My Trails into the Past

John Edward Lundquist was born 120 years ago today on 31 Dec 1892 to Pehr Alfred Lundquist and Mathilda Lovisa Eriksson-Holm. [1] He was their first of three children.  The family was living in Stanton, Montgomery County, Iowa and his father was a farmer. His parents were both from Sweden but met in Iowa. I have a copy of John’s birth record, written out in 1983.    Birth record for John Edward Lundquist Here his father was listed as Peter Lundquist and mother as Holm.  I also have a photocopy of the family bible where it was written in Swedish of John’s birth: “ Sonern John Edward föd den 31 December 1892” (son John Edward born the 31 December 1892). John would later move to Hilmar, Merced Co., California with his parents and marry Signe Maria Hilena Johnson. They had one son. He spent his life as a farmer and died 23 Oct 1970 in Turlock. ------------------------------------------- [1] Montgomery County Register of Births, Bk 2, Birth...

I love land records—though it is truly a love-hate relationship. Land records can give you a lot of information but they are not as forthcoming with easy information like those of vital or census records. You have to dig a bit.  You have to analyze a lot. There are complicated words and abbreviations you must understand. One record does not tell you much. You need to collect all of the land transactions for your ancestor. There are some questions to ask, too, such as: When did he get the first piece of land? How did he get it? Did he buy it, get it as a land grant, homestead it, or was it bounty land? What happened to it later when he moved or died? This journey into land records began with the 22 October 1927 obituary for William C. Gleeson, the brother of my great-grandmother, Anna M (Gleeson) Sullivan. The obituary stated that he was “prominent in Eastern Oregon some years ago, where he was one of the first to engage in dry land farming.” [1] William li...

Here's my version of a surname Christmas tree. These are all the surnames I am researching on my side and my husband's side of the family.  The idea came from Randy Seaver and Leslie Ann . Thanks!  It was fun. Copyright © 2013 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, My Trails into the Past

Michael J Sullivan & Sarah Ryan, 30 Apr 1900 My great grandfather’s brother, Michael J. Sullivan had three children: Margaret Mary Sullivan, Daniel J. Sullivan, and John M. “Jack” Sullivan.  Michael’s wife was Sarah V. “Sadie” Ryan and they were married in Anaconda, Deer Lodge County, Montana on 30 April 1900. [1] This family lived in Butte, Montana most of their lives and I searched the Silver Bow county records for Michael’s and Sadie’s marriage but couldn't find it. Well, today, I had luck. I found marriage indexes and images at FamilySearch.org. There they were, right in Deer Lodge Co in Anaconda. Why were they married there?  Well, the marriage record gave Sadie’s residence, and she was a resident of Anaconda! Still don’t know how they met. The marriage included the license so I learned that Michael Sullivan lived in Butte, was 31, and born in Michigan to Jerry Sullivan and Mary Sheehan. Sarah Ryan was 25, lived in Anaconda, born in Iowa to Dave Rya...

I am participating in the The Book of Me, Written by You project which will last 15 months. Prompt for week 9 is Halloween.  Have you ever participated in a Halloween event? When was it? Where was it? What did you dress as? Trick or treat ? Halloween was always a fun time when I was young. We lived on a small street with only a few houses, so Trick or Treating went by pretty fast. Mrs. Peterson at the end of the block always had some really nice home-baked goodies to eat and hot chocolate. At the other houses we got the typical miniature candies. Only Mr. Gardner would give us apples! Some years our parents drove us over to a block with lots of houses. These streets had sidewalks so it was much safer for us to walk. They would park at one end and wait while we hit both sides of the street. I went Trick or Treating until I was about 12 or so. After that I took my sisters Trick or Treating and waited for them to dole out some candy to me. I don’t remember too many ...

I am participating in the The Book of Me, Written by You project which will last 15 months. Prompt for week 8 is Time Capsule. ·          You can choose who to create the time capsule for as that will influence what you put (or would put into your time capsule). ·          The creation of a time capsule: o     you can do this in the literal sense or o     you can simply write what you would place into your time capsule and why. It is much more fun to create though! This is an interesting concept. What would I put into a time capsule so that some future descendant would know a bit about me? Genealogies will have all the facts but this time capsule should have the items that tell about my feels and character, and perhaps would I love to do and what is important to me. GS vest, Troll, SF cap, Softball photo From my childhood, I would put in one of my Troll do...

I am participating in the The Book of Me, Written by You project which will last 15 months. Prompt for week 7 is Grandparents. What were their names? Where were they from? Were they related? – Cousins perhaps Where were they born, another Country or state/area Photos What did they do? Did you know them? What was your relationship with them? If you didn't know them have you researched about them? Intro I knew three of my four grandparents. My mother’s parents, Tom J & Pansy Johnston lived in Pleasant Hill, California not far from us. We called them Tom-Tom and Mam-ma. My father’s mother, Anne M. Hork lived across the street from us in Pittsburg but when we moved to Walnut Creek, she moved to Burlingame and San Mateo. We called her Nana. She was separated from my grandfather, so I never met him and he died when I was 13. All of my grandparents have since died. Mom’s Parents Tom-Tom and Mam-ma were born in Texas, married in Texas, and had my mother in Texas. Dur...

The continuation of the 15 month, weekly writing project about my life and memories, created by Julie Goucher . The prompt for week 6 is Journals and Diaries Do you keep a journal or diary? How far back do they go? What do you record? Where do you keep them? Do you always buy the same one or vary them? Have you inherited any? Do you intend to pass along your journals or destroy them? Pictures Do you have a favorite? What do you use to write with – biro, pencil, ink or fountain pen? I currently do not keep a journal or a diary. I have not really kept either one any long period of time. In high school we had to keep a journal in an advanced writing class I took as a senior. I mostly wrote about the stories I wanted to write, nothing really about myself. I often keep short journals when I am on a trip, writing about the things that I do on the trip. My first one was started in 1974 when I traveled with a school friend across the country on a Greyhound bus...

  I am continuing the 15 month project to write about myself using prompts created by Julie Goucher . The prompt for week 5 is “Your Childhood Home” I lived in at least three houses as a child. I know the addresses and have photos for three of them. When I was born, my parents lived at 35 Wharf Drive in West Pittsburg. [1] They purchased the house when they had married the year before and had to wait for the house to be finished before moving in. It had a flat roof. I don’t think they lived there long. I certainly don’t remember the inside and have only seen the front of the house from photos. The house still stands but the community is called “Bay Point” now.     We next lived at 467 East 9th Street in Pittsburg. [2] This was a two story house with a basement and a cellar. There were two bedrooms upstairs with a bath. Downstairs was a living room, dining room and a kitchen. From the kitchen there were stairs down to what we called the basement. It actually...

I am continuing the Book of Me, and this week’s prompt no. 4 is ‘Favorite Season’. You can learn more about the prompt & the 15 month challenge at Julie Goucher’s page . It would be easier to choose a least favorite season: I’m not a big fan of summer. I like wearing shorts but I do not like being hot. I loved being out of school—well for a few weeks until I was bored—and couldn’t wait to get back to school. I even played school teacher with my brothers and sisters. In summer we were forced to play outdoors all day and we never went on vacations, so it was the same thing day after day. So spring could be my favorite. My birthday falls just a few days after the first day of spring. The baseball season begins in spring and I can begin to root for my favorite Giants. The budding trees and new wild flowers begin to bloom. My favorite spring tree is the red bud with its dark red blossoms and favorite flower is the California poppy. Hikes in the neighboring hills and parks always r...

  The prompt for week 3 is: Describe your physical self Your size – clothes size Scars Eye color Draw your hands Finger Prints I am 5’2” at least that is what my driver’s license states. However, I know I have been shrinking. Age will do that as the bones in our spine settle together. But I also have scoliosis and that also has an effect on my height. I used to be quite thin, weighing only 100 pounds when I got married, but also with age, the weight has inched up instead of down. I’m not nearly as active as I was when in my 20’s. I always wished I was taller. It would be best to add a few inches just to the legs to make up for my long body and keep me from having to roll up my pants. Still, I wear mostly size 8 or 10 clothes. I have very dark brown hair that is cut short with a part on the side. I have a huge cowlick in the front but I make use of it by flipping up my bangs. This is the same cowlick that is passed down from the Johnston Family. There is a bit of gr...