My Second Favorite Thing to do with my Ancestors

I love to do research.  I've been known to work on other peoples' ancestors when I hit an impasse on my own.  But I also love to see the fruits of my labor in my home in the form of photos, and particularly photo displays.  I'm not sure if my family shares my enthusiasm for this sort of decorating, but no one has complained.  Then again, I'm not sure they realize that not everyone decorates in Early American Ancestor!

I like to find common themes in grouping photographs.  This simple grouping to the right is of three brothers - the three sons of Earl and Mary Seeman.  Earl died young, and two of his sons died in middle age.  Here, they are pictured "together."

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The next display is a "mother and child" theme.  The top photo is my great-great grandmother, Alfhilde Monsen with her oldest child, daughter Gabriella ("Ella.")   Alfhilde's husband, Gabriel, was a fisherman in Bergen, Norway.  One day he went off to sea, and a storm erupted.  He never returned, leaving Alfhilde to raise her three children alone, struggling to provide for them.

The middle photo is Ella and her oldest child, daughter Lillian.  Ella came to the United States at age 17 to find a better life, later sending for her mother.  She married a Danish immigrant who owned his own bakery, and they raised five children on the plains of South Dakota.

The bottom photo is Lillian with her oldest child, daughter Betty, my mother.  Lillian married a farmer, and they had four children.

If I only had another frame to match, I could have added my mother holding me, her oldest daughter.  But here, the pattern ends, regardless of how many frames I could come up with.

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I love to find unusual frames, which means hunting flea markets, thrift shops, and garage sales.  Most of the time I have no idea what I'm going to do with my finds, until just the right idea presents itself.  This grouping is one of my favorites.  This standing frame holds only three photos.  I found it at a thrift shop several years ago.  The photos are of my grandmother - as a teenager, as a middle-ager, and finally, in her senior years.  I like the "snapshot" it gives of her life, and the frame itself looks like something she would have had in her own home.

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With the displays above and below, I wanted to give a "nod" to our ethnicities.  Above are pictured my husband's family's generations, starting top left with an aerial photo of the family farm in Schleswig-Holstein, and below that, immigrant Hans Seemann, and moving toward right each man's son.  At top is the current generation.  I made one of these for my husband, and one for each of our sons, and I made a similar display for my husband's brother.

Below, I pay tribute to my Norwegian ancestors.  I also learned how hard it is to frame a silk flag squarely!  At the top are my great-grandparents, Andreas and Anne Larsen, pictured in an oak frame made by my father (these were his grandparents.)  To the left is their son, my grandfather Adolph, with my grandmother Agnes.  They left Norway for South Dakota in 1923, with one child and another on the way.  Agnes died at age 48, and Adolph then married his childhood friend in Norway, Lisa, and she joined him in the United States in 1952.  The are pictured at right.  This display honors both of my "grandmothers."

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I had two wedding frames, and wanted to put the black and white wedding photo of my in-laws in one, but was at a loss about how to use the other one.  I decided to print a black and white copy of one of our wedding photos, in as similar a pose as I could to that of my in-laws.  This is the result. 

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This is a common type of frame - the Tree.  I wanted to do something different with two of the tree frames I have, and I printed pictures of all of the "Grandmas" for them.   I am using these "Grandma Trees" to teach my granddaughters about the women of their heritage.  The five year old knows most of their names, 13 in all, and a little snippet of something interesting about each one.  

I had another tree frame that was reversible, and I made a gift for my daughter-in-law.  Her photo was at the top of the tree, with her mother below, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother after that.  The reverse side held photos of each of her five children.

I hope you've enjoyed these ideas, and I would love to hear (and see) what you've done with your old family photos.  If you have blogged about this, please put the URL in a comment box below. 

Teacup

Oh, teacup!  You've sat in the china hutch so long I can't even remember where you came from.  Probably a garage sale or a flea market somewhere, maybe the last remaining pieces of someone's grand collection from way back when.

I know so little about you, only that you came into being in early 1942, a time of turmoil for our country and just about every family in it.  You were once someone's brand new prized possession; she looked at you and marveled over the soft beige china and the delicate soft pink, yellow, orange and purple flowers nestled among the olive-green leaves.

How many cups of steaming coffee did you hold in the last 70+ years?  How many pieces of delicious gossip were you privy to between the neighbor ladies?  Did she fill you with aromatic tea, as I have today, and quietly ponder life as you commiserated with her?

How did you and she part company?  Were you passed on to a thrilled and grateful daughter or granddaughter?  Were you among family heirlooms at an estate sale?  Were you treasured every step of the way between she and I?

We enjoyed a tranquil and contemplative time together this morning, you and I, something we'll have to do more often.  And soon I will introduce my own granddaughters to the simple pleasure of good tea in a beautiful old cup.  Thank you.

Dr. J. Bruce Annis, Huron Chiropractor

I love looking at the small details in old photos.  I scan them at 600 dpi, and take a close look at the little things one would ordinarily miss.  Last night, I came across a large scan of the I.O.O.F. Building in Huron, South Dakota that I didn't realize I had.  The item is of interest to me, as my great grandfather owned the Bell Bakery located in that building (ground floor, right hand side), and this is the best view I have of his store at the time he owned it.

There's a grocery on the ground floor next to the bakery, which I will be writing about in the future, and on the second floor there is an engineer, a dentist, and I presume the office of Dr. J. Bruce Annis, Chiropractor. His sign hangs between the two ground floor businesses, near the doorway to the building, just under the I.O.O.F. in the center.  The photo dates to somewhere between 1914 and 1920; Dr. Annis' office was in another location in 1913, and the grocery store's location was taken over by the Lyric Theater, construction of which started in 1920.

J. Bruce Annis was born in 1879 in Grant Center, Michigan to Hiram C. Annis and his wife Eva McCrea.  The father was came from Canada, crossing the border in 1875.  In 1883, Hiram took on a homestead in Altoona township, Beadle County, South Dakota.  They had two sons; Neil was the publisher of the Hitchcock News-Leader, and J. Bruce became a chiropractor.  Hiram died in 1926, and his wife in 1931.

 Dr. Annis, then 34, married 19 year old Ella Schutt, daughter of Charles F. & Otillia (Spring) Schutt at Davenport, Iowa on April 2, 1913.  His practice was initially located at 640 3rd St., and sometime between 1913 and 1916 moved to the I.O.O.F. Building.  At one time he partnered with Mellbye, and at another time with Stout, but for the most part was in business independently.  Toward the later years of his practice, Dr. Annis moved the business to the K.of P. building; he worked at least into 1948.   His wife was a homemaker in her earlier years, then worked as a hairdresser and finally as a saleswoman at Habichts Department store.  The couple did not appear to have any children.


Dr. Annis died in Beadle county on March 28, 1954.  His wife died in Rapid City in 1972.

Sources:
"Frame by Frame in Huron."   Wm. Lampe.
Huron City Directories: 1913, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931-32, 1934, 1936, 1945, 1948.
United States Federal Censuses: 1920, 1930, 1940.
Social Security Death Index, entry for Ella Annis.
The Huronite and the Daily Plainsman, Friday, July 9, 1948.
The Huronite and the Daily Plainsman, Thursday, July 10, 1952
The Huronite and the Daily Plainsman, Wednesday, November 3, 1948
The Evening Huronite, Tuesday, July 27, 1948
The Evening Huronite, Tuesday, June 9, 1931
The Evening, Huronite, Thursday, June 11, 1931
South Dakota State Archives, Cemetery Records Search
Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934 (FamilySearch.org)

Loren E. Slocum - Life Underground

Loren E. Slocum

      It was 1909 when the stranger rode into Faith, South Dakota on horseback, pulling an Indian-style travois behind him.  Acquiring a farm three miles from town, he went about the work of constructing an abode - underground - a lifestyle he would maintain for the next 40+ years.

    Loren Slocum built his underground dugout for reasons of solitude as well as economy.  "God placed me there for important discoveries," he said, also noting, "I live underground because I'm too poor to survive above it.  If I had a shack, I'd have to keep it up and I don't have the money for that."  His 100 acres of land was devoid of any buildings, and his home was marked by a three-foot smoke pipe protruding through the earth, a trap door leading downward, and an old wood stove above-ground that he used for cooking during the summer months.

    Inside his 5 x 8 dugout, he had few belongings and slept on rough boards as a bed.  Critics were put in their place by Slocum, who argued, "Some people have said my dugout isn't healthy, but I've lived underground for 40 years and I'm still here and those others have been dead a long time."

    He made his living from his "old age pension" during the winter, and by raising vegetables in the summer, and had in fact acquired some fame as a gardener.  He won prizes from a physical culture magazine in 1928 for articles on the value of uncooked vegetables in the diet.  In that respect, he was apparently a man ahead of his time.

    He refused the label of "hermit," noting that he walked three miles per day into the nearby town of Faith.  He did not marry, and other than "kin" he mentioned in either Artesian or Alcester, he was alone.  A New York native who was born about 1871, he was not found (at least not easily) in any censuses prior to 1920.

    While friends and neighbors desired to help him , he refused, saying, "I'm old enough to take care of myself."  He was 80 years old when his friends finally convinced him that his health was not good enough to survive another South Dakota winter underground, and he moved to a nursing home in Sturgis.  He died months later on November 26, 1950, at the age of 80.

Sources:

Richard Soash.  Original newspaper clipping.  Unnamed and undated newspaper.  4 Mar. 2013.

Austin Daily Herald [Austin, Minnesota] November 27 1950, 2. Web. 6 Mar. 2013.

"Likes To Live Underground." Hutchinson News-Herald [Hutchinson, Kansas] February 16 1950, 13.
"20 Years in a Hole." Evening Independent [Massillon, Ohio] September 09 1935, 3. Web. 6 Mar. 2013.
Ancestry.com. South Dakota Death Index, 1905-1955 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
Year: 1920; Census Place:  Faith, Meade, South Dakota; Roll:  T625_1723; Page:  5A; Enumeration District:  133; Image:  579.
Year: 1930; Census Place:  Township 12, Meade, South Dakota; Roll:  2227; Page:  1A; Enumeration District:  108; Image:  941.0; FHL microfilm:  2341961.
Year: 1940; Census Place: Faith, Meade, South Dakota; Roll: T627_3862; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 47-9

When Opportunity Knocks, You Have to Open the Window

"When opportunity knocks, you have to open the window," a friend of mine used to say.  We enjoyed her inadvertent twisting of old sayings, but many times I've thought this goofed-up cliché was sometimes appropriate for family history.

Every so often we stumble upon that stubborn ancestor who refuses to “open the front door” for us - it is difficult to find any direct information on their families.  And then, those open windows, no matter how small they are, become all the more important.  Tonight, Uncle Soren opened up another window for me, when my Grandpa Pete wouldn’t open the front door.

This is not the first time Uncle Soren opened a window.  I’d researched Grandpa Pete before, using the few facts I knew about him – he was a baker, born in Dostrop, Denmark, and owned his own bakery for a number of years before selling out to purchase a farm.  I had his wedding photo, as well as a small photo of an older woman named Elsie Ericksen, said to be his mother, standing with a younger looking man that was her second husband.  They lived in Omaha.  I had some of Pete’s siblings names.  There were lots of bakers in the family, the younger men learning from the older men.  End of story.

The name “Peter Christensen” must be the “John Smith” of Danish names.  I had discovered information about Grandpa Pete, as well as his wife and children, but finding anything on his family of origin was much more difficult.    Enter Uncle Soren, Pete’s younger brother.  I determined to find out all I could about Pete’s siblings, hoping I would then be able to learn something of their parents.  I hit paydirt with Soren.  I found him in the 1920 census, living with “Gents” and Elsie Ericksen in Omaha’s 3^rd Ward.  “Gents” was 49 and worked for the railroad; his wife Elsie was 60, and Soren was listed as “stepson” and worked as a baker.  I followed Soren in subsequent censuses, and collected all documentation I could find on him.  He had continued in the bakery business and lived the rest of his life with his wife Agnes in a home on Pinkney St. in Omaha.  This matched an entry in my grandmother’s address book for “Aunt Agnes” on Pinkney St. so I knew I was on the right trail.  But the trail of “Gents” and Elsie went cold after 1920.

Back to Grandpa Pete.  I was doing some research on his bakery, “Bell Bakery” in Huron, South Dakota, and found his entry in the Huron City Directory of 1911.  He was single at the time and lived in a room above the bakery.  However, two entries down, I found a much unexpected listing for Soren Christensen, an employee of Bell Bakery, also rooming above the bakery.  Uncle Soren!! 

Several hours later, I had succeeded in finding Uncle Soren on two ship manifests.  I’m still sorting out the details, but it appears Pete paid his passage from Denmark and apprenticed him in the bakery business, and then Soren went back to Denmark and brought his mother and stepfather back.  Between the information supplied on these two ship manifests, I’ve learned several things:

1) The sister we only knew as Christina was named Kristine Nielsen and she lived in Hobro.

2) Grandpa Pete had paid Soren’s passage to the U.S., and provided him with a ticket as far as Tyler, Minnesota, where Pete would meet him.  Soren was just 14 at the time.

Once again, Uncle Soren has come through for me.    While Grandpa Pete helped open the door to a new life in the United States for his family, Uncle Soren has been opening windows to the past.  Someday, I hope to get the opportunity to thank him.

Graphic courtesy of Rob Krause and stock.xchng (www.sxc.hu)

Treasure Chest Thursday - The Doily Box, Part 6

Some really nice items in this week's installment -

I loved this "swirl" pattern so much I started a bedspread from a similar pattern ten years ago.  I'm still working on it... not very diligently, obviously.    But I love this doily!

I like the shape of this doily, reminds me of something you'd set a butter dish on.

Someone did a lovely job on this dresser scarf.  The picture does not do the embroidery justice, and the crocheted border is so vibrant and lively!

And one of my very favorite sets from the Doily Box - 

This is probably a couch set, with the two birds in the center for the back of the couch and the two smaller birds on either side for the arms.  It blows my mind that anyone would want to sell this, but I'm always willing to give an orphaned doily a good home!  Below, a close up of the larger piece -

 Thanks for sticking with me through all these doilies!  There may be more later.  :)

Treasure Chest Thursday - The Doily Box, Part 5

A few more...

What you can do with a plain piece of linen and some thread...

And below, a dresser scarf from a garage sale.

The embroidery is done very heavily both on this bird, and on the fronds of the plant above it.  I have no idea how old this item is, but the embroidery on the tail still feels very thick and luxurious to the touch.

A simple pattern, but I love the colors.

I love this intricate pattern.

Having made a similar doily, with all the beautiful daisies around the border, I know how much work went into this.  Beautiful job, Unknown Crocheter!

I have a particular weakness for vintage crocheted potholders, and this one from a yard sale found a new home with me.

That's it for this week!