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. 

Family Business

  The prompt for this week is "Family Business." There are two occupations that come up over and over again in the family tree: farming and teaching.

People have been farming for the past 12,000 years. When society transitioned from a hunter-gatherer society to staying put, cultivating crops and domesticating animals. Our ancestors have been farming since.

While Carl and Ulrika Anderson met while Carl was working at a railroad station in Stockholm, Sweden, after marrying they moved to a farm in the country. Unfortunately, after nearly 2 years of famine they moved to America. Once again, Carl worked for the railroads first, before saving up enough money to buy a farm in Michigan. After he passed away, his farm was inherited by his daughter and her husband. George Henrickson had attended college and worked as a Lutheran minister before giving it up to come work on the farm. When he passed away, his son Raymond took over the family farm. While he also had a full-time job in the paper mill, he still kept cows and raised crops. The land is still in the family and farmed today by Ray's sons and grandsons.

Carl Strand also tried different jobs over the years, including his own successful business at one point. However, during the Great Depression he came back to the family farm and stayed there the rest of his days. His father had tried farming off and on and was never very successful at it. Carl was a much better farmer than his father, much to his father's chagrin, and was able to keep the farm in the family. 

Ray Henrickson and brother with plough horses.

Carl Strand's plough horses.

The Pulsipher and Brownell families farmed in America going back to before America was a country. Farming is also strong in the Bellinger and Truman families. William Mabbs had a successful soap manufacturing business in England before moving to New York City. After a bank failure cost him his fortune, he moved to Michigan and became a farmer.

Women have not had a lot of job options open to them over the years. They were expected to stay home and keep house and raise children. If you lived on a farm, then you also helped your husband with farm chores. The only time a woman could really work outside the home, was before she was married, which several of our ancestors did. 

George Henrickson's aunt, Sara Lena Fahna, was single all her life and worked as a schoolteacher. She was known for being a good teacher who kept a disciplined classroom.

Elnora Truman, Mildred Strand's mother, taught school before marrying Charles Bellinger. Mildred Strand taught school before marrying Carl Strand. Carl Strand's mother, Mary Pulsipher, taught school before marrying William Strand. When Mary was older and her children had all left home, she taught school again. Her daughter Eva also taught school. And Eva's daughter Ruth also taught school. Several of Mildred's grandchildren and great grandchildren have also taught in varying degrees and capacities. 

I feel very proud to come from such a long line of farmers and teachers. I can't think of two more nobler vocations. (If only they paid more ;)

Questions, comments, or want to add more information? Post them below or email me. Thank you for reading!

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

Sara Lena Fahna

 This week I found the Death Inventory list for Sara Lena Fahna. She was the older sister of Ingrid Kristina Fahna, mother of George Henrickson. Using the services again of Annika Hostmad from Find a Swede I was able to get the document translated. Annika also found the listing of Sara's death record and was able to translate that as well. I found them both to be quite interesting and they definitely add to the story of the Henrickson/Fahna family in Sweden. 

Sara Lena was born October 1, 1838. She was the 4th born child to Sven Andersson Fahna and Kajsa Jonasdotter. The records indicate that Kajsa was crippled in one hand. On March 23, 1862 Sara became approved to work as a teacher in Sweden. What did it take to become a teacher in Sweden in the 1800's, this excerpt from an article I found online about the Swedish education act of 1842 tells us.

In addition to having a personality characterized by piety and moral conduct, teachers were required to have a complete mastery of reading and writing skills, and full knowledge of catechism, biblical history, natural history (naturlära), geography, and arithmetic. The teachers were also expected to be familiar with the methods of monitorial education and teaching gymnastics and psalm songs.47 A week at the Stockholm Teachers’ College in 1848 (comprising 38 hours of class) consequently included 14 h of prayer and Bible studies, catechism, and Bible history. Five hours were spent on the Swedish language, four hours on singing instruction, three hours on geography and history, and two hours on arithmetic.48

Basic schools in every parish

And how were teachers paid? Part of their salary contained 8 barrels of grain, half of which would be rye. They also received decent housing, necessary fuel, summer grazing for a cow, and a plot of land upon which to live, if possible. It was common for teachers to have second jobs and sources of income. Basic schools in every parish 

Sara Lena stayed at various farms in her early teaching days, and then was able to settle down into her own cottage later. Records indicate she maintained good discipline in the classroom and did not hesitate to use the ruler on students who disobeyed. 

After Ingrid's children immigrated to America, and her husband Johan passed away, Ingrid moved in with Sara Lena to help take care of her. Sara Lena had dealt with illness most of her life, like her older sister Anna. Sara Lena passed away on August 1, 1912. The death record tells us she was a former Elementary school teacher from Faborg. Cause of death is listed as Rheumatic pain for many years. She had no physician attend her. 

The death inventory record tells us that Sara Lena left the following heirs: Sister Kristina, who lived there; Brother Jonas Fanstrom who lived in Illinois; and her deceased brother Anders Lindblad's 3 children living in Indiana. 

It also tells us that her assets at the time of her death were:

1 Drawer

1 Bed

1 Sofa

Planted Trees

These assets were less than the liability incurred by the estate. The burial cost and the bill for maintenance and care of the cottage were more than the assets. 

There is a note that Ingrid signed off on this as being a true telling of the estate with nothing being hidden or omitted. It was noted "Fana with hand on pen". This was done when someone had trouble writing, they would hold the pen, but someone else would put their hand over and actually move the pen.

The estate of Sara Lena was settled on November 4, 1912. Ingrid sailed to America in December 1912. She must've stayed long enough to get her sister's estate dealt with and then sailed to America to join the rest of her family. With the crippled hand of the mother Kajsa, the life long illness of Anna, the long lasting rheumatic pain of Sara, the fact that Ingrid needed someone to help her move a pen, I'm wondering if there is a connection here? It could be genetic, or perhaps just what happens when people don't have access to healthy foods and medical care? Life was difficult for our Swedish ancestors and healthy food, comfortable living conditions, and plenty of rest and relaxation were not the norm. 

My 3 main sources of information for this came from

Find a Swede

The school act of 1842

Fahnstrom family records

Teacher Appreciation

 In honor of Teacher Appreciation Day on May 4, 2021, I thought I'd write about a few ancestors who were teachers. I've found many relatives on both sides of the family tree who were teachers. The teaching profession seems to be well represented on the Strand branch of the tree.

Going back, Mildred Bellinger Strand worked as a teacher before marrying Carl Strand in July 1920. I haven't been able to find her in the 1920 census, but according to the marriage record, she lived in Otsego and worked as a school teacher. She didn't live with her parents as I found them separately. 

Everyone I've talked to about Mildred has always said she highly valued an education and learning. She loved to read and always kept learning about new things all her life.

Going back another generation we find Carl Strand's mother, Mary Pulispher. Mary also worked as a teacher before marrying William Strandt. Mary was also a lifelong learner. I found this article about her going back to college in her later years.

The article is dated July 21, 1941. I think it's very cool that Mary decided to take college classes at the age of 61.

Also mentioned in that article is Mary's daughter, Eva. Eva was the oldest child of William and Mary Strandt. She was also Carl Strand's older sister. She also worked as a teacher. She taught for many years. Her teaching career was mentioned in her obituary. 

These are just a few examples I've found of teachers in the family. Teaching, and a good education, seem to be a family trait. 

Mildred Bellinger Strand

Mary Pulsipher Strand

Eva Strandt Kiser, holding the horse.