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Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for January 31, 2014

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Cropped Yellow Poppies 600dpi
My Fab Finds for this week are (in no particular order)
  1. “Photos” Feature Now Called “Memories” by Matt Wright for FamilySearch Blog
  2. Militia Units and Volunteer Units – What’s the Difference? by Beth Foulk, author of Genealogy Decoded
  3. Tagging in the To-Do list AND Tagging in the Master Location List AND Tagging in the Master Source List by Michele Simmons Lewis, author of Ancestoring
  4. RT 1082 by Jen Baldwin, author of Ancestral Breezes
  5. Back to Blogging by Maureen Taylor, author of Maureen Taylor – The Photo Detective
  6. Geeking Out on DNA at the APG Conference AND Happy 4th Blogiversary! by Michelle Goodrum, author of The Turning of Generations
  7. Facebook for Genealogy: Posts, aka Queries by Cyndi Ingle, author of Cyndi's List
  8. January 28, 1986 AND I'm Going to Jamboree! So You'll be able to Read All About it Here in June! by Heather Wilkinson Rojo, author of Nutfield Genealogy
  9. Elphind Updates Its List of Newspaper Titles AND 13 Reasons to Research Applications for Genealogy by Kenneth R. Marks, author of The Ancestor Hunt
  10. Dear Randy: Why Do You Write the 52 Ancestors Friday Posts? by Randy Seaver, author of Genea-Musings
  11. RootsTech Updates and News by Amy Coffin, author of The We Tree Genealogy Blog
  12. Disneyland and Intergenerational Transmission by Janet Hovorka, author of Zap the Grandma Gap
  13. Following Your Favorite Blogs Using Feedly by Amy Johnson Crow, author of No Story Too Small
  14. Keeping Your Leaves in Order... File Naming by Eric Stitt, author of Genealogy by Eric
  15. 'Dear Ancestor' by Caitlin Gow, author of Genealogically Speaking.
  16. City directories: a great resource, used carefully by Janine Adams, author of Organize Your Family History
  17. England Research can help Czech Research by Kate Challis, author of Czech Out Your Ancestors!
  18. GeneaBloggers On Vacation . . . Down Under by Thomas MacEntee, author of GeneaBloggers
  19. It’s Our 4th Birthday! by Ruth Blair, author of The Passionate Genealogist
  20. Earle, Earle, Earle by Debi Austen, author of Who Knew?

The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge -

52 Ancestors: Week 4 Recap by Amy Johnson Crow, author of No Story Too Small

New Blog Discoveries

In Case You Missed Them….My Contributions to the Genealogy, Photo Blog, and Vintage Postcard Blogosphere This Week

Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog
Grandpa's Postcards
Jana's Photo Journal

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

52 Ancestors: #5 ~ The F. E. Webster Dental and Photo Boats

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Among the many photos that my maternal grandfather, Debs Warren Webster, owned was this fascinating picture of the F. E. Webster Dental and Photo Boats.

Webster Dental & Photo Boats 1896-1902 at Lake Charles, Louisiana

This photo is on some kind of thick cardboard paper. As you can see, someone wrote on it. The writing on the top is in Portuguese. According to my mom, who speaks Portuguese, the basic translation is as follows –
"A  French family built this. With imitation steam, but a horse makes the wheel in the back move in order to navigate the boat."
Well, that's interesting! It sounds like the third boat in this photo, the larger one on the far left with people standing on the top deck, is an imitation steam paddlewheel boat that was actually drawn by a horse on the shore. Although, I can't imagine that only one horse would have pulled this boat.

I'm glad whoever wrote on this photo decided to include the location and dates. It looks like these boats were docked at Lake Charles, Louisiana. And it's dated 1896 – 1902.

F. E. Webster was my great-grandfather, Frederick Emory Webster, also known as "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog. My regular readers have likely heard of him before. He was born on 14 February 1864 in Coolville, Athens, Ohio. He was the third of six children born to Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster and Cynthia Maria Waterman. If you read last week's 52 Ancestors post, you may remember Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster's photo album that I shared here on my blog.

Frederick was actually named Watson Emory Webster at birth, but later changed his name to Frederick Emory Webster. I've written a post theorizing about why he changed his name. You can read about that HERE.

Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster

Frederick graduated from the Western Dental College on April 2, 1896. Frederick's Doctor of Dental Surgery Diploma was found inside a metal tube tucked inside one of my grandfather Debs Webster's suitcases. I shared this exciting find on my blog. If you'd like to take a look at this amazing document, click HERE.

Frederick was also an inventor! Yep! That's right! He received a patent and everything. He made improvements to a dental handpiece. I shared a copy of his patent here on my blog too. If you'd like to see it, click HERE.

Frederick was an interesting person. He certainly traveled quite a bit during his life. That's why I refer to him as "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog. He married my great-grandmother, Esther Matus Villatoro, in Mexico.  This is a picture of Frederick and Esther with their two oldest children, Carlota and Edna.

Fred and Esther Webster with Carlota and Edna Webster

Sometime after the birth of their first child, Carlota, who was born in 1910, Frederick and Esther and their daughter moved to Brazil. Frederick and Esther continued to travel after moving to Brazil, including trips to the United States and Mexico.

I've been able to trace many of Frederick and Esther's travels through documents and photos.

I'm grateful that the photo of Frederick's dental and photo boats included information about where and when they were docked.

I thought it would be interesting to crop and enlarge Frederick's dental and photo boats so we could get a closer view of them.

In this close-up of the F. E. Webster Dental Boat, I think I found Frederick. See those three men standing there under the dental boat sign? I think Frederick is the one on the far left. I don't know who all of the women and children are in this photo.

Webster Dental & Photo Boats 1896-1902 at Lake Charles, Louisiana

And here we have the F. E. Webster Photo Boat. I think it's awesome that Frederick was also a photographer.

Webster Dental & Photo Boats 1896-1902 at Lake Charles, Louisiana

Of course I have some questions.
  • How long did Frederick have his dental and photo boats?
  • How did he acquire them?
  • Where did he travel in these boats?
  • Did he have a large clientele for his dental practice and photography studio?
  • Did he advertise his floating dental practice and photo studio?
  • Did the dental boat rock at all while dental work was being done? (Scary thought, right?) 
  • Who took the photo of these dental and photo boats?
I'm very grateful to my grandfather, Debs Webster, for keeping this photo, as well as all of the other family photos he kept for his descendants to enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for February 7, 2014

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White Poppy
My Fab Finds for this week are (in no particular order)
  1. Musings from 30,000 feet AND Oh, Charlie! by Judy G. Russell, author of The Legal Genealogist
  2. 2014 New Hampshire Mayflower Society Memorial Scholarships by Heather Wilkinson Rojo, author of Nutfield Genealogy
  3. Paton-MacEntee Down Under in Brisbane. by Caitlin Gow, author of Genealogically Speaking.
  4. Sepia Saturday: The Runaway by Wendy Mathias, author of Jollett Etc.
  5. Charting Companion from Progeny Software by by Roberta Estes, author of DNA eXplained – Genetic Genealogy
  6. Happy Anniversary to Me! by Schalene Dagutis, author of Tangled Roots and Trees
  7. Family History Center Guests and LDS Church Members Will Receive Free Access to More Family History Records by Dick Eastman, author of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
  8. Civil War Genealogy: How to Find Union Soldier Uniform Clues by Mary Harrell-Sesniak for GenealogyBank Blog
  9. Obituaries + Volunteers = A Treasure Trove of Searchable Stories by Katie Gale for FamilySearch Blog
  10. Blogging Sabbatical! by Smadar Belkind Gerson, author of Past-Present-Future
  11. Tuesday's Tip: Timelines by Miriam J. Robbins, author of AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors
  12. Happy Blogiversary! by Julie Goucher, author of Anglers Rest
  13. Our Stories: You're awesome. Own it! by Caitlin Gow for Young & Savvy Genealogists
  14. Spotlighting Ohiogravestones.org! by Linda Jean Limes Ellis, author of Exploring almost forgotten gravesites in Ohio
  15. What I wish I knew then by Michele Simmons Lewis, author of Ancestoring
  16. The Return of Martin Kornmehl by Edie Jarolim, author of Freud's Butcher
  17. RootsTech is Growing by Guest Blogger for FamilySearch Blog

To read blog posts about RootsTech, please check out Randy Seaver's excellent compilation of blog posts ~

The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge -

New Blog Discoveries

In Case You Missed Them….My Contributions to the Genealogy, Photo Blog, and Vintage Postcard Blogosphere This Week

Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog
Grandpa's Postcards
Jana's Photo Journal

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

52 Ancestors: #6 ~ The Photo Album of a Civil War Veteran's Wife – Cynthia Maria Waterman – Part 1

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This is part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge begun by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small.

In a previous post, I shared pictures of the photo album that belonged to my 2nd great-grandfather, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster. He was a Civil War veteran. If you missed that post, click HERE.

In that post, I explained how I was able to take pictures of Ebenezer's album during a visit with my 3rd cousin, who owns this precious album. I also mentioned that Ebenezer's wife, Cynthia Maria Waterman, also had a photo album. My 3rd cousin inherited Cynthia's amazing photo album as well. And during our visit, I was able to take pictures of this fascinating photo album too.

Today I'd like to share photos of Cynthia's album with you.

This is the front of Cynthia's photo album. Isn't it pretty? It's quite ornate compared to Ebenezer's photo album. It's also larger than Ebenezer's album.

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

I love that the first pictures in the photo album are of Cynthia's husband, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster, and herself.

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

And here is the photo of Cynthia Maria Waterman that was on the right side of this first album page.

Cynthia Maria Waterman

Cynthia Maria Waterman was born on 21 May 1836 in Coolville, Athens, Ohio and passed away on 22 September 1895 in Marysville, Marshall, Kansas. She was the tenth of twelve children born to Asher Waterman and Bathsheba Paulk.

Unfortunately, I don't know who's handwriting is at the bottom of these pages.


Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

It wouldn't make sense for Cynthia to have written "Aunt Amanda" in the photo above, because Amanda was Cynthia's sister.

Amanda's full name was Sarah Amanda Waterman. This name may be familiar to my regular readers because of an exciting adventure I've shared recently. It has to do with vintage postcards from the early 1900s that were written to Sarah Amanda Waterman and her husband, Richard Engle. These postcards were discovered in Ireland in a second-hand shop by a sweet woman named Ann. And because of Ann's kindness, I am now in possession of many of these postcards. If you'd like to read about what I call "The Engle Family Postcard Adventure," click
HERE.

Okay, back to Cynthia's wonderful photo album.


Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

So, who did write on these album pages?

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

I asked my 3rd cousin, Norma, if she knew who wrote on these pages, but she didn't know for sure. She did say that it was among her grandmother's things and thought that perhaps it had belonged to Lura Webster, who was one of Cynthia's daughters. Perhaps Lura wrote on these pages. That would probably make sense because Sarah Amanda Waterman was Lura's aunt. And, that would explain why "Aunt Amanda" was written under Sarah Amanda Waterman's picture.

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

You can see Lura's name written at the bottom of the right page in the photo above. She was married to Paul Anderson Hammett. That's what the P. A. Hammett stands for at the bottom of the left page in the photo above.

I'm grateful to Lura or whoever did take the time to add names to these pictures.

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

As I said, Cynthia's photo album is larger than Ebenezer's photo album. And there are more pages in it as well.

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

Because I don't want this post to be too long, I decided to share Cynthia's photo album in two posts – Part 1 and Part 2.

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

I will be sharing Part 2 of Cynthia's photo album in a future post. It won't be part of the 52 Ancestors blog challenge though.

Thanks for reading!

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for February 14, 2014

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My Fab Finds for this week are (in no particular order)
  1. What Your Grandchildren Wished You Would Have Tweeted by Lynn Broderick for FamilySearch Blog
  2. DNA to the Rescue, II by Kathleen Brandt, author of a3Genealogy
  3. Understanding the Symbols by Midge Frazel, author of Granite in My Blood
  4. Just three generations by Judy G. Russell, author of The Legal Genealogist
  5. Deseret News Features Blogging Presentation AND WikiTree -- Putting your family tree in an online Wiki AND Family History Library Catalog now completely on WorldCat.org by James Tanner, author of Genealogy's Star
  6. #RootsTech – Rencher Warns: What Must Not Change AND #RootsTech – Find A Grave App Coming Soon, FamilySearch to Follow by The Ancestry Insider, author of The Ancestry Insider
  7. Illinois Online Historical Newspapers Summary by Kenneth R. Marks, author of The Ancestor Hunt
  8. Celebrating 11 Years of Olive Tree Genealogy Blog! by Lorine McGinnis Schulze, author of The Olive Tree Genealogy
  9. Crafting Genealogy With a “Love my Family History Banner” by Cindy Freed for The In-Depth Genealogist
  10. Wordless Wednesday: Morehead City Postcards by Andrea Kelleher, author of How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey
  11. Learning New Tricks 2014 by Eric Stitt, author of Genealogy by Eric
  12. Just Go Do It. Now. by Amy Johnson Crow, author of No Story Too Small
  13. MagiCensus 4.0 Release with FamilySearch FamilyTree AND Legacy Family Tree receives Tree Share Certification from FamilySearch by Dick Eastman, author of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
  14. Mystery Monday: Otto and Elsie by Susan W. Mosey, author of Pages from the Ancestry Binders
  15. Military Monday - Physicians Affidafits (Civil War) by Karen Krugman, author of Genealogy Frame of Mind
  16. Thank you, Rootstech Bloggers! by Nancy, author of My Ancestors and Me
  17. Playing "Telephone" with Obituaries by Cecily Cone Kelly, author of Letters to My Grandparents
  18. Lot's More Ohio Newspapers Added to Chronicling America by Ohio Genealogical Society Blog

Randy Seaver, author of Genea-Musings, continues to update his excellent compilation of RootsTech blog posts.

The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge by Amy Johnson Crow, author of No Story Too Small -

New Blog Discoveries

In Case You Missed Them….My Contributions to the Genealogy, Photo Blog, and Vintage Postcard Blogosphere This Week

Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog
Grandpa's Postcards
Jana's Photo Journal

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Some of My Childhood Memories ~ Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

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Randy Seaver, author of Genea-Musings, has provided a wonderful opportunity for us to share some of our childhood memories for this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (SNGF). The idea was inspired by Judy Russell's Keynote address at RootsTech 2014. Judy Russell is the author of The Legal Genealogist blog.

In Judy's keynote address, she asked the audience six questions about their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. With this exercise, she showed how quickly stories about our ancestors are forgotten or not known at all.

For today's SNGF, Randy has asked us to answer Judy's six questions from her keynote address. But, instead of answering these questions about our ancestors, we are to answer them about our own childhood. What a great idea!

So, here are the questions:

1)  What was your first illness as a child?
2)  What was the first funeral you attended?
3)  What was your favorite book as a child?
4)  What was your favorite class in elementary school?
5)  What was your favorite toy as a child?
6)  Did you learn how to swim, and where did you learn?


And, here are my answers:

1) I don't remember what my first illness was, but I know that I had mumps when I was 10 years old. I had it on both sides of my face. I also had chickenpox. I believe I had chickenpox sometime after I had mumps, which meant I was an older child when I had it. My two brothers and I had chickenpox at the same time. I had it pretty bad. I even had blisters in my throat. Yes, it was pretty miserable.

2) I'm not sure about the first funeral I attended, but I do have a memory of getting up early to travel up to Oregon to attend the funeral of my Aunt Pamela. I was 11 years old at the time. We lived in California, so this was going to be a long car ride. My Aunt Pamela tragically passed away of leukemia at only 24 years of age. She was my father's sister.

3) I had a few favorite books when I was a child. I remember that my father brought these books home when a school was giving them away. I still have these books today. They are "The Horse That Takes The Milk Around," The Crooked Colt," "Blaze And Thunderbolt," and "Miss Suzy."

Some Favorite Childhood Books

The illustrations in "The Horse That Takes The Milk Around" are so cute.

The Horse That Takes The Milk Around

This is one of the pages from "The Crooked Colt."

The Crooked Colt

4) Unfortunately, I don't remember if I had a favorite class or grade in elementary school.

5) Some of my favorite toys as a child were toy horses. I used to collect model horses to put on a shelf in my room. I believe I had some Breyer horses in that collection as well. And, I didn't just collect horses. I also had Barbie dolls and even some Matchbox cars too. My two brothers and I used to play cars on a cloth car town. We still have it to this day. Here it is -

Cloth Car Town

It had a house, an airport, a gas station, a grocery store, a church, a hospital, a fire station, a train station, a barn, and a lake called Emerald Lake. And it even had a train track that went around the town. These were stitched onto the blue cloth background. My brothers and I had so much fun playing cars on this car town when we were little kids. I also had a collection of marbles. I liked the pretty ones. These are some of the marbles from my collection. I kept a few of my childhood toys so I could show them to my children.

Marbles

6) I did learn how to swim. I don't remember exactly where I learned though. I do remember going to a local community college to either attend swimming classes or to just swim during free swim time there. Perhaps I went to both the classes and the free swim times.

I hope my children and grandchildren will enjoy reading this post and learning about some of my childhood memories.

Thanks Randy Seaver for this week's SNGF prompt which provided an opportunity to travel down memory lane. It's been fun!

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

52 Ancestors: #7 ~ Was my 2nd Great-Grandfather a Norwegian Sea Captain?

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This is part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge begun by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small.

Was my paternal 2nd great-grandfather, Ole Anthon Christopherson, really a sea captain? The reason I'm even asking this is because of something I saw written at the top of two separate family group sheets. The family group sheets were among family history items sent to me by my cousin's wife. These items were found in my Aunt Joan's house. My Aunt Joan passed away in 1993.

Here's a cropped portion of one of those family group sheets.


Christopherson, Ole Anthon - Family Group Sheet

See the words (Sea Captain) written next to Ole's name? I don't know who wrote that. I wish I did. I wish I could ask them why they thought Ole was a Sea Captain.

Ole was the second of seven children born to Michael Christian Christopherson and Serianna Olsdatter. He was born on April 20 or 21 in 1837 in
Tromsø, Troms, Norway. I have April 21 as Ole's birthdate in my genealogy database. Apparently, I need to do some research to find out Ole's exact date of birth.

According to the 1900 U.S. federal census,
1 Ole immigrated to the United States in 1870. His parents and siblings also emigrated from Norway to the United States.

Ole, who also went by his middle name Anthon, is listed in the 1875 state census in Benton, Swift County, Minnesota
2 along with his wife Aslaug and stepson Halvar. This shows that he indeed came to America before 1875.

Christopherson, Ole Anthon and Family - 1875 Benson, Swift, Minnesota State Census

Ole married Aslaug Nielson Aamodt. I have Aslaug's name as Auslag Nilsdatter in my genealogy database. I'm not sure which surname is correct. She was the daughter of Nils Tollefson and Anne Jonsdatter. Aslaug also went by the name of Esther.

Ole and Aslaug were the parents of seven children. Aslaug had a child named Halvar from a previous marriage. According to the 1900 U.S. federal census, Aslaug was the mother of eight children, six of whom were living at the time the census was taken.

Ole and Aslaug's children:

  1. Halvar Thomas Christopherson (1868-Abt. 1841) [Ole's stepson. Halvar took his stepfather's surname]
  2. Anna Christopherson (1875-1913) [my great-grandmother]
  3. Christopher Christopherson (1875-1877)
  4. Serena May Christopherson (1878-1949)
  5. Nels Anthon Michael Christopherson (1879-1955)
  6. Julia Christine Christopherson (1882-?)
  7. Elsie Elizabeth Christopherson (1888-?
  8. Child Christopherson (?-Bef. 1900)
In the 1880 U.S. federal census,3 Ole's occupation was listed as a farmer. And in the 1900 U.S. federal census, Ole's occupation was listed as a boarding house keeper.

So, when was he a Sea Captain? Or was he a Sea Captain? If he was, perhaps it was while he lived in Norway. He was around 33 years old when he immigrated to the United States. And as far as I know, he was unmarried while he lived in Norway.

According to the biography called "A Smile of Approval" written about Ole's sister Anne, the Christopherson family lived in
Kristiansund, Norway for about 17 years. Kristiandsund is along the western coast of Norway. When Ole was 20 years old, the family moved to Drammen, Norway, which is not too far from Oslo. That would have been around 1857. And not too long after the family moved to Drammen, they moved to a farm in Lier, which borders Drammen.

I found this interesting picture on the Wikipedia website. It shows Kristiandsund during the early 1840s. Just look at all of the ships!



Kristiansund, Norway in the early 1840s - Wikipipedia No Copyright
Kristiansund, Norway in the early 1840s
Wikipipedia - No Copyright
I found the photograph below on the Wikimedia Commons website. It was taken in 2008 and shows the city of Kristiansund in the background and Fugløya Island in the center.
Fugløya in center, parts of Kristiansund city in the background - Wikimedia Commons Harald Oppedal Photographer
Fugløya Island and parts of Kristiansund
Wikimedia Commons - Harald Oppedal, Photographer

Here's another photograph of Kristiandsund. I found this on the Encyclopaedia Britannica website. 4

Kristiansund, Norway
Kristiansund, Photograph, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online, accessed February 18, 2014, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/147920/Kristiansund-Nor

Isn't Kristiansund a beautiful place?

I find it fascinating to think that my 2nd great-grandfather may have been a Sea Captain in Norway. I wonder if there are any records available that would help me to find out if Ole really was a Sea Captain or not. If you have any ideas, please let me know in the comments below. Thank you!

Thanks for reading!

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved




1 Year: 1900; Census Place: Benson, Swift, Minnesota; Roll: 793; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 0270; FHL microfilm: 1240793. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
2 Year: 1875; Census Place: Benson, Swift, Minnesota; Roll: V290_100; Page 23; Line 38. Ancestry.com. Minnesota, Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.
3 Year: 1880; Census Place: Torning, Swift, Minnesota; Roll: 635; Family History Film: 1254635; Page: 241B; Enumeration District: 029; Image: 0489. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
4 Kristiansund, Photograph, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online, accessed February 18, 2014, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/147920/Kristiansund-Nor

Ole Anthon Christopherson's Birth Record

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Yesterday, I shared a blog post in which I wondered whether or not my paternal 2nd great-grandfather, Ole Anthon Christopherson, was a Sea Captain in Norway. The reason I wondered this is because the words (Sea Captain) are written next to Ole's name on two separate family group sheets that were given to me. If you'd like to read that blog post, click HERE.

I belong to two Norwegian Genealogy groups on Facebook. Today, I decided to share yesterday's blog post, along with a request for ideas about how I could find out if Ole was a Sea Captain, in these Facebook groups. Very quickly, people started to help me. It was wonderful! And one very kind person actually found Ole's birth record on the National Archives of Norway website! This wonderful person also found Ole's confirmation record and his parents' marriage record! I'll share those in future posts.

Today I'd like to share Ole's birth record. If you'd like to see his birth record on the National Archives of Norway website, click HERE. His record is number 65 on the left side of the page.

Here's Ole's birth record.1 I highlighted the birth date, Ole's name, and his parents' names.

Christopherson, Ole Anthon - Birth Record from Tromso, Norway - Highlighted

I'm so grateful to have this birth record! And I'm so thankful for the kindness of the person on the Norwegian Genealogy group who found it for me.

This record proves that Ole was born in Tromso, Norway. And this record also gives me his correct birth date. I incorrectly had his birth month as April in my genealogy database. He was actually born in May. His correct birthday is May 21, 1837.

I'm very grateful that I posted my question in the two Norwegian Genealogy groups on Facebook. I'm also very grateful for the kindness of those who helped me today. The genealogy community really is so kind and helpful!

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved


1 "Tromsø 1829-1837." Tromsø 1829-1837. National Archives of Norway, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.Kildeinformasjon: Troms fylke, Tromsø, Ministerialbok nr. 8 (1829-1837), Fødte og døpte 1837, side 520-521. No. 65.

Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for February 21, 2014

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My Fab Finds for this week are (in no particular order)
  1. How a 1946 'The Joy of Cooking' added to my family tree by Niki Davis, author of Rooted In Foods
  2. You Won’t Believe What This Quiz Says About What Kind of Genealogist You Are by Kerry Scott, author of Clue Wagon
  3. CHING...CHING...CHING! by Deb Gould, author of Deb Gould
  4. 21 Valentine Days and Counting by Shannon Bennett, author of Trials and Tribulations of a Self-Taught Family Historian
  5. RootsTech 2014 Photo Album (with Captions and Comments) by Denise Levenick, author of The Family Curator
  6. 18 Years Online for Olive Tree Genealogy! by Lorine McGinnis Schulze, author of The Olive Tree Genealogy
  7. Life Transitions and Family History by Susan Petersen, author of Long Lost Relatives
  8. Amanuensis Monday: Midwife Affidavit in Civil War Pension file of William Townsend AND Heritage Scrapbooking: Military Pages by Devon Lee, author of A Patient Genealogist
  9. Learning their language by ljhlaura, author of Branch and Leaf…a family history blog
  10. Copyright and the recipe by Judy G. Russell, author of The Legal Genealogist
  11. Ohio Online Historical Newspapers Summary by Kenneth R. Marks, author of THE ANCESTOR HUNT
  12. 4 Things To Do Before You Donate Your by Amy Johnson Crow for Ancestry.com Blog
  13. Effectively Using the "View People With Hints" Feature on Ancestry.com by Randy Seaver, author of Genea-Musings
  14. A Dastardly Act: Making the News in 1893 by Melanie Frick, author of Homestead Genealogical Research
  15. Sneak Peek at the New Gedmatch.com Chromosome Triangulation Tool by Ginger R. Smith, author of GENEALOGY BY GINGER'S BLOG
  16. Am I a genealogist or a family historian? by James Tanner, author of Genealogy's Star
  17. Keep it or Throw it Away? Why we save things by Amy, author of Brotmanblog: A Family Journey
  18. Tuesday's Tip: Know Your Vital Records by Miriam J. Robbins, author of AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors
  19. HTML to PDF Converter Website by Professor Dru, author of Find Your Folks

The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge by Amy Johnson Crow, author of No Story Too Small -

New Blog Discoveries

In Case You Missed Them….My Contributions to the Genealogy, Photo Blog, and Vintage Postcard Blogosphere This Week

Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog
Grandpa's Postcards
Jana's Photo Journal

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

52 Ancestors: #8 ~ Anna Christopherson's Unexpected Cause of Death

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This is part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge begun by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small.

On November 2, 2013, I shared my Death Causes Pedigree Chart here on my blog. It shows the causes of death for several of my ancestors. Unfortunately, at the time I shared this chart, I couldn't fill out each ancestor's cause of death. Instead I had to put the word "Unknown" in place of a cause of death for five ancestors on the chart. Since sharing the chart, I've received death certificates for three of these five ancestors.

One of these ancestors with an "Unknown" on the chart was my paternal great-grandmother, Anna Christopherson.



Anna (Christopherson) Iverson
Anna (Christopherson) Iverson

I ordered and received her death certificate not too long ago. I'm going to share Anna's death certificate with you today. But, before I do that, let me tell you a little bit about her. She was one of the children born to Ole Anthon Christopherson and Aslaug Nilsdatter. Ole's name may sound familiar to my regular readers. I recently shared a blog post about him in which I wondered if he was a Sea Captain in Norway.

The photo of Anna (above) was found in one of my Grandma Ingrid Gillberg's Books of Remembrance. It's a group picture with lots of other people in it.

Anna was born on 10 October 1875 in Swift county in Minnesota. She married my paternal great-grandfather, Christopher Iverson, sometime before 1892. They were the parents of seven children.

Christopher and Anna's Children -

  1. Christian Julius Iverson (1892-1948)
  2. Hannah Mabel Iverson (1894-1994)
  3. Lillian Emelia Iverson (1898-?)
  4. Lawrence Nicholas Iverson (1900-1964)
  5. Susan Wilma Iverson (1902-1963)
  6. Arthur Harry Iverson (1910-1942) [my grandfather]
  7. Adellard Wallace Iverson (1913-1988)
As you can see from this list of children, the seventh child was born the same year that Anna passed away. In fact, Anna passed away when Adellard was only eleven days old. Before I received Anna's death certificate, I wondered if she had passed away due to complications of childbirth. I was surprised at Anna's actual cause of death. It wasn't what I was expecting.

So, just what did cause Anna's death? Here is her death certificate.


Anna Christopherson's Death Certificate

The stated cause of Anna's death was an "Embolus of heart." The duration was "quick." And the contributory (secondary) cause was "*eperal state." So, she died due to a blood clot in her heart. I can't make out the first word for the contributory cause. Here's a close-up view of the contributory cause. If you have any ideas about what that first word is, I'd sure love to hear them.

Anna Christopherson's Death Certificate

Anna passed away on 4 June 1913 in Torning, Swift, Minnesota. She was only 37 years old. How devastating Anna's death must have been for my great-grandfather, Christopher, and their children. Their two oldest children were adults at the time of Anna's death. But the five youngest children were about 15 years old on down. And the youngest child was not even two weeks old yet. My own grandfather, Arthur Harry Iverson, who was the second youngest child in the family, had just turned three years old when his mother, Anna, passed away.

Christopher must have had to be so strong to carry on after Anna's death. He somehow had to work for a living and still care for his children. Perhaps the two oldest children helped as much as they could. The oldest daughter, Hannah, was already married and had her first child one month after her mother's death.

As far as I know, Anna's husband, Christopher, never remarried. He passed away in 1925, twelve years after Anna's death.

UPDATE: Thanks to Judy G. Russell, author of The Legal Genealogist blog, the mystery of Anna's contributory cause of death has been solved. According to Judy, the word I was having a difficult time deciphering is "puerperal." The Merriam-Webster online dictionary has the following definition for puerperal.

: of, relating to, or occurring during childbirth or the period immediately following1

It looks like Anna's death was due to complications of childbirth after all. Thank you Judy for solving this mystery for me.

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved


1 "Puerperal." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. .

The Photo Album of a Civil War Veteran's Wife – Cynthia Maria Waterman – Part 2

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Cynthia Maria Waterman was my maternal 2nd great-grandmother. Her husband, and my 2nd great-grandfather, was Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster. He was a Civil War veteran.

Not too long ago, I shared pictures of Cynthia's photo album. In that post, I shared photos of the first half of her album, which included the album's front cover. I also shared a photo of Cynthia as well. If you'd like to see these photos, click HERE.

Today, I'm sharing the second half of Cynthia's album. At the bottom of this post you will find a photo of the back cover of her album. It's a pretty album and the front cover is quite ornate.

As I mentioned in Part 1, I'm not too sure who wrote the names at the bottom of these pages.

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

But, I wouldn't be surprised if this is Lura Webster's handwriting. I gave my reasoning in Part 1. Lura was married to Paul A. Hammett. Her sister, Lillie Dell Webster, was married to James Perry Burket.

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Albuman

It looks like the page on the left in the photo below, held a photo of James and Dell (Lillie Dell Webster) Burket.

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

The page on the left in the photo below says "Lura Webster" and "Ella Engle." Ella was the daughter of Sarah Amanda (Waterman) Engle and Richard Engle. The page on the right says "Myra Chamber" and "Lura Webster." I don't know who Myra Chamber was.

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

The two pages in the photo below held pictures of Mary Boggess and Ella Engle. Mary (Crary) Boggess was a niece of Cynthia Maria Waterman.

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

It's amazing that there was a picture of "Grandpa Webster" in Cynthia's photo album. Grandpa Webster was Moses Augustine Webster, who was born in 1811. He was the father of Cynthia's husband, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster.

The fact that "Grandpa Webster" was written underneath this photo provides further proof that Cynthia Maria Waterman didn't write these names in her album. She would not have written Grandpa Webster. She didn't have a Grandpa Webster. But Lura Webster, Cynthia's daughter, did.

Homer Waterman was Cynthia's brother. He was a Civil War veteran.

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

Hmm. Nothing is written underneath the photo on the left page in the photo below. Either there wasn't a photo there, or the person who wrote these names in the album didn't know who this person was. Jessie Reno is written underneath the right page. I don't know who Jessie Reno was.

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

These last pages of Cynthia's album have Watson Webster and Malinda Webster written at the bottom of the pages. Watson Webster was Cynthia's brother-in-law. He was Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster's brother. Malinda was Watson's wife. Her maiden name was Eavey.

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

Here is the back of Cynthia's photo album.

Cynthia Maria Waterman's Photo Album

It's amazing to me that Cynthia's photo album has been kept all of these years. I'm so grateful that it is still here for her descendants to enjoy.

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for February 28, 2014

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My Fab Finds for this week are (in no particular order)
  1. How to Set up a Facebook Page for an Ancestor by James Tanner, author of Genealogy's Star
  2. Happy 100th Birthday, Henriette (Rita) Rosenbaum Jarolim by Edi Jarolim, author of Freud's Butcher
  3. A Chautauqua Serenade to Some Early 20th Century Ancestors by Patricia Desmond Biallas, author of GeneaJourneys
  4. Metadata by Michele Simmons Lewis, author of Ancestoring
  5. The Play Doh Pedigree Chart by Emily Kowalski Schroeder, author of Growing Little Leaves
  6. WILL THE REAL ANTON HEERDINK PLEASE STAND UP? by Jenny Lanctot, author of Are My Roots Showing?
  7. RootsTech 2014 Wrap-up by Glen N. Greener for FamilySearch Blog
  8. Sepia Saturday: The One That ALMOST Got Away by Wendy, author of Jollett Etc.
  9. I've recovered from RootsTech--finally. AND Of Being Important by Janet Hovorka, author of The Chart Chick
  10. FamilySearch Partnerships: Some Questions and Answers by Dennis Brimhall for FamilySearch Blog
  11. Passing the Torch. by Janet Hovorka, author of Zap the Grandma Gap
  12. Do “Top 40″ Lists Help or Harm the Genealogy Community? Open Thread Thursday by Thomas MacEntee, author of GeneaBloggers
  13. What Happened During Grandpa’s Lifetime? | Free Online Tool by Beth Foulk, author of Genealogy Decoded – Ah Ha Moments for Genealogists
  14. Thank you Crista Cowen! by Cheri Hudson Passey, author of Carolina Girl Genealogy
  15. "A Conference Manifesto" for the Genealogy World by Amy Coffin, author of The We Tree Genealogy Blog
  16. Using The FamilySearch Wiki to Find Ancestral Records by Lee Drew, author of Family History With The Lineagekeeper
  17. My love affair with DNA by Deborah Sweeney, author of Genealogy Lady
  18. Roots Tech - Three Things I Learned on Saturday by Michelle Goodrum, author of The Turning of Generations
  19. Should You Publish A Blog? AND Evernote Baby - For Cragun reserearch, actually for everything in your life that is important by Larry Cragun, author of Larry Cragun Family and Genealogy Blog
  20. FamilySearch Wants to Digitize Your Obituary Collection by Dick Eastman, author of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge by Amy Johnson Crow, author of No Story Too Small -

New Blog Discoveries

Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog
Grandpa's Postcards
Jana's Photo Journal

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

52 Ancestors: #9 ~ Mary Albertina Engle - An Adorable Twin

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This is part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge begun by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small.


Mary Albertina Engle and Charles Albert Engle


This is a photo of Mary Albertina Engle and her twin brother, Charles Albert Engle. It was included in Cynthia Maria (Waterman) Webster's photo album. That's the amazing photo album I shared recently here on my blog. To see this album, click HERE and HERE

Cynthia was my 2nd great-grandmother, and the wife of my 2nd great-grandfather, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster, who was a Civil War veteran.

This is the page from Cynthia's album where this sweet photo was found. As you can see, Chas & Mamie Engle is written at the bottom of the page. Mary also went by the name of Mamie.



Photo album of Cynthia Maria Waterman - Charles and Mamie Engle Page


Mary and Charles were born on 20 June 1864 in Chesterhill, Morgan, Ohio to their parents, Richard Engle and Sarah Amanda Waterman. Richard Engle served in the Civil War.

Today' I'd like to focus on Mary's life. I'll write about her twin brother, Charles, in the future.


As I already mentioned, Mary was born on 20 June 1864. This was two days after her father, Richard Engle, was discharged from Company G, 63rd Ohio Infantry. On the same day he was discharged, he re-enlisted with the 7th Regiment Veteran Reserve Corps.1 Did Richard make it home in time for the birth of Mary and her twin brother, Charles?


Sometime before 1880, the Engle family moved from Ohio to Barclay, Black Hawk, Iowa.2

On 1 November 1882, at 18 years of age, Mary Albertina Engle married William G. Ellis in Black Hawk County, Iowa.

Mary and William were the parents of one child, a daughter named Mary Luella Ellis, who was born on 21 December 1884 in Black Hawk County, Iowa.

Sadly, Mary Albertina (Engle) Ellis passed away on 13 January 1885, in Poyner, Black Hawk, Iowa, just 3 weeks and 2 days after she gave birth to little Mary Luella. Mary Albertina was 20 years old at the time of her death.

William was then left a widower with a very young baby. I don't know who took care of little Mary Luella following the death of her mother.


William was to suffer another tragedy not too long after the death of his wife Mary. His young daughter, Mary Luella Ellis, passed away on 28 August 1885 at 8 months of age.

Mary Albertina and her daughter Mary Luella are both buried at the Poyner Township Cemetery in Poyner, Black Hawk, Iowa. They are both buried in the same lot.

If you'd like to see Mary Albertina's memorial page on Find A Grave, click HERE.  And if you'd like to see Mary Luella's memorial page on Find A Grave, click HERE. Both of these memorials have a photo of their beautiful grave marker, with close-up views of the grave marker inscriptions for both Mary Albertina and Mary Luella.

Thanks for reading!



© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved



1 Richard Engle's Civil War Pension File

2 Year: 1880; Census Place: Barclay, Black Hawk, Iowa; Roll: 327; Family History Film: 1254327; Page: 358A; Enumeration District: 041; Image: 0338.

Engle Family Postcards ~ Half Way House to Pikes Peak - 1905

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This is part of a series of posts in which I am sharing the Engle family vintage postcards that were found in a second-hand shop in Galway, Ireland. To view more of these postcards, please visit The Engle Family Postcard Adventure tab at the top of this blog.

The postcard I'm sharing with you today is dated June 21, 1905. It was addressed to Mrs. R. Engle, Sioux Falls, S. D.

June 21, 1905 - Postcard from Chas. A. Engle to Mrs. R. Engle

I think it's fascinating that only the city was needed for this postcard to be delivered successfully to Mrs. R. Engle.

June 21, 1905 - Postcard from Chas. A. Engle to Mrs. R. Engle

Mrs. R. Engle was Sarah Amanda (Waterman) Engle. She was my maternal 2nd great-grandaunt. This postcard was sent to Sarah from Chas. A. Engle.

Chas A. Engle is short for Charles Albert Engle. He was one of Sarah's sons.

It's interesting that there is no space for a message on the back of this postcard. In fact, it specifically says, "This side is exclusively for the address." You can see that statement at the bottom left corner on the back of the postcard. So, what did Charles do? He just wrote a little message to his mom on the front of the postcard.


I decided to enlarge the writing on the front of the postcard for easier viewing.

Halfway House to Pikes Peak Engle Family Postcard June 21, 1905

Here's the transcription of what Charles wrote:
Denver 6/21 – 1905
Am having fine time
Can eat 4 times a day.
Chas A. Engle
In the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Charles is listed as living with his parents, Richard and Sarah Engle, in Sioux Falls Ward 6, Minnehaha, South Dakota.1



Charles was 35 years old, single, and his occupation was listed as a Grocery Salesman.

The postcard I'm sharing with you today
shows the Half Way House to Pikes Peak. According to an article about the
Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway on Wikipedia, there was a Half Way House Hotel near this railway.

A Wikipedia article about Pikes Peak states that it is "a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains." It is 14,115 feet high and is a designated National Historic Landmark.

Charles wrote this postcard while he was in Denver, according to his message. So, what was Charles doing in Denver in June of 1905? Was he there on business and just bought this pretty postcard at a shop because he liked it? Or was he there on vacation and bought this particular postcard because he actually went to the top of Pikes Peak?

If Charles actually did travel to the top of Pikes Peak, did he stop at the Half Way House on his way to the summit? Did he actually stay at this hotel?

And what did he mean by "can eat 4 times a day?" What was that about? If Charles did stay at this hotel, maybe they fed their guests 4 times a day.

So many questions remain about this postcard and why Charles purchased it. Unfortunately, at this time, I don't have the answers to these questions. But, it is a very interesting postcard nonetheless.


Thanks for stopping by!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved




1 Year: 1900; Census Place: Sioux Falls Ward 6, Minnehaha, South Dakota; Roll: 1553; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 0265; FHL microfilm: 1241553.

Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for March 7, 2014

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My Fab Finds for this week are (in no particular order)
  1. Back for a Fifth Year: Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women's History Month by Lisa Alzo, author of The Accidental Genealogist
  2. Mobile App for Find A Grave Now Available for Download by Thomas MacEntee, author of GeneaBloggers
  3. Exploring New Formats for Genealogy Instruction AND Fun with Search Terms by Amy Coffin, author of The We Tree Genealogy Blog
  4. Will Our Grandchildren Need Paleography? by Michelle G. Taggart, author of A Southern Sleuth
  5. It’s Now Easier Than Ever to Track Your Ancestors in the US Census Records by Tim Cross for FamilySearch Blog
  6. 1,000 Batches Indexed, Who Knew? by Julie Cahill Tarr, author of Julie's Genealogy & History Hub
  7. Genea-Musings Flipboard Magazine Gets Noticed by Randy Seaver, author of Genea-Musings
  8. Student Genealogy Grant Call for Applications by Denise Levenick, author of The Family Curator
  9. It Takes A Village: Mystery Solved! by Amy, author of Brotmanblog: A Family Journey
  10. Forgotten Ashes by Angela Kraft, author of Leaves Of Heritage
  11. Using Google Books in Genealogy Research by Lee Drew, author of Family History With The Lineagekeeper
  12. Yes! NGS 2014 Announces Livestream Sessions! by Cheri Hudson Passey, author of Carolina Girl Genealogy
  13. Postcard address unknown… by Simon Last, author of charnwoodgenealogy
  14. GENEALOGY MYTHBUSTERS AND EXTREME GENES by Dayna Jacobs, author of On Granny's Trail
  15. World War II Genealogy: More Than Soldiers by Rorey Cathcart, author of The Who Hunter
  16. Getty Images: not quite free to use by Judy G. Russell, author of The Legal Genealogist
  17. Photograph Analysis: A Vintage Photo Strip by Melanie Frick, author of Homestead Genealogical Research

The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge by Amy Johnson Crow, author of No Story Too Small -

New Blog Discoveries

In Case You Missed Them….My Contributions to the Genealogy, Photo Blog, and Vintage Postcard Blogosphere This Week

Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog
Grandpa's Postcards
Jana's Photo Journal

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

52 Ancestors: #10 ~ Charles Albert Engle – The Other Adorable Twin

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This is part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge begun by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small.

Mary Albertina Engle and Charles Albert Engle

This cute photo may seem familiar to my regular readers. That's because I shared it in last week's 52 Ancestors post. In that post, I wrote about Mary Albertina Engle, the adorable girl standing on the chair. I also mentioned in last week's post that in the future I would write about her twin brother, Charles, who's standing on the chair next to her.

So, today, I'd like to introduce you to Charles Albert Engle, the other adorable twin in the photo.

Charles Albert Engle was born on 20 June 1864 in Chesterhill, Morgan, Ohio to his parents, Richard Engle and Sarah Amanda Waterman.


Charles Albert Engle

When Charles and his twin sister Mary were born, their father, Richard Engle, had just been honorably discharged from active service in the Civil War.1 At the time of their births, their sister, Ella Eliza, was six years old. Their older brother, Lewis Asher, died before they were born. He died in 1862 when he was only one year old. Their younger brother, William Barker, was born when Charles and Mary were three years old. Another brother, Edwin Caleb, was born when Charles and Mary were five years old. When Charles and Mary were eleven years old, their youngest brother, Frederick, was born and sadly, died on the same day.

Charles, along with his parents and siblings, lived in Ohio until sometime before 1880. They moved from Ohio to Iowa. In 1880, the family is found in the U.S. Federal Census for Barclay, Black Hawk, Iowa.2 The Engle family lived in Iowa for a number of years before moving to South Dakota. However, I don't know when Charles moved to South Dakota. His parents, Richard and Sarah Engle, are found in the 1895 South Dakota State Census in Willow Lake Township, in Brule County.3 But Charles is not listed with his parents in this census.

In the 1900 U.S. Federal Census,4 Charles was living with his parents in Sioux Falls, Minnehaha, South Dakota. He was 35 years of age and his occupation was listed as a grocery salesman.

I haven't been able to locate Charles' whereabouts between 1900 and 1920. I can't find him in the 1910 census. However, he wrote several postcards to his mother, Sarah, between those years. These postcards were sent from several different locations. I've shared one of them recently here on this blog. It shows that in June of 1905 he was in Denver, Colorado. It could have been a business trip or perhaps he was on vacation there. If you'd like to see this interesting postcard, click
HERE.

Charles Albert Engle never married. He remained a bachelor his entire life. It also appears that Charles remained in the grocery business for the rest of his life until he retired.

In the 1920 U.S. Federal Census,5 he and his unmarried brother, William, were living with their widowed mother, Sarah, at 1308 Marengo Avenue in South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California. Charles' occupation is listed as a salesman in the groceries industry.

In the 1930 U.S. Federal Census,6 Charles and his unmarried brother, William, were still living with their widowed mother, Sarah, at the same address in South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California. Sarah was 94 years old at the time this census was taken. In this census, Charles is listed as a traveling salesman in the groceries industry. He was 65 years old.

By the time the 1940 U.S. Federal Census7 was taken, Charles' mother, Sarah, had passed away. She died in 1939 at 103 years of age. Charles and his unmarried brother, William, still lived in the same house they had lived in at the time the 1920 and 1930 censuses were taken. By this time, Charles was no longer employed. But, his younger brother, William was. Unfortunately, it looks like William hadn't earned any income because the amount in the income column of the census was zero. Charles and William did have two lodgers living with them though.

Charles Albert Engle passed away on 20 September 1946 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California at 82 years of age. He was buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, Los Angeles, California.

Several years ago, our family visited this cemetery and were able to take photos of the grave marker for Charles and his brother William, as well as the grave markers for his parents Richard and Sarah Engle, who are also buried at this cemetery. As you can see, Charles and his brother William share the same grave marker.

William and Charles Engle Grave Marker

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved



1 Richard Engle Civil War Pension File
2 Year: 1880; Census Place: Barclay, Black Hawk, Iowa; Roll: 327; Family History Film: 1254327; Page: 358A; Enumeration District: 041; Image: 0338.
3 Ancestry.com. South Dakota, State Census, 1895 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Sheet 3, Line No. 71 and 72.
4 Year: 1900; Census Place: Sioux Falls Ward 6, Minnehaha, South Dakota; Roll: 1553; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 0265; FHL microfilm: 1241553. Dwelling No. 217. Line 15.
5 Year: 1920; Census Place: South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T625_119; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 614; Image: 975. Dwelling No. 107. Line 47.
6 Year: 1930; Census Place: South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 175; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 1519; Image: 398.0; FHL microfilm: 2339910. Dwelling No. 332. Line 16.
7 Year: 1940; Census Place: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T627_243; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 19-514. Visited No. 231. Line 13.

Charles Albert Engle's Death Certificate

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Yesterday I shared a post about Charles Albert Engle. In that post, I mentioned that he passed away on 20 September 1946 in South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California. However, I didn't mention his cause of death. I thought I'd go ahead and share Charles' death certificate today.

Charles Albert Engle Death Cert

Let's see all of the information that can be gleaned from this document.
  1. Full Name: Charles Albert Engle
  2. Place of Death: 1308 Marengo Avenue, South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California
  3. Usual Residence: 1308 Marengo Avenue, South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California
  4. If Veteran, Name of War: None
  5. Social Security Number: None
  6. Sex: Male
  7. Color or Race: Caucasian
  8. Birthdate of Deceased: June 20, 1864
  9. Age: 82 Years, 3 Months, 0 Days
  10. Birthplace: Chester Hill, Ohio
  11. Usual Occupation: Retired Salesman
  12. Industry or Business: Grocery (Wholesale)
  13. Father's Name: Richard Engle
  14. Father's Birthplace: Plymouth, Ohio
  15. Mother's Name: Sarah Amanda Waterman
  16. Mother's Birthplace: Coolville, Ohio
  17. Informant: Wm. B. Engle (Brother)
  18. Informant's Address: 1308 Marengo Avenue, So. Pasadena, Calif.
  19. Burial, Cremation or Removal: Burial
  20. Burial Date: September 23, 1946
  21. Burial Place: Mountain View Cemetery, Altadena, Calif.
  22. Funeral Director: Vernon F. Steen
  23. Funeral Director Address: 11305 Magnolia Blvd., No. Hollywood, Calif.
  24. Date of Death: September 20, 1946 at 3:20 AM
  25. Cause of Death: (1) Cancer of Pancreas (2) Metastatic Cancer of Liver
  26. Autopsy: None
This death certificate is filled with very valuable family history information. Of course, it's only as accurate as the person providing the information. In the case of this document, Charles' brother, William, was the informant. William and Charles were both bachelors their entire lives. They lived together for over 20 years.

As you can see, Charles' cause of death was pancreatic cancer. It also appears that Charles also suffered from metastatic cancer of the liver, which means that the cancer had spread to his liver.

Charles passed away at his home at 1308 Marengo Avenue, in South Pasadena, California. His death must have been quite difficult for his brother William, since they had lived together for so many years.

William passed away almost four years after Charles. I will be sharing more about William's life in a future post.

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for March 14, 2014

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Hello my awesome readers! As some of you may know, I'm on Pinterest. I have several genealogy boards there. Surprisingly, I get a lot of traffic on my blog from Pinterest. In fact, right now Pinterest is #3 on my list of referring sites for the month and #10 for all time. If you don't already share your genealogy blog posts on Pinterest, you may be missing out on a great thing.

So, what does this have to do with my weekly Fab Finds posts? Well, I've created a new board on Pinterest called Genealogy Fab Finds. And, I'll be sharing my weekly Fab Finds posts there. If you'd like to check out this new board, click HERE.

Now, here are my Fab Finds for this week (in no particular order)
  1. Sibling rivalry by Judy G. Russell, author of The Legal Genealogist
  2. Hack Genealogy Mentioned in iPhone Life Magazine by Thomas MacEntee, author of Hack Genealogy
  3. Tuesday Tip: Swedish Churchbooks on-line free this weekend by Linda, author of Cousin Linda
  4. Review: Bloglovin AND Contest: Go for the Mocavo Gold by Thomas MacEntee, author of GeneaBloggers
  5. 7 Reasons Why I Like Social Media As A Genealogy Tool by Larry Cragun, author of Larry Cragun Family and Genealogy Blog
  6. Free Irish Records on Ancestry.com Through St. Patrick's Day AND US National Archives to Close Three Facilities by Diane Haddad – Genealogy Insider for Family Tree Magazine Blog
  7. RootsMapper: Another FamilySearch Family Tree Extension by Ancestry Insider, author of The Ancestry Insider
  8. Find NH Town Clerk Records On Line by Heather Wilkinson Rojo, author of Nutfield Genealogy
  9. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) and #genchat to collaborate in 2014 by Jen Baldwin, author of Ancestral Breezes
  10. Sixteen Completely Free Ways to Research Your Family Tree in New Hampshire by Janice Brown, author of Cow Hampshire
  11. The Future Looks Exciting for FamilySearch’s Record Digitization Program by Steve Nickle for FamilySearch Blog
  12. Website to Help You Find Where Your Ancestors Where From In Mexico by Moises Garza, author of Mexican Genealogy
  13. Where are your links? by Jill Ball, author of GeniAus
  14. The Most Lethal Plague in History -- The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 by John D. Tew, author of Filiopietism Prism
  15. Family Tree DNA Launches New Learning Center by Roberta Estes, author of DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
  16. Tonsillectomies a Hundred Years Ago by Sheryl Lazarus, author of A HUNDRED YEARS AGO
  17. Between the pages in a prayer book... by Jennifer, author of 'On a flesh and bone foundation': An Irish History
  18. Learning About Marriage Banns and Marriages by Midge Frazel, author of Granite in My Blood

The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge by Amy Johnson Crow, author of No Story Too Small -

New Blog Discoveries

In Case You Missed Them….My Contributions to the Genealogy, Photo Blog, and Vintage Postcard Blogosphere This Week

Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog
Grandpa's Postcards
Jana's Photo Journal

Thanks for reading!

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

52 Ancestors: #11 ~ William Barker Engle ~ The Other Bachelor Brother

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This is part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge begun by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small. 

In last week's 52 Ancestors post, I told you about Charles Albert Engle, who was Mary Albertina Engle's twin brother. In that post, I mentioned that Charles and his brother William, lived together for about 20 years. I also said I would tell you about William in a future post. So, today I'd like to introduce you to William Barker Engle.


William Barker Engle Letterhead

But, before I tell you about William, I'd like to share the top portion of a letter written by him. That's his signature above "Conservator of Estates." This letter was found in his father's Civil War pension file. William had written to the Veterans Administration in Washington D.C. after the death of his mother, Sarah Amanda (Waterman) Engle. I'll share the entire letter in a future post. It's quite interesting. This letter was dated January 9, 1940. This letterhead is interesting because it tells us a little about William's occupation. But, before we get into that, let's start at the beginning.

William was born on 23 September 1867 in Marion, Morgan, Ohio to his parents, Richard Engle and Sarah Amanda Waterman. He was the fifth of seven children born to Richard and Sarah.


In 1876,1 William and his family moved from Ohio to Iowa. And in the 1880 Census,2 we find William living with his parents and siblings in Barclay, Black Hawk, Iowa. At that time, William was 12 years old. He was attending school, along with his older sister, Mary, and younger brother, Edwin. His older brother, Charles, was helping his father, who was a farmer.

Sometime before 1895, William's parents moved from Iowa to South Dakota. Richard and Sarah Engle were found in the 1895 South Dakota State Census.3 They were living in Willow Lake Township in Brule County. But, William was not living with them at this time. Neither were any of his siblings. I'm not sure where William and his siblings were in 1895.


Thankfully, William showed up again in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census.4 He was living alone at 216 East 5th Street in East Waterloo, Black Hawk, Iowa, which is only about a block from the Cedar River. This is a map showing a portion of East Waterloo as it appears today. And that pin shows William's address in the 1900 census. Thank you GoogleMaps for this image.



William was single at the time the 1900 census was taken. Also, this is the first census that states William's occupation. He was listed as an Insurance Agent (Life). It appears that he worked in the insurance industry for most of his life.

By 1910, William had moved west and was living with his widowed mother, Sarah. Sarah had moved to California about a year earlier.1 In the 1910 U.S. Federal Census,5 William was 42 years old, single, and living with his mother at 815 Park Avenue in South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California. Again, William's occupation was listed as an insurance agent.

By 1920, William's unmarried brother, Charles, joined him and his mother in California. And in the 1920 6 and 1930 7 U. S. Federal Censuses, William and his brother, Charles, were living with their mother, Sarah, at 1308 Marengo Avenue in South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California.


In the 1920 census, William's occupation was listed as "Insurance" and the industry was listed as "Life." William's occupation was still listed as Insurance in the 1930 census, but the industry had changed to real estate.

In the 1940 U.S. Federal Census 8 William and his brother, Charles, were still living at the same address in South Pasadena, but their mother had passed away in 1939. Now, they had two boarders living with them. By the time the 1940 census was taken, William's occupation had changed slightly. He was still in the real estate industry, but his occupation was listed as a salesman.


Sadly, I don't have a picture of William. But I do have his signature, which is included in the letterhead at the top of this post. And personally, I love to see the signatures of my ancestors and others in my family tree.

William Barker Engle Letterhead

Like his brother Charles, William remained a bachelor his entire life. He and Charles lived in the same house for about 20 years. It was at this house that Charles passed away in 1946. William passed away on 1 June 1950 in Rural Puente, Los Angeles County, California. This information was taken from his death certificate. I will be sharing William's death certificate in a future post.

William and Charles Engle Grave Marker

William and his brother Charles share a grave marker. They are both buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, Los Angeles, California.

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved




1 Sarah's Obituary
2 Year: 1880; Census Place: Barclay, Black Hawk, Iowa; Roll: 327; Family History Film: 1254327; Page: 358A; Enumeration District: 041; Image: 0338.
3 Ancestry.com. South Dakota, State Census, 1895 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Original data: Data indexed from images from the South Dakota State Archives microfilm collection. Sheet 3. No. 71 and 72.
4 Year: 1900; Census Place: East Waterloo, Black Hawk, Iowa; Roll: 418; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0013; FHL microfilm: 1240418.
5 Year: 1910; Census Place: South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T624_87; Page: 20B; Enumeration District: 0347; FHL microfilm: 1374100. Line 61.
6 Year: 1920; Census Place: South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T625_119; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 614; Image: 975. Dwelling No. 107. Line 48.
7 Year: 1930; Census Place: South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 175; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 1519; Image: 398.0; FHL microfilm: 2339910. Dwelling No. 332. Line 17.
8 Year: 1940; Census Place: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T627_243; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 19-514. Visited No. 231. Line 14.

William Barker Engle's Death Certificate

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Yesterday I introduced you to William Barker Engle. He and his brother, Charles, were bachelors all of their lives. And they lived in the same house together for about 20 years at 1308 Marengo Avenue in South Pasadena, California. Charles passed away in their home in 1946. William passed away four years later in 1950. But, he did not pass away at his home. How do I know this? Because of the valuable document I'm sharing with you today. It's William's death certificate.

William Barker Engle Death Cert

But, before I share the information contained in this document, I want to make the point that the information contained in this document is only as accurate as the person providing the information for it. For instance, who was the informant? Were they a close family member? Or was it someone unfamiliar with William's family history?

With that in mind, let's see what information we can glean from William's death certificate.
  1. Full Name: William Barker Engle
  2. Date of Death: June 1, 1950 at 4:30 AM
  3. Sex: Male
  4. Color or Race: Caucasian
  5. Married, Never Married, Widowed, Divorced: Never Married
  6. Date of Birth: September 23, 1867
  7. Age: 82
  8. Usual Occupation: Agent, Life Ins
  9. Kind of Business or Industry: Life Insurance
  10. Birthplace: (Unknown) Ohio
  11. Citizen of What Country: USA
  12. Name of Father & Birthplace: Richard Engle, Plymouth, Ohio
  13. Maiden Name of Mother & Birthplace: Sarah Amanda Watreman (should be Waterman, probably a typo), Coolville, Ohio
  14. Name of Spouse: None
  15. Was Deceased Ever in U.S. Armed Forces: No
  16. Social Security Number: None
  17. Informant: Mrs. Ella Gray (Sister)
  18. Place of Death
    1. City or Town: Rural Puente
    2. Length of Stay (In This Place): 4 Months
    3. County: Los Angeles
    4. Full Name and Address of Hospital Or Institution: El Encanto Rest Home, 15400 East Valley Blvd.
  19. Usual Residence
    1. Street Address: 1308 Marengo Ave.
    2. City or Town: South Pasadena
    3. County: Los Angeles
    4. State: Calif.
  20. Cause of Death
    1. Disease or Condition Directly Leading to Death: Cerebral Arteriosclerosis prior to 11/28/49
    2. Other Significant Conditions: General Arteriosclerosis prior to 11/28/? (Having a difficult time deciphering the year.)
  21. Autopsy: NO
  22. Burial Date: June 6, 1950
  23. Cemetery: Mountain View Cemetery, Altadena
The informant for William's death was his sister, Ella Eliza (Engle) Gray.

It's interesting that only four years after Charles Engle's death, the California death certificate form had changed. William's death certificate was different from his brother Charles' death certificate.

Also interesting to note is that William's occupation was listed as a life insurance agent at the time of his death. In the 1940 census, he was listed as a real estate salesman. But, he had been a life insurance agent for many years before that.

William passed away at El Encanto Rest Home in Puente, California. And he was there for four months before he died. In the 1940 census, William and his brother Charles had two lodgers living with them. I wonder if William had lodgers living with him after his brother Charles passed away in 1946. And if he did, I wonder if these lodgers stayed at his home after William went to live at the rest home. Also, what happened to this home after his death? Did it stay in the family or was it sold?

I checked on Zillow.com and according to this website, the Engle's home at 1308 Marengo Avenue in South Pasadena was built in 1910 and was last remodeled in 1912. The last time it was sold was in 1979. Unfortunately, it didn't show sales data prior to 1979. It would have been very interesting to see when William's mother, Sarah, bought the house. I know she and her sons, Charles and William, were living there by 1920, because 1308 Marengo Avenue was their address in the 1920 census.

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved
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