The Case of the Missing Mothers: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “A Theory in Progress”

 

Thomas Buckminster’s Two Wives and Nine Children: Which Wife Gave Birth to Which Children?

Thomas Buckminster: 1593-1656 (Maternal 9^th Great-Grandfather)
Margaret Cossen: 1597-1629 (Maternal 9^th Great-Grandmother)
Joanna Robinson: 1597-1676 (Wife No. 2)
 

I’ve been making use of the new Ancestry feature, the Tree Checker program. It helps me identify errors in my tree, and equally important, which individuals in the tree lack sources and records. I discovered that when I originally added the Thomas Buckminster family (my maternal 9^th Great-Grandfather) to my family tree, I had found sources verifying basic birth, death and marriage information for my direct ancestor, Thomas’ son Zachariah Buckminster. However, I had failed to do the same for Zachariah’s eight siblings. I hadn’t even verified which of Thomas’ two wives had given birth to which child. Ancestry’s Tree Checker flagged all of Zachariah’s siblings as “people with no sources”. I decided it was time to rectify this omission.

My 9^th Great Grandfather Thomas Buckminster was born in England in 1593, and immigrated to the American Colonies around 1630 following the death of his first wife, Margaret Cossin, in 1629. He settled in the Muddy River area of Suffolk County, Massachusetts and married Joanna Robinson.

Muddy River on a 1777 map of Brookline area near Boston.

I had some theories about his nine children’s parentage. Other Ancestry trees tended to show that second wife Joanna was the mother of at least six or seven of the nine children. I believed that first wife Margaret was actually the mother of not only my 8th Great Grandfather Zachariah, but four or five of his siblings as well. I needed to see if I could verify that theory.

Thomas Buckminster’s first wife died in 1629. Obviously, any children born after that date were the children of second wife Joanna Robinson. So my first job was to find birth records or documents that verified the birth year of the eight siblings.

Muddy River today

I located a transcription of Thomas’ will, made out in 1656 shortly before his death. His heirs included the following children: Zackery (Zachariah); daughters Elizabeth Spowell, Mary Stevens, Dorcas Corben, and Sarah Buckminster, and sons Thomas, Joseph and Jabesh (Jabez). The will offered me some clues about which children were the progeny of second wife Joanna. Thomas noted that sons Thomas, Joseph and Jabesh, and daughter Sarah were all minors under the age of twenty-one. The will instructs that they receive forty shillings “each to be paid when severally ‘one & Twenty years of Age.’” That means that each of them were born after 1636, so could not have been the children of Margaret, who died in 1629. All four, therefore, were Joanna’s children.

But what about the other children? I found birth and probate records for Thomas’ son, Lawrence Buckminster. He was born in England in 1619, so his mother must have been Margaret Cossen. Lawrence was Thomas’ eldest son, six years older than my ancestor Zachariah. Lawrence died at sea in 1645, thus preceding Thomas in death.

As for daughter Elizabeth, I found a baptism record for her dated August 17, 1628. The baptism took place in Sempringham, Lincolnshire, England. This is the same parish where her brothers Lawrence and Zachary were baptized. Although I have found no actual birth record, she was obviously born before August 17, 1628. This confirms she was Margaret Cossen’s daughter. Elizabeth accompanied her father to Massachusetts and married William Spowell in 1652. I have been unable to find a death record for her.

As for daughter Dorcas, I have been unable to find any birth or baptism records for her. Her headstone states that she died January 22, 1721 at the age of 92. That would mean she was born in 1629 when Thomas Buckminster was still in England, meaning Dorcas was Margaret’s last child. Perhaps Dorcas’ birth led to her mother’s death, which occurred in 1629.

Thomas Buckminster’s ninth child was daughter Mary. I was unable to find any birth records for her. However, court records related to her father’s estate hint that she was the daughter of second wife Joanna Robinson Buckminster. Following Joanna’s remarriage, several of Thomas' children petitioned the court that administration of the estate be transferred from Thomas’ widow Joanna to them as Thomas’ children.

“On 27 July 1669, "Jabesh Buckminster, Mary Stevens, Dorcas Corbin, and Sarah Lawrence, son and daughters of Thomas Buckminster sometimes of Muddy River in Boston deceased," petitioned the court to be appointed administrators to their father's estate, referring to the marriage of their mother, Joanna Buckmaster, to Edward Garfield. Among the many depositions collected during the consideration of this petition was one from "Henry Stevens" who "affirmed in court 27 July 16[70] its four years come August next since his mo[ther]in] law Joanna Garfeild died."

Henry Steven’s reference to Joanna as his mother-in-law would suggest that his wife Mary was Joanna’s daughter. Mary’s uncomfirmed birthdate from several Ancestry trees was 1632, which followed the estimated 1630-31 date of Thomas’ marriage to Joanna. Henry and Mary also named one of their daughters “Joanna”. While these things suggest Joanna is Mary’s mother, without any actual documentary evidence, Mary’s parentage will remain theoretical.

So my original theory was only partially correct. I was able to confirm that three of my 8^th great grandfather’s siblings were his full siblings—the children of Thomas Buckminster’s first wife Margaret Cossen. However, I confirmed that four other siblings were the children of Thomas Buckminster’s second wife, Joanna, and that last sibling is probably also her child. I had theorized that at least one and possibly two of those siblings were Margaret Cossen’s children.

I need to continue to research this family to see if there are any additional records that can clarify family relationships. But at least the entire Buckminster family now has records attached to them, and will no longer appear on Tree Checker as “people with no sources.”

Sources:

Photo of Muddy River. Wikimedia Commons. John Stephen Dwyer, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olmsted-Park-Muddy-River.jpg

Henry Pelham’s 1777 Map of Boston area.

Photo of Dorcas Buckminster Corbin headstone. Gravestones of the First Corbins in America.

Where She Lived: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “A Record That Adds Color”

 

Obit for Stena Severson Leads to Info on the Living Situation of Working Women in the 1910s-1930s

Christine “Stena” Severson: 1881-1931 (Paternal First Cousin 1x Removed)

I had very little information on my ancestor/cousin, Stena Severson, beyond the bare facts of birth and death—nothing that really gave any insight into her life. But as I read the brief obituary notice printed in the Minneapolis Journal in 1931, a small piece of information caught my eye. After a little online research, Stena’s life story had a little dash of color at long last.

Christine Severson was born in June 1881 in Brookings, South Dakota to parents Julia Peterson Severson and Sever Severson. I have found no actual birth record, and no other records provide the actual day of her birth. She was the second of their seven children. Her father drank himself to death when she was sixteen, and she was forced to grow up quickly and support herself. She appears in the 1900 census still living at home. She was nineteen, but was listed as “at school”. Since she became a stenographer, I believe she was probably attending a trade school that prepared young women for office work.

Christine "Stena" is probably the seated woman at the left.

I found no census records for Stena in either 1910 or 1920. The 1930 census finds her living in Minneapolis and working as a stenographer for a law firm.

Just a year later, on June 12, 1931, she suddenly died. According to her obituary, she was only forty-nine years old, which means her birth date must have been after the 12^th in June 1881. I found no news articles about her death, so it was apparently due to natural causes—perhaps a stroke or heart attack, or an illness like pneumonia that led to death.

Her brief obituary lists only her mother and siblings as survivors, and notes that interment will be in South Dakota. The only information the obituary provided about her life was the brief notation “residence, Belmont Hotel.”

A hotel? That piqued my curiosity. What would cause a woman with an office job to live at a hotel? Research on the Belmont Hotel provided some answers. The current owners of the building, the Honig Company, provide a history of the building as follows:

“The Belmont, located in the historic Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis near the Hornig Companies’ Home Office, sits on the corner of West Franklin and Hennepin Ave South.  The “Belmont Inn,” as it was originally known, opened in 1920 and was built as an “Apartment Hotel,” a style of living that was popular for a short time in the early 1900’s.  Residents could rent an apartment for a day, a week or by the month and receive the amenities of fully furnished units, housekeeping services as well as garage services.  Built by the Fleischer Brothers, who also built the Calhoun Beach Club, the building was a popular winter home for families who owned summer cabins on Lake Minnetonka.

At its prime, the lower level boasted a dinner and dance hall, a continental bath and beauty shop with mineral steam baths, a barber shop and a billiard & club room…

The Belmont Hotel, circa 1920s

I looked at the 1930 census record for Stena more closely, and saw that her neighbors included several single, professional women, including teachers and other stenographers. I can see the attraction of such a property, with all the additional amenities available such as furnishings, housekeeping services and the onsite beauty shop. The “rooms” were more like small apartments, which would be perfect for a single woman. Perhaps Stena developed friendships with her single female neighbors, which would have made the property even more attractive.

Looking at Minneapolis City Directories for the period Stena lived in Minneapolis, I was able to trace both her jobs and her residence locations. In 1910, Stena was working for a company called the Mercantile Adjustment Co., and was living in a “flat” at 712 E. 14^th Street. By 1915, Christine found a stenographer position with a lawyer named Harry G. Amick. His company, H.G.Amick Co., worked in “legal collections and adjustments”, and had offices in the Palace Building, located near 315 S. 4^th Street in Minneapolis. In 1915, Stena had moved one block further to 22 E. 15^th Street.

The Palace building in Minneapolis, circa 1930s

The following year, Stena moved to one of the first “apartment hotels”, the Ogden Hotel at 70 s. 12^th Street. This was ideally located, only one mile from her new office in the Baker Building at 7^th Street and 2^nd Ave. H.G. Amick had merged his legal practice with another firm, which became known as Deutsch, Loeffler & Amick. The firm seems to have been a full-service legal firm.

The Baker Building in the 1930s, location of the offices of Deutsch, Loeffler & Amick.

Stena’s boss, H.G. Amick, had kept an apartment at the Ogden Hotel around 1912. He also had a home further out in the city, so probably kept the apartment due to its proximity to his offices. Perhaps he suggested that Christine move there in 1916. She lived in Apartment 4 at the Ogden for at least six years, possibly more. The Ogden had much to offer. The location was near a large library, Loring Park, and the Minneapolis Auditorium, a performing arts location, so there was plenty for Ogden residents to do and enjoy.  

The Ogden Hotel in the 1960s when it was renamed the Continental.

Christine received promotions during her years at the law firm. By 1922, her city directory listing showed her as the firm’s “chief clerk”. By 1928, the directory listed her as “department manager”. She had also moved to yet another apartment hotel building, the Leamington. It was an elegant building at 1014 3^rd Avenue.

The Hotel Leamington, Minneapolis, circa 1940s

The following year, 1929, Christine moved for the last time to the Belmont. She obviously enjoyed the “apartment hotel” lifestyle, as she lived in three different ones during the last fifteen years of her life.

I loved finding photos of the buildings where she lived and where she worked. I could imagine her walking briskly to work on chill mornings, or catching a street car or bus on wet winter days. She must have felt very sophisticated, working in high-rises and living on her own in busy city apartment hotels. Her life in Minneapolis was vastly different than life in much smaller, quieter Brookings. I hope Stena loved her life and her career. I am so glad I ran across that mention of the Belmont Hotel in her obituary. It led me to dig more deeply and add some color and detail to the bare facts of Stena's life.

 

 

Sources:

Christine Severson obituary. Minneapolis Journal. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jun 14, 1931. Newspapers.com.

https://www.hornigcompanies.com/2021/03/25/the-belmont-apartments

Belmont Inn and Hotel. 1940s Star and Tribune Company, donors to Hennepin County Library Digital Collections. (1970https://hennepinco.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5vC8z9bbQSyJsuW

Hotel Leamington. Hennepin County Library Digital Collections.https://digitalcollections.hclib.org/digital/collection/CPED/id/5220/

Historic Minneapolis Minnesota Facebook Group. Photos of buildings. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1494515567441974/posts/1912207682339425/

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for Ogden Hotel. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/1b2f1f60-072f-41f4-b942-3c39b2c82513

Census data and Minneapolis City Directory entries: Ancestry.com.

Strength and Persistence on the Prairie: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “An Ancestor I Admire”

 

Great-Aunt Julia: Never Surrendering When Far From Family and Facing Adversity

Julia Joramo Peterson: 1857-1939 (Paternal Grand-Aunt)

 

So much of history is written only from the male perspective, and it is easy to fall into that trap as a genealogist. Most records from prior to the mid-1960s were created by men. Women had little power over their own money or personal agency, yet they were often powerful, amazing people. When I find records that actually provide a glimpse of a female ancestor’s life, I rejoice. My great-aunt Julia Joramo Peterson was one of those female ancestors, and her life story shows her strength and determination in the face of tragedy and difficulty.

Julia was born February 6, 1857 in Lesja, Oppland Norway to parents Peder Pederson Joramo and Anne Gulbrandsdatter. She was the second of their five children. When she was thirteen, the family emigrated from Norway to the United States, and ended up in Madelia, Minnesota.

Julia met another Norwegian immigrant in Madelia, Sever James Severson. They married February 9, 1877 when Julia was twenty and Sever was twenty-two. Their first child, daughter Anna, was born eight months later. The young family decided to strike out on their own, leaving their parents and numerous siblings behind in Minnesota, and moved to Brookings, South Dakota in the middle of the winter of 1880. How brave they were, to leave everyone and everything they knew in their new country behind, moving to a place where they had no support system. Brookings was a railroad stop, so the Severson family probably traveled by train, their possessions in the baggage car.

Julia was interviewed by the Brookings newspaper in 1939, shortly before her death. The headline noted that she was “the longest continuous resident” in the city of Brookings, and the article also noted she was the “oldest living person having operated a business here.”. She recalled her early days in the city as follows:

“Early in January 1880, my husband and I landed in Brookings and immediately opened a restaurant on the lot where now the Economy Center Market is on or the one directly south of it, occupied by Mr. Louis Johnson.

It was a fine summer and we had a fine business. There was another restaurant in town on the west side of the street, and there was a hotel, south of us, on the lot now occupied by the Community Oil company. Meals were 25 cents everywhere, and we had no trouble getting food of sufficient quantities and varieties.

Hotel in on Main Street in Brookings in 1890s

Our labor problem was easy to solve. Girls newly arrived from the old country, were glad to work for us at $2 a week and their board, and we never had any trouble with labor. One girl stayed with us for a full year. The meals were put on the table and you ate all you wanted.”

I am amazed at her confidence and work ethic. She had never run a restaurant before they arrived in Brookings. I’m sure Julia had helped her mother with cooking for their family, but cooking for the public all day long is a far different experience. She and Sever faced difficulties as well. She told her interviewer the following story:

“The first winter we were in business was the winter of the big snow. Everything was eaten up in the grocery stores here, and we had to send to Volga with a pair of ponies to try and get some groceries. We kept a man hauling wood all winter from the river. We had a little coal, and that with the wood helped us, especially in baking bread. Thee was a tunnel across the street, to the grocery store, the snow was so deep. I remember a man came in and wanted me to bake him a birthday cake, but we didn’t do it, because we had no flour.

We owned a pair of ponies so I took a ride in a sled on the railroad track. There wasn’t much danger of trains at that time. In the spring I told my husband we were out of butter and that I couldn’t eat [or cook] without butter, so my husband went out to Korstad’s to try and get some. He didn’t get back that night and the next morning he came back, floating up to the back part of Main Street in a wagon box, the creek had come up so much that night, but he had one and one-half pounds of butter. We still had some crackers and ham and a lot of goods that were at Tracy, but they were of no value to us at that time.”

These stories make light of the danger and back-breaking work involved in this life—digging that tunnel through gigantic snowdrifts, risking drowning by floating down a roaring creek in a wagon box—what happened to the wagon base and the horses? Hopefully Sever left them somewhere safe and could retrieve them when the stream receded.

View of Brookings, SD in 1910s

And poor Julia kept that restaurant running while she gave birth to two more children in 1881 and 1884. How did she manage? How did she care for her babies while she was prepping meals and cooking them, washing the dishes, etc. Even with young women working at the restaurant, the hours and labor must have been brutal on her while she was pregnant and nursing.

I am also impressed with Julia and Sever’s ability to quickly build connections in their new community. They found people who could provide them with wood to keep their oven and fireplace going, they found sources for the food they needed for the restaurant like Mr. Korstad, the buttermaker, and of course they built a customer base. They must have been outgoing, charming people.

Julia finished her account as follows:

“We ran this restaurant four years and I enjoyed it. If I had known as much then as I do now, I would have kept right on with it. You know, if you have a place like that you always have a living.”

I’m sure that wasn’t Julia’s only regret. Her husband was an alcoholic who could become violent when he was drunk. He made the newspapers after committing assault during one bender, and he died of alcohol poisoning in 1897 at the age of 42. Sever had been working “selling groceries for a Minneapolis house” when he died.

Sever J Severson, from tree on Ancestry

Julia must have been in desperate straits after Sever’s death. She had seven children between the ages of one and eighteen, while Julia was forty years old. How could she support her family? On the 1900 census, it appears she was working as a “wash woman”. Her eldest children were helping to support the household. Daughter Anna, then 22, was working as a milliner. Son Charles, only 15, was a grocery salesman. He may have taken over his father’s old job, which seems to have involved door-to-door grocery sales.

Julia at right, with her children. Since youngest looks to be about 4-5 years old, probably taken circa 1901-02.

By 1910, Julia was no longer working. Her eldest son Charles seems to have been supporting not only his mother and three youngest siblings, but his new wife as well.

Four years later, Julia married a widowed farmer, Iver Grudem. They lived in a small house on Eighth Street in Brookings. He died in 1925. Julia died fourteen years later on September 21, 1939. She was 82 years old. Her obituary stated that she had been in poor health for five years, but was still up and around each day.

I feel so fortunate that my family kept this news clipping of Julia’s interview with the Brookings newspaper. Reading her own words helped bring her to life. I could see what a strong, determined woman she was., and how she was a valued member of her community. Her resilience and positive attitude in the face of hardship is admirable. She was an impressive woman.

Sources:

Julia Severson-Grudem obituary. Sioux Falls Argus-Leader, Sioux Falls, SD. Sept. 22, 1939. Newsoapers.com.

“Mrs. Julia Severson-Grudem, Longest Continuous Resident in City, Recalls Early Restaurant Business, Spring Flood. Brookings Register. Brookings, South Dakota. Jan. 12, 1939.

Israel Through Multiple Generations: 52 Ancestors 2025 Prompt “Multiple”

 

Fourth Great-Grandfather’s Unusual Name Is a Family Legacy

Israel Hodgdon: 1646-1675 (Maternal Ninth-Great-Grandfather)
Israel Hodgdon: 1671-1739 (Maternal Eighth-Great-Grandfather)
Mary Hodgdon: 1699-1755 (Maternal Seventh-Great-Grandmother)
Miles Randall: 1723-1791 (Maternal Sixth-Great-Grandfather)
Israel Randall: 1743-1829 (Maternal Fifth-Great-Grandfather)
Israel Randall: 1769-1863 (Maternal Fourth-Great-Grandfather)

When I started tracing my Randall family line, I was intrigued by my fourth-great-grandfather’s rather unusual first name: Israel. I quickly discovered that he was named for his father, my fifth-great-grandfather Israel Randall. I wondered whether the name been used earlier than 1743 when that Israel was born. My research took me back another two generations before I found more Israels in my family tree.

I believe that my ninth-great-grandfather, Israel Hodsdon or Hodgdon, is the first of my ancestors to bear the given name “Israel”. So who was Israel Hodsdon? He is described in a family history book about the families of the Allegheny Valley as follows:

“Israel, son of Nicholas Hodsdon was baptized at Hingham, Massachusetts, July 19, 1646. He moved with his father to Boston and later to Kittery, Maine. It would seem as though Israel Hodsdon and his father as well as some of their neighbors favored the Quakers, who were not popular at that time, for on November 12, 1659….Nicholas Hodsdon was ordered to appear at the second session of the general court, to be held at Boston, and answer to the charge of entertaining Quakers. Israel Hodsdon married, about 1670, Ann, daughter of Miles and Ann (Tetherly) Thompson, of Kittery…Children of Mr. and Mrs. Hodsdon: Ann; Israel, mentioned below.”

I question the accuracy of some of that information. The baptism record referred to in the book and cited by trees on Ancestry is actually the baptism record of an Israel Foulsham, who continued to live in the Hingham area.

However, Israel and his father Nicholas definitely existed. Nicholas was made a freeman in Hingham on March 9, 1636-7, and Hingham granted him a house lot and meadowland. There are baptism records for Israel’s numerous siblings in Hingham. Additionally, land records show Nicholas purchased several tracts in the Boston area in 1650.

The Hodsdon family moved to Maine at some point between 1651 and 1655, when Nicholas appears on records in Kittery. Kittery granted him land next to property owned by Miles Thompson. This land, curiously, seems to have actually been located in Berwick, Maine, fifteen miles inland from the town of Kittery. The map below of Berwick, dated 1630-1700, shows the Hodsdon and Thompson properties near the bottom along the Newichawannock River. It appears that all the early 17^th century settlements in that area may have been referred to as Kittery.

Israel married his next-door neighbor Ann Thompson, daughter of Miles Thompson, in Kittery around 1670. Sadly, the marriage was short-lived. The couple had a son, Israel, in 1671, and a daughter Ann around 1674, just before Israel’s death in 1675.

Son Israel, my eighth-great-grandfather, was only four years old at the time of his father’s death. He appears in the Allegheny Valley book as well, described as follows:

“Israel Hodsdon, was born in Kittery, Maine, 1673-74. The supposition is that he resided with an uncle, Jeremiah Hodsdon, at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. On April 7, 1696, the town of Dover, New Hampshire, gave him a grant of land, and in several deeds he gave he is called a housewright or carpenter. He married Ann Wingate, sister of John Wingate; she was born in Dover, February 18, 1667 and was living in 1740. Children: Israel,…Moses, Shadrach, Abigail, Mary.”

We can deduce a few things from this information. First, Israel and his sister Ann married siblings. Ann Hodsdon married John Wingate in 1690, and he is identified above as Ann Wingate Hodsdon’s brother. Secondly, Israel may have been raised by his uncle Jeremiah due to his own father’s early death. And finally, looking at the names Israel Hodsdon chose for his children, we can deduce he was quite religious and partial to the Old Testament.

We can also see that the given name “Israel” continued for another generation, as Israel’s oldest son was named for his father. Son Moses also named a son Israel.

However, my family line comes down through daughter Mary, born in New Hampshire in 1699. She married Nathaniel Randall around 1721, and they settled in the Oyster River area and had seven children. None of those children were named Israel. The eldest son was named Miles, probably in honor of Miles Thompson who was Mary’s grandfather.

Miles, born in 1723, was my sixth-great-grandfather. He married Abigail Runnells in the 1740s, and they lived in Strafford County, New Hampshire. 

Miles Randall Headstone

They named their first son Israel Randall. He was born in 1743 and was my fifth-great-grandfather. Israel married Sarah Chesley and they lived in New Hampshire and Vermont. His headstone appears below, and is located in the Bennett Cemetery in Danville, Vermont.

Israel Randall and Sally Chesley Randall headstone

Their first son, born April 3, 1769, was also named Israel Randall. He married Polly Daniels around 1790. Their eldest daughter, Sally Randall, was my 3^rd Great-grandmother. They also had a son born in 1806 named Israel.

Israel Randall grave in New York.

I was thrilled to learn that the first name “Israel” was passed down over seven generations of the Hodsdon/Hodgdon and Randall families. The name was an amazing legacy shared by multiple men over a span of over 150 years, from 1646 to 1806.

Sources:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hodsdon-25, citing Middlesex County Registry of Deeds Vol 1, p 24 and Kittery Town Records, pg 9, and York County Registry of Deeds.

Map of Berwick. https://www.oldberwick.org/history-articles/historic-publications/the-first-permanent-settlement-in-maine-by-everett-s-stackpole-1926.html

Genealogical and Personal History of the Allegheny Valley Pennsylvania. John W. Jordan, LL.D. Libraries of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Vol. 3, pg. 8-9. Ancestry.com. U.S., Family History Books [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2025.

Will of Israel Hodgdon. 1739. New Hampshire, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1643-1982.

Findagrave website. Source of headstone photos.

My Grandmother’s School Notebook from 1912-1916: 52 Ancestors 2025 Prompt “Written”

 
A Glimpse into My Grandmother’s School Years: Nora’s Class Notebook

Nora Elsie Hoffman: 1899-1994 (Maternal Grandmother)

 

One of the items I received from my mom before she died was her mother’s school notebook from 1912-1916. I love this heirloom. It shows my Grandmother Nora’s penmanship and reveals a little about her schooling and the era in which she was raised.

The composition notebook is similar to the hardcover composition notebooks used in schools today, except it is smaller. The common notebook dimensions today are 7 1/2 inches by 10 inches, while my grandmother’s notebook is about 6 ½ x 8 ¼ inches. There is no manufacturing information printed on the notebook, and no obvious price.

The cover features an American flag and the words “Freedom’s Emblem” above a small blue eagle with a shield featuring stars and stripes, and laurel and wheat in its talons. Gold stars appear over the eagle’s head, and his beak holds a gold banner. I am not sure if this patriotic imagery was common in that era or whether Nora had a choice of several possible colors and patterns and preferred this one. Nora’s name is printed in the upper right corner.

The notebook contains a series of what I first assumed were poems. I copied some of the lines from the poems into a search engine, and discovered that most of them came from a book called “Songs of the Child World” written in 1897 by Alice C.D. Riley and Jesse Smith Gaynor. Riley was the lyricist and Gaynor composed the music.

The first page of the notebook shows an example. “The Owl” was a song from the Riley and Gaynor book. Apparently Nora’s teachers—she lists them at the top of the page as “Miss Oconner—1912” and “Miss Sanborn—1914”—had their students copy the lyrics into their notebooks so they could learn the songs. Several were songs about flowers, including “The Tulip” below.

The notebook also included dialogue from several short plays. The page below is the start of a play called “The Sewing Society”, and lists the names of the students who were to play the parts. Nora was to play the part of Mrs. Green. Another cast member was named Sadie—that may have been Nora’s older sister.

The notebook was also used for Nora’s classwork in 1916. She seems to have taken notes for an American History class, as the page below shows. I was interested to see that slavery was listed as the second cause of the Civil War, behind only secession. Now our government seems to be trying to remove this from history books, claiming blaming slavery is revisionist history, but Nora’s notes show that over a century ago, just five decades after the war, history texts recognized that slavery was a principle cause for the war.

I noted that Nora’s penmanship became more distinctive as the years passed. When she began using the notebook, she was thirteen. She had probably just started high school in Mankato, having completed grades one through eight in a one-room schoolhouse near her home. The final sections of the notebook were written in 1916 when she was seventeen and about to graduate from high school. The history lesson handwriting was more like what I remember of my grandmother’s penmanship.

Nora at about age 15, around 1914. Confirmation photo.

Near the end of the notebook, there is a list of the U.S. Presidents, noting the years they served and their home states. The penmanship for the list is identical to her handwriting as an older adult. I believe this list was written many years later, as it is written in ball-point pen, while the rest of the notebook is written in pencil. In addition, the president list includes Harry Truman, so it was probably compiled after World War II. An even later addition to the list, written in different ink, adds Eisenhower, Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, so that part was written in the 1960s.

I love owning this little piece of my grandmother’s life. It is so interesting to see what types of things were included in her high school education—music, plays, and history lessons. I love seeing her careful script—rather narrow and spidery as a freshman, and a bit looser and more confident as a senior. I wish I had asked her about her high school memories when she was still with us.

Sources:

Riley, A. C. D. 1867-1953. (1897-1915). Gaynor, Jesse S. Songs of the Child World. Cincinnati: [publisher not identified]. 1897.

Homesteaders in Rural Blue Earth County: 52 Ancestors 2025 Prompt “Rural”

 

Brewster and Lavina Dane’s Long Lives in Rural Medo Township

Brewster Dane: 1830-1913 (Maternal 2^nd Great-Granduncle)
Lavina Fitch Dane: 1843-1927 (Maternal 2^nd Great-Granduncle’s Wife)

 

I ran across a lovely 1908 news article about the 50^th Wedding Anniversary celebration for Brewster and Lavina Dane, and realized their lives were the perfect illustration of the 52 Ancestors prompt “Rural”. Their lives were spent in rural areas in New York, Wisconsin, and finally in Minnesota where they homesteaded in 1863. They built good lives there and raised seven children to adulthood—children who cared for them enough to return home from far away for that anniversary celebration.

Brewster Dane was my second-great-grandfather Jerome Dane’s younger brother. He was born April 29, 1830 in Genessee County, New York to parents David Dane and Sally Randall Dane. He was the seventh of their nine children. His father died when he was only five years old. At some point, his mother and most of the children moved west to Wisconsin.

Lavina Fitch was born was born January 24, 1842 (or 1843 according to her headstone) to parents John and Gertrude Fitch. Like the Dane family, the Fitches lived in New York and moved to Wisconsin in the 1840s. She met Brewster Dane there, and they married on January 14, 1858 in Columbia, Wisconsin. Brewster was 27 years old, while Lavina was either 14 or 15 depending on which year was her actual birth year. I first suspected a shotgun wedding, but their first child was born over two years later. Her older sister also married at age fifteen, so perhaps her young age didn’t seem inappropriate at that time and place.

According to the 50^th anniversary article, Brewster and Lavina “came to Minnesota in 1863, bringing one child with them.  They spent one year in Northfield where another child was born.  In 1864 they moved to their claim in Blue Earth County where they lived for forty years and there the five other children were born.  In 1904 they moved to Janesville to spend the remainder of their lives.  Both Mr. and Mrs. Dane are in perfect health and we hope will continue for many years to come."

I located the record of Brewster’s homestead claim on 160 acres in Medo Township, Blue Earth County. The paperwork was filed at the St. Peter, Minnesota land office on August 5, 1869. They proved up their claim and got title to the acreage. Their farm site appears on the map below:

Lavina’s obituary noted that, “The early residence of the family in the pioneer settlement [in Medo Township] naturally carried with it the many hardships and privations that only the pioneers know, but she was always a devoted mother and raised her family of seven children and gave to them every advantage possible.”

The couple celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary in 1908, with all seven of their adult children present. That’s a remarkable success ratio considering the time period and the “hardships and privations” of homestead life referred to in her obituary. It is also a tribute to the bond with their children, as son John travelled from Alberta, Canada, son Herbert from Salt Lake City, Utah, daughter Caroline from North Dakota, and daughter Cora all the way from Camaguay, Cuba! Traveling such distances during the winter in 1908 required great time, money and sacrifice.

Here’s part of the newspaper article about the Golden Wedding day:

“The house was beautifully decorated with bride's roses, smilax and a variety of golden flowers.  A very quiet but enjoyable day was spent.  Dinner was served at two o'clock.  Mr. Dane's brother Salma and his wife were seated at the table with the family and Mrs. John Dane, Mrs. Herbert Dane, and Mrs. Ben Dane served, assisted by Mrs. Horton Potter and Miss Golda Dane the only granddaughters present.

“Mr. Dane was quite overcome with joy when he looked down on the table and saw his family seated as of old, with not a face missing from the number.  After the blessing had been said Mr. Dane made an appropriate and touching little speech and then placed a wedding ring upon the finger of the bride of fifty years.  Mr. and Mrs. Dane were very kindly remembered by their children and numerous friends, especially the W.C.T.U. and the W.R.C.  Congratulations poured in from all sides both by wire and letter.”

It sounds as if the couple still cared about each other—I like his placing a wedding ring on her finger during the dinner.

The most interesting information came from Lavina’s obituary, and explained the references to remembrances from the W.C.T.U. and the W.R.C.

“Mrs. Dane was closely identified with the first temperance movement that got under way in this section and was one of the organizers of the Carrie Knox chapter of the W.C.T.U. in 1885.  She was chosen as the first president and continued to hold that office for 19 years until she took up residence in Janesville.  She was also president of the district organization of the W.C.T.U. for several years and was recognized as a leader of rare ability and a woman whose well directed efforts resulted in brilliant work by the association.”

So she was a teetotaller! I wonder what led her to the Temperance Movement—was Brewster a heavy drinker in their early years of marriage? Or her father, perhaps, who died while she was still in her teens and whose son, John B. Dane, is named for his grandfather, John B. Fitch? Or had she just seen other friends or relatives succumb to alcoholism? I am not sure why she was connected to the W.R.C., which was the female support group for the G.A.R., the Grand Army of the Republic group for Civil War veterans. I have found no records suggesting that Brewster served in the war, although his brothers Jerome and Moses served.

The obituary noted that she had been an invalid for some years, but “retained her faculties to a remarkable extent” and that she was well known in the area. I bet she was a pistol! Probably kept old Brewster well in line!

Brewster Dane died September 17, 1913 in Rochester, Minnesota, and was buried in the Janesville, Minnesota cemetery.

Lavina lived another fourteen years after his death; not surprising since she was thirteen years younger than Brewster. She died January 3, 1927 at age eighty-three. She was buried next to Brewster.

Brewster and Lavina Dane are evidence of the amazing strength and persistence of the pioneers who settled in rural Minnesota and claimed homesteads. While their lives were filled with work and family responsibilities, they still found time to make connections with their neighbors, build friendships and join service groups. They made their rural lives rich ones.

Sources:

Headstone Photos by Cindy Karels on Findagrave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42915763/brewster-dane

"Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary Celebrated on Tuesday the Fourteenth in Honor of Mr. and Mrs. Dane of This Place.” Janesville Argus. Janesville, Minnesota. Jan. 22, 1908.

“Mrs. Lavina Dane Dies Here Monday.” Janesville Argus. Janesville, Minnesota. Jan. 6, 1927.

Obituary of Brewster Dane. Waseca Herald. Waseca, Minnesota. Sept. 25, 1913.

 

Two Fires on Our Farm: 52 Ancestors 2025 Prompt “Fire”

 

Lantern Fire and Chimney Fire: Peterson Family Stories

Paul Peterson: 1867-1941 (Paternal grandfather)

 

As a child, I heard stories about two fires at our farm. The fires occurred about thirty years apart in different buildings, one in the chickenhouse, and one in our farmhouse. Thankfully, neither caused significant damage.

The date of the first fire is very uncertain, and the details of the incident are unclear. All I remember hearing is that my grandfather, Paul Peterson, had an accident with a kerosene lantern in the chicken house. I’m guessing he dropped it or kicked it over, and the kerosene exploded into flames. Apparently, the fire did little damage to the chicken house, which still survives. However, as I remember the story, it had an adverse effect on Paul’s health, leading my father to drop out of school to take over the farm. I think Paul’s lungs may have been damaged by smoke and fumes, leaving him weaker and less active than he had been, and more prone to severe illness if he caught a disease that affected the lungs. If the incident truly occurred around the year my father left school, that would have been after eighth grade when my dad was about fourteen, so around 1931.

The chicken house on the farm in 1970, with my brother and dog Bitsy

The second fire occurred during my early childhood, when I was about three years old, so probably around 1962. Our house had an oil-burning furnace with a brick chimney that rose through the center of the house two stories to the roof. The chimney apparently clogged up, and there was a chimney fire. Fortunately, the fire started during daylight hours, and it was still late fall so there wasn’t snow on the ground when my mom had to flee outside with me. The local volunteer fire department arrived quickly and was able to extinguish the fire without serious damage to the house or chimney. I expect we had to have the chimney swept before the furnace could be used again, but I don’t remember those details.

Peterson farm house in the 1950s, chimney visible.

I was told that I was very excited by the fire and the arrival of the big red firetruck with its wailing siren. I apparently was fascinated with the firemen and their gear and watched them closely. When my Aunt Mabel Peterson walked down the road from her house to see what was going on, I ran up to her, yelling delightedly, “Mabel! Mabel! Our house all burned down!” She responded calmly, as I always remember her reacting, and said, “Oh dear! I certainly hope not!” Thankfully, I was exaggerating a bit!

Late fall shot of our farm house in 1970

These family stories made me aware of how simple farm accidents can have serious consequences. The stories also made me grateful for the kindness and courage of rural volunteer firefighters, who would drop what they were doing when the siren went off, and would run to help their neighbors. God bless them all!

Sources:

Family stories. 1970 photos taken by me.