This Swedish Ancestor Stayed Home

The prompt for this week is "This Ancestor Stayed Home." I thought I'd write about an ancestor that stayed in the old country and didn't immigrate to America.

We all know Sven Goran Henrik Johansson, aka George S. Henrickson, came to America. His sister, mother, and all of his uncles and their families on his mother's side also came to America. All of his immediate family on his mother's side either came to America, or had already passed on. But what about his father's side?

George's father was Johan Jonasson. At some point in time, Johan and Ingrid, George's mother, stopped living together. Johan stayed in Sweden and passed away in 1903 at the age of 76. Cause of death was listed as heart disease. Johan had a half brother and 3 sisters. He also had a younger brother, Anders. 

Johan's sisters all left home and worked as maids at various farms. Oldest sister Lena died at the age of 91. I haven't found a marriage record for her. She stayed in Sweden and apparently had no children. Sara, like Lena, seemed to spend her life working as a maid on various farms around southern Sweden. No marriage or birth records of children have been found for her. She died at the age of 95. Youngest sister, Stina, worked briefly as a maid before marrying and having at least 2 children. She died at the age of 69 and also lived in Sweden her whole life.

Johan's youngest brother was Anders.  Anders was only 9 when his father, Jonas, passed away. I haven't found many records of how young Anders supports himself. First real record I have of him is June 22, 1867, when he married Ingrid Palmquist. After marrying, Anders works as a shoemaker.

Anders and Ingrid have 12 children altogether. Of the 12, at least 8 children survive to adulthood. I haven't found a death record for one of his daughters yet. Of the 8 that survived, 6 came to America. These children would all be 1st cousins of George Henrickson. They settled mostly in North Dakota. One went to Wisconsin, and one went to California. Only 2 of Anders' children stayed in Sweden. 

Anders's youngest son, Axel, came to America and lived in Montana, Minnesota, and Washington before becoming an American citizen and enlisting in the U.S. Army to fight in World War I. He lost his life on October 31, 1918. He's buried in Flanders Field in West Flanders, Belgium. I'm not sure if George knew his cousin was fighting or not but I'm sure he would have been proud of him.

Anders himself stayed in Sweden his entire life. Anders passed away on June 20, 1920, at the age of 82. He still lived in Moheda, Sweden. Same parish as he was born in. 

So, do we still have relatives in Sweden today? Yes! Not only do we have relatives from Anders, but we also have relatives related to Carl and Ulrika Anderson in Sweden. I uploaded my DNA to MyHeritage, another ancestry site that matches your DNA with people all over the world. Unlike Ancestry, MyHeritage is based more in Europe. I have matched with people living in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, Belgium, England and literally all over the world. Most are 3rd and 4th cousins, meaning we have the same 3x or 4x great grandparents. It's still pretty cool though. 

A colorized picture of Anders Jonasson. Anders and wife Ingrid sitting in the front. Son Carl, standing on the left. Daughter Elvira, and her husband Magne on  the Right. Dated 1911. Carl was visiting Sweden from America. Elvira lived in Sweden. 

Swedish and German naming patterns

 One of the biggest problems I run into while researching ancestors is finding two or more people in the same family with the same name. It's not uncommon to have a mother, daughter, and daughter-in-law all with the same name. Or, to have a father, grandfather, son and uncle all be named Charles. Why? Let me attempt to explain.

There used to be traditional naming patterns that parents would use with their children. Different cultures and groups of people developed their own patterns over time. Now, not everyone held steadfast to these naming rules. Exceptions were made all the time. Knowing the naming pattern of a certain group of people can help in research though. Knowing that in Sweden a person's last name would be the father's first name can help you find the father of Lars Eriksson. His father must be named Erik. Ingrid Johannsdotter would be the daughter of Johan. 

According to "The Family Tree German Genealogy Guide" by James M. Beidler, Family Tree Books, the naming pattern for many German speaking areas went like this:

Sons: First born, for father's father.

Second born, for mother's father.

Third born, father of the child

Fourth born and on, for uncles of the child.

Daughters were also named the same way.

First born, for father's mother.

Second born, for mother's mother.

Third born, mother of child

Fourth born and on, for aunts of the child.

If a child died, the next born child of that sex might be named after the dead child. Children might also be named after one of their baptismal sponsors. These would often be close family members, or close friends. 

"The Family Tree Scandinavian Genealogy Guide by David A. Fryxell, Family Tree Books, tells us the naming pattern of Sweden. 

Sons:

First son, for the father's father

Second son, for the mother's father

Third son, after the father

Fourth son, after the father's eldest brother

Daughters:

First born, after the mother's mother

Second born, after the father's mother

Third born, after the mother

Fourth, after the mother's eldest sister

As in Germany, it was not uncommon to use a deceased's child's name on the next child born of the same sex. In Sweden, it was also common to name a child of the same sex after a deceased spouse. So, if Lars and Ingrid were married and Lars passed away suddenly, when Ingrid remarried she might name the next boy born, Lars, after her deceased first husband.

How did families keep everyone straight? People would often go by a nickname, or their middle name. In Germany, the first part of the name would often by dropped. Therefore, Wilhelmina would go by "Amena" or maybe "Minnie." 

While  I think it's interesting that William and Mary Strandt named their eldest daughter and son after their parents, when eldest son Carl had his first born son, he chose to name him after his brother and grandfather, Howard Charles. Charles being the English version of Carl. Later, son Milton also received the middle name of Karl. "William" was never used.

In the Henrickson household, George and Malvina named their eldest daughter, Selma, after Malvina's sister. It wasn't until 6th born daughter, Ingrid Ulrika, was a child named after her grandmothers. Second born son, Carl, was named after his maternal grandfather. No son was ever given the name, Johan, or John, the name of George's father. 

As we move into the 20th century, and people came to America, these naming patters definitely changed. New names entered the scene. People began to name their children after friends, actors and actresses, even presidents. Some people even made up names. The more unique the name, the easier it is to research the person. 

I hope this helps on why you'll sometimes see the same names over and over again in the same family. 

Copy of Immanuel Lutheran church register with names of George and Malvina's children. 

Note how many are new names. Not names already in the family. 

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. 
 

"Dig a Little Deeper" Martha Patty Mabbs

 The prompt for this week is "dig a little deeper." I've been researching the Mabbs line lately and, digging deeper into the research, I discovered a new document that opened up a whole new branch and brought the Family Tree back another generation!

Going back on the maternal side of the family, Viola Strand's mother was Mildred Bellingar. Her mother was Elnora Truman. Elnora's mother was Harriet Mabbs. Her mother was Martha Patty Warner. That was where the maternal line stopped. I knew that Martha Warner had married William Mabbs from England in 1851, and I knew that she had been born in 1828 in New York. Aside from that I didn't know any more about her. I didn't know her parents' names, her siblings, how many siblings, or even if she'd been married before. She was a complete mystery. Then, last week, Ancestry gave me a new clue about her. It suggested I look at the Will of a William E Warner of Ransom, Michigan. Martha had lived in Ransom Michigan for most of her life. I started reading the Will and in it he says how he wants his belongings and money distributed to his wife and children. Among the children listed is a daughter named Martha Mabbs! While Warner is a pretty common name, Mabbs is not. The odds of having two women both named Martha Mabbs living in Ransom, Michigan in 1864 is pretty high, so I'm fairly confident that this Willam E. Warner is the father of our Martha Mabbs. In the Will William names his wife, Susannah, and his surviving children, William L., Orville, Martha, John W., Mary Jane Saxton. He also leaves to daughter Martha a silver watch that had belonged to her deceased brother Samuel. 

After finding out the names of Martha's parents I was able to put them into the family tree. I then received new hints about them. I found their marriage license from New York. Susannah's maiden name was Fitzgerald. I was then able to discover the names of her parents, Edward Fitzgerald (1765-1816) and Anne Wallace (1768-1851). Edward Fitzgerald was born in Northern Ireland and came to America. Anne Wallace was born in New York. A lot of research has been done on the Fitzgerald line. I will have to read over that at some point. Not much is known so far about Anne Wallace.

Getting back to William E. Warner. I haven't found information on his parents yet. He was born in Connecticut in 1792 and passed away in Michigan in 1864. He was a minister and a farmer. He came to Michigan in approximately 1835, making him one of the first settlers in the area. When he died, he left the bulk of his estate and land to his son, Orville. Martha, William L., John and Mary Jane were given money. Martha received $20. She was already married to William Mabbs by that point.

Roles of Men and Women in the Mabbs Family

 I was doing more research when I received a hint about Ralph I. Mabbs. Ralph is my 1st cousin, 4x removed. He would have been 1st cousins with Mildred Strand's mother, Elnora Truman. Elnora's mother was Harriet Mabbs. I started looking over the Mabbs tree and I couldn't help but notice the difference between the men and the women of the family. The men of the family led quite interesting lives. Take Harriet's family, for example. 

Harriet was the oldest child of Immigrant William Mabbs (1824-1884). William's father had a soap making business in England. He brought his family to America and set up a business venture in New York City. He lost his money when the banks failed so he moved everyone to Michigan to farm. His son John went into the mining business and became very successful. His son went into engineering and helped make elevators safer.

Another Mabbs son, Austin (1828-1909) also went into mining and had quite the adventures out West in Deadwood, South Dakota. I wrote a blog post about his adventures. 

What did William's daughters do? The daughters all married and raised children. They kept house.

Harriet Mabbs married Madison Truman, and then Albert Bush. Altogether she raised 10 children while moving from Michigan to Arkansas and back to Michigan again. Harriet's younger brother William (1857-1934) was a farmer. He moved his family from Michigan to St.Louis. He had 2 sons and 1 daughter. His oldest son Ralph graduated high school and earned a scholarship to attend Northwest University. He completed 3 years before going to work for Illinois Bell Company which later became AT&T. He was an engineer and eventually ended up living in New York City on Madison Ave. One of his sons also went to work for the phone company, as an engineer and worked his way up to assistant to the Vice President of Public Relations. Ralph's other son went to Cornell and worked for different companies before starting  his own company and retiring as president of it. Ralph's daughter married. 

Ralph had 2 sisters. His older sister married and moved to Wyoming where she raised 13 children. His younger sister worked as a teacher before moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan where she worked as a secretary for the University of Michigan. 

So, while some of the men of the Mabbs family had great careers in engineering, starting and running companies, traveling the world, and leading fulfilling lives, the women of the Mabbs family were relegated to marrying, raising children, and doing charity work or joining social clubs. I can't help but wonder what the Mabbs women would have done and accomplished if times had been different then and they had been allowed to become engineers and have careers after being married?

The above article mentions Ralph Mabbs and how a 10 digit telephone number was coming for every phone in America.

This article is about Ralph's son, Ralph R. The article notes that, in 1969, women are being invited for the first time to an Open House. How nice. 

This is the obituary for Ralph's other son, Edward. Ed had quite the business career. Once again, his sister married and I can't find any more information on her. 

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.