimes working from sunup to sundown. But, I'm glad that they did make time for fun. That they celebrated and sang and danced, with family and friends. 

Eva Wilhelmina Strandt

 After last week's blog about William F. Strandt, I received a request wanting to know more about William's oldest daughter, Eva. This week's blog is what I've been able to piece together about Eva Wilhelmina Strandt. She also sorta fits the prompt for this week which is "War and Peace." 

Eva Wilhelmina Strandt was born April 20, 1899 in Allegan, Michigan to Mary and William Strandt. She lived with her parents on a farm belonging to her grandparents, Carl FT and Wilhelmina "Amena" Strandt in Allegan. Eva was soon joined by siblings Carl, Ruth and Howard. The family also moved from Michigan to Illinois and back to Michigan again. At the age of 18 Eva followed in her mother's footsteps and became a teacher in a rural school. She lived at home and taught school for many years. 

On January 11, 1923 she married Reed Hayes, an auto mechanic. They lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In 1929, or earlier, a daughter was born to them, Ruth Marilyn Hayes. Ruth was born after the death of Eva's sister, Ruth. My guess is that she named her daughter after her beloved sister. Ruth's early death seemed to bring great sadness to the Strandt family.

On January 20, 1934 Eva was granted a divorce from Reed Hayes. In the petition Eva cites extreme and repeated cruelty, and non support for reason for divorce. Reed didn't contest it. In talking to Eva's granddaughter, she relayed a story her grandmother told her about her first husband. Eva said that he had asked her to move to Florida with him so he could find work there. Eva refused, on the grounds that she wanted to stay and help her mother stay safe. Whatever the real reason was, after the divorce Reed did move to Florida where he remarried and had another child. Eva stayed in Kalamazoo with daughter Ruth.

The 1940 Federal Census finds Eva and Ruth living in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Eva supports herself and Ruth by teaching. Her income was $926, with no other source of income. 

On August 14, 1943 Eva married for a second time. She married Robert G. Kiser, who was originally from South Dakota. He worked in a local paper mill. Eva still worked as a teacher. In February 1948, daughter Ruth marries Jack Jones and moves out. A year later in 1949 her daughter Marilyn Eva is born. Eva is now a grandmother.

Eva and Robert live in Kalamazoo. Eva's daughter has moved to Orlando, Florida after the death of her husband in 1952. On one of her trips back home to visit family in December, daughter Ruth goes for a ride in a car with her cousin Charles Strandt, son of Howard. With them is Ruth's daughter Marilyn. While driving, a postal truck hits the car they are riding in. All 3 occupants are injured. Ruth dies later at the hospital, Charles survives, but with crippling injuries for life. Marilyn is severely injured but survives. Eva takes Marilyn in and helps raise her.

Marilyn remembers Eva as a kind woman. Eva never spoke to Marilyn about the conflict with her brother Carl. One day Eva drove Marilyn past the farm and told her her oldest brother Carl, his wife, and four children lived there, but no more was said about Carl. Eva also didn't mention any of the Strandt relatives in Chicago either. Eva and Howard did talk and associate, but I think there may have been a falling out with Howard after the tragic car accident. Marilyn does remember visiting William and Mary when they were older, and when they went to live in a nursing home before their deaths.

At some point after the deaths of William and Mary, Eva and Robert moved to Tampa, Florida. There they remained until their deaths. Robert passing away in 1967, and Eva passing away in 1980, at the age of 81.

Eva loved to teach and taught many children over the years. She also spent 5 years teaching children with Special Needs. She spoke both High and Low German, and drove a Model T in her younger days. Like her brother Howard, she supported the Republican party. 

Eva had a lot of trials and tribulations in her life, but she seemed to deal with everything with grace and dignity. Always trying to help others. Her granddaughter Marilyn had very fond memories of her. 

Mary, baby Eva, William Strandt.

Eva and 2 boys on horse. Perhaps Carl and Howard?

Ruth Marilyn Hayes, Eva's daughter

From the Tampa Tribune 1980

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.

Viola Mildred Strand Henrickson

 Today, September 9, 2023, we're celebrating the 101 year birthday of Viola Mildred Strand Henrickson. Last year was her actual 100th birthday. Viola is one year older than the Walt Disney Company which is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. 

Viola was born to Mildred and Carl Strand on September 9, 1922 in Allegan, Michigan. Viola was the only child of Carl and Mildred's 7 children to be born in a hospital, the others all being born at home with Mildred's mother Elnora acting as a midwife. Shortly after being born Mildred suffered from post partem depression and voluntarily checked into the Kalamazoo State Hospital. Older brother Howard went to live with his Bellingar grandparents and Viola was taken care of by neighbor Jay Treece and family. Viola slept in a dresser drawer. Mildred eventually came back home and got better with help from a local Native American medicine man.

In the 1930's Viola and her family moved to the Strand family farm. It was while she was living on this farm that as a teenager she met Raymond Henrickson, a local farmer. Ray and Viola started seeing each other and became engaged. They were married in Grand Rapids, Michigan on April 20, 1940. On April 6, 1941 Viola was baptized into the Lutheran faith and confirmed as a member of the Sandhem Lutheran Church. 

Ray and Viola lived on the Henrickson family farm Ray had taken over from his parents. Together Ray and Viola raised 8 children on the farm. There were 20 grandchildren, and even great grandchildren born before Viola passed away on December 8, 1999 at home. Viola raised children, cooked, cleaned, helped with farm chores and always had food on the table. Despite Ray saying her cooking wasn't as good as his mother's, Viola's children thought her cooking was pretty good, especially her pies and cookies. I can attest to the fact that the macaroni and cheese, and chicken and dumplings she made while visiting us in Florida once were the best I'd ever tasted. I always enjoyed any time I got to spend with her. One time while visiting her on the farm a phone solicitor called and said she had won a free prize. She said, Great, send it to me then. He said she had to pay for the shipping and handling. Viola huffed and said, "It's not free then, is it?!" and slammed down the phone. lol. I knew then I'd never have to worry about her being scammed. I also remember how she and Ray would sit and watch Jerry Springer every day and get a hoot out of the people who came on. She was definitely a treasure and continues to be missed. 

Mildred and most likely Howard and Viola

Mildred, with Viola standing to the left, Mildred's right.

Viola and Milton

Viola and Ray, and kids, having dinner with Carl and Mildred. 

Viola, 2nd from right, front row. With Carl and Mildred and brothers and sisters, circa 1970.

Feel free to leave any stories about Viola down below. I know there are a lot of good ones out there. The prompt for this week was "prosperity". I think prosperity fits Viola. She brought a lot of happiness and joy to all who knew her. She may not have been prosperous in a financial sense, but she was prosperous in friends and family. 

Tradesman-Carl Albert Strand

 With Labor Day approaching, the prompt for this week is "Tradesman."  When looking over the family tree I settled on Carl Strand. He seems to have had the most varied careers.

Carl's first job was as a young boy when he was hired to dig up potatoes for a neighbor. Carl was allowed to keep the potatoes that were too small to sell at market. This helped feed his family who often struggled for food. After completing the 8th grade Carl quit school and started working. One of his first jobs was working the family farm, which he enjoyed and seemed to be rather good at. Conflicts with his father over the running of the farm gave way to Carl leaving home and finding work elsewhere. Carl worked for the Michigan and Chicago Railway. He made his way to Battle Creek, Michigan where he then went to work for the Nichols and Shepard Farm Equipment Manufacturing Company. They built threshing machines.

In 1920 Carl married Mildred Bellingar. By now he was working for the  E.W. Eady shoe factory. In fact, on Carl and Mildred's marriage license, Carl is listed as a shoemaker.

During the 1920's the family moved to Kalamazoo. There, Carl worked as a truck driver, owning his own truck. He also had a construction business too. Life was pretty good. Then the Great Depression hit.

With it being hard to make ends meet, both for Carl and for his parents, Carl moved his family back to the family farm and began life as a farmer again. Being a farmer was hard and the family often had trouble making ends meet, but they made it through. Life began to get easier again in the 1940's. In April 1949 Carl began to try out a new career, as a politician.

Carl was named Watson Township supervisor after the current supervisor resigned the post. He eventually ran for the post, and won, by one vote! Carl stayed active in local politics up until his later years. 

Carl Albert Strand worked as a potato digger, railway man, shoe factory worker, factory assembler, truck driver, construction, farmer, and politician. Definitely a jack of all trades. 

In the newspaper

This week's prompt is "In the newspaper." I've been able to find out a lot about my various family members by searching the newspapers. Not only are newspapers great ways to find out about weddings and obituaries, but you can also find out if they ran for office, who they had Easter dinner with, or if they visited friends at Camp Custer. I have a subscription to Newspapers.com and that has been a tremendous help, especially with extended relatives who moved to other parts of the country. Unfortunately, the Allegan Gazette, and Allegan Journal have not been made a part of the Newspapers.com family. I did find a way, though. While searching the Allegan Library website one day I discovered that they had digitized the two newspapers and put them online. There was even a search engine! Unfortunately the search results just tell me which issue of the paper my relative may be in. It doesn't show me which article or highlight the name like Newspapers does. Nevertheless, it's been an invaluable tool in helping me research the Strands, Henricksons, Thompsons, and Ashleys. 

For this prompt I went back and searched for Henrickson and popularly misspelled "Hendrickson" again to see what I could find.

We start with June 25, 1915. I've mentioned wanting to know if our Swedish ancestors observed Midsummer festivities in Michigan as they would have in Sweden. Well, I wonder no more. I found this article describing the Midsummer party hosted at the farm of Mr. and Mrs. George Hen(d)rickson.

Allegan Gazette June 25, 1915

Malvina's father, Charles, had passed away in March of 1915, so by June she and George were already living on the farm. This also shows that George must've had a good singing voice to be part of a group that performed. It also shows that Hjalmar Anderson was part of the social circle. Hjalmar would go on to marry oldest Henrickson daughter Selma. 

The next article also concerns Hjalmar, and the Sandahl boys again. In November 1917 we find Hjalmar, Charlie Sandahl and friend Carl Peterson visiting William Sandahl and Martin Swanty at Camp Custer. William and Martin must've signed up to fight in World War I. Interestingly enough, in this same blurb, we also find Carl Strandt and his friend Gordon visiting a school. If that makes any kind of sense to anyone I'd love to know more. Maybe it's a school future wife Mildred Bellingar was teaching at?

Allegan Gazette November 1917

The next mention I find is the wedding of Grace Henrickson to Harold Wall in August 1928. The reception, once again, was held at the Henrickson family farm. 

Allegan Gazette August 18, 1928

 

In the same issue, I also find mention of where Grace and Harold spent time at a cottage with Selma and Hjalmar. 

Our last mention of Selma in the newspapers is when she was celebrated on her 80th birthday. It mentions her long service to the Lutheran church and also that she was church organist for many years. A job her mother once held.

Allegan Gazette November 1980

These are just a few snippets I've found in the Allegan papers. My hope is that one day Newspapers will pick up the Allegan Gazette and Journal as their search engine is so much better, but until then I'll make do with what I have. 

As always, post any questions, comments or additional information down below. Or email me. Feel free to share and repost.

As a side note, Malvina's brother-in-law was Andrew Sandahl, so I'm guessing maybe Charlie and William Sandahl were related to him in some way? I'll have to research and see. 
 

Update. Charlie and William Sandahl were the younger brothers of Anders "Andrew" Sandahl, who married Selma Anderson. Younger sister of Malvina. I also discovered that their father Gustavus Sandahl, was from Slatthog, Sweden. Same parish as where George Henrickson was from. Gustavus also changed his last name from "Johansson" too, to Sandahl. Reason was there were too many Swedish men named Johnson in the lumber camps were he worked. 

The marriage of Viola Strand and Raymond Henrickson

 The prompt for last week's blog was "random." I decided to write about a random article I found in the paper about Viola Strand.

Viola Strand was the daughter of Carl and Mildred Strand. She was born in September 1922. By all accounts she couldn't wait to get out of her parents house and start her own life. When she caught the eye of nearby farmer Raymond Henrickson, that seemed to be her way out. 

colorized picture of Howard Strand, Viola Strand, Ray Henrickson

By Spring of 1940 Viola and Ray were engaged to be married. The random article I found was from the Thursday, March 28, 1940 issue of the Allegan Gazette. It's about a kitchen shower given to one Viola Strand. 

Allegan Gazette, March 28, 1940

I can only imagine the fun and excitement Viola must have had opening her presents. I wonder what happened to the recipe box and the recipes?

Viola and Ray were officially married on April 20, 1940. Viola's age is given as 18, but she was actually only 17 at the time of marriage. I've seen the age of many women inflated on marriage certificates back in the day. 

I found it interesting that the marriage occurred in Grand Rapids, and not Allegan. Also interesting is that Ray's sister Esther and her husband Milo are listed as witnesses. They were married by a Lutheran pastor, though. Ray's family was very involved with the Lutheran church. The Strand family has been described as not very religious and not officially belonging to any one church. 

Ray and Viola's marriage was later recorded in the Allegan Gazette.

Allegan Gazette, April 25, 1940

A few more interesting notes about the wedding. The marriage occurred on April 20. The 1940 US Federal Census was being conducted that year. On May 9, 1940 a census taker came to the Henrickson farm and recorded the persons living there, which included new daughter-in-law Viola. 

What's interesting is that Viola is also recorded as living with Carl and Mildred, and being single, on May 17, 1940. Viola was recorded twice on the 1940 census, living in two different households! I wonder if maybe a neighbor gave the census taker information for the Strand household? Or maybe there was a cutoff date? Anyway, Viola was counted twice. 

The next piece of random information I have concerns Viola's baptism. Ray Henrickson's grandparents had been instrumental in starting a Lutheran church in Allegan, Michigan. Ray was already a member so it only made sense for his new wife to join the church too. I found church records indicating that Viola was baptized and officially joined the church as a member on April 6, 1941. This would be one year before giving birth to her first child in May 1942.

Does anyone have anymore information on the wedding of Ray and Viola? Why they were married in Grand Rapids? Was there another wedding in Allegan at the Lutheran Church down the road? What happened to the recipe box full of recipes Viola was given at her shower? Did she use them? Let me know in the comments down below or email me. 

 

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.