My Trails into the Past

This week's ancestor belongs to my husband--his great great-grandfather. Anders Eliason was born on 28 Sep 1821 in Grolanda, Skaraborgs län, Sweden. [1] He was the son of Elias Pehrsson and Kjerstin Ericsdotter, the third of seven children.   Birth record of Anders, son of Elias Pehrsson & Kjerstin Ericksdotter He married Cajsa Florine Pehrsdotter on 11 Jul 1847. [2] She was the daughter of Pehr Andersson and Maja Andersdotter, born on 12 Sep 1812. [3] Marriage of Anders & Cajsa in 1847 In 1866, Casja and Anders immigrated to the United States aboard the City of Manchester. Two of his children, Sofia and Alfred, and his brother, Gustaf and his family were on board, too. 1866 ship list of the City of Manchester The family ended up in Iowa with new surname of Lundquist. It has not been determined why the name was changed to Lundquist. Perhaps there were other family members already in Iowa who had adopted this name. Anders and Casja had 6 childr...

Matrilineal Monday is a blogging theme to celebrate or share something of your mother’s line. When I started on the process of locating my grandparent’s marriage record, all I knew from my aunt (their daughter) was they got married on Thanksgiving and the reception was at Aunt Sadie’s. I didn't know who Aunt Sadie was. I wasn't sure of the year, so I didn't know when Thanksgiving fell. All I knew was William Cyril (known as Cyril) came from Hamilton in Ravalli County, Montana and Anna (later known as Anne) came from Anaconda in Deer Lodge County. Letters sent to the county recorders in both counties came back with no record found. Gosh, why wouldn't they be married in one of their hometowns? Letters were sent to the Catholic churches in both counties with the same results: no record of marriage found there. So, who was Aunt Sadie? My daughters and I had taken a trip to Montana to visit both Hamilton and Anaconda, hoping to find more information about th...

I spent over 32 years working for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) where I was a member of the Amalgamated Transit Union 1555. I began working there as a BART Train Operator and later became an Employee Development Specialist (EDS) where I taught new employees to be train operators. I retired in 2010. My father, William J. Hork, worked most of his life for grocery stores that were unionized. He was initially in the Retail Clerks Union 1179 which later was renamed United Food & Commercial Workers Union. My father worked for LoRay, Ralphs, Bon Appetit, and Safeway. He retired in 1993. My grandfather, Tom J. Johnston, worked as a carpenter most of his life. His last job was with the Contra Costa County Community College District and he worked at the Diablo Valley College (DVC) campus. I remember visiting him there once with my grandmother. He gave me a wooden tennis racket and frame. I loved playing with that racket. Updated 4 Sep 2014. I found To...

I’ve written about Julia Ann Sievert before for Fearless Females and you can read it here . Today for 52 Ancestors, I would like to write about the information I learned about her from the 1910 census. [1] The Julia A. Hork household lived on Seventh Street; however no house numbers were listed. Julia was listed as head of household with six children. She was 54 years old and a widow. Comparing that age to the known birthdate of 31 Oct 1854, her age was off by one year. [2] Although it is unknown who gave the information for this census, it probably was Julia herself. Ten children were listed as being born with nine still living. This is more accurate than the previous census which listed seven children born and seven living (the seven who were listed in the census). Julia had ten children, five girls and five boys. Her oldest daughter, Maria Catharine “Mary” died 28 Sep 1895 in Portland, Oregon. [3] Julia was listed as being born in Illinois of German immigrant parents. She...

This is week 19 of the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge” by Amy Crow from No Story Too Small .  I am a bit behind but intend to catch up. Anna Marie Sullivan was my paternal grandmother. She was born 15 Oct 1892 in Anaconda, Deer Lodge County, Montana to John H. Sullivan and Anna Marie Gleeson, the last of six children. [1] She was baptized at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Anaconda on 19 Oct 1892. [2] She was very fortunate to attend the Montana State Normal School where she excelled in extracurricular activities of Glee Club, tennis, basketball, and as a member of the yearbook staff. [3] The Montana State Normal School was founded 1893 and was for teacher training. [4] In the beginning it was a three year program but later expanded to a four year. Other subjects were added and the school was renamed Western Montana College. Today it is part of the Montana University System.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Montana_Western She was fortunate because ...

  I know very little about the parents of Amos Gorrell (1804-1890). They were James Gorrell and Sarah Milholland. I first learned their story in a little book called Gorrell Family History by Joseph J. Gorrell. [1] This little book has no source citations and is a genealogy of their seventh son, Joseph. All I have is a photocopy of the book that I received from my father-in-law, George J. Gorrell, when I started researching my husband’s lines. So what was said about James in this book? That he was born in 13 Mar 1770 in Ireland. James and his brother, William, were sons of Oliver Gorrell and were soldiers under Robert Emmet, the Irish insurrectionist. They were captured by the English and exiled. William, the younger brother, settled in Virginia and James, the elder, in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. It said he married Sarah Milholland but gave no date. She was born 5 Apr 1771 in Virginia. They had 21 children, with 19 growing to adulthood. The children listed were: “James...

I just got back from a 10 day auto trip across the southern part of Pennsylvania from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. I saw a lot of the countryside because we did not travel via freeway but by back roads. We saw farms and woods; barns and covered bridges; railroads and caverns; and when we got to Reading, I knew I had to find the church where my husband's great grandfather, Frederick Henry Davey had been baptized.   Frederick Henry Davey was the 15th and last child of Thomas Davey and Mary Nicholas, born 10 Oct 1853. [1] Thomas and Mary were from Cornwall County and had lived in Somerset County and London before immigrating to America. [2] The ship list has not yet been found, but it was likely between the 1851 census in London and the baptism of their youngest child in Reading. Frederick was baptized 4 Jul 1854 at St. Peter’s Church. [3] Also on the same day, were the baptism of his niece, Adeline Rose Flinn (Flynn), and the marriage of his sister, Susan to Joseph Muir. [4] So h...