Week 9 – at the courthouse #52ancestorsin52weeks

My great-grandfather, Frank Doud was a sheep and cattle rancher in Butte County, SD. He had sheep east of Newell, east of Vale, and further out near Fairpoint. When B. M. Long, the elected sheriff, died unexpectedly in December, 1931, the County Board of Commissioners appointed Frank as sheriff.

A newspaper clipping stated, “Mr. Doud is an excellent business man, knows this part of the country as only a man who has lived here for so many years and been actively interested in the stock business, can know it. These are at least two qualifications for the making of a competent sheriff.”

He held the position for three years. He did not get re-elected, so he went back to sheep ranching at Fairpoint.

A prohibition still bust.

week 8 – family photo #52ancestorsin52weeks

When I saw this prompt, I knew immediately what to write about. This post isn’t about a particular photo, but about the siblings in the photos. Gust and Carolina Jensen had 10 children between 1888 and 1907. Carolina passed away in 1908, when the youngest child, Laura, was just 10 months old. The next loss was in 1911, when Florence, age 5, died. Yet Gust kept his family together. When I think of grandpa, Julius, his siblings also come to mind. All but one of the siblings settled within 50 miles of the ranch they grew up on, and as each had their own family, they still gathered together often. That tradition continued to the next generation and their children. My family visited every summer, and for me as a child, grandpa’s brothers and sisters seemed like just more grandparents.

Julius, Ernest, Bob, Roy, Laura (child in front of Roy) , Lureena, Erma and Agnes. Paul, next to youngest, is missing. Roy died in 1919.

Laura, Julius, Agnes, Ernest, Lureena, Paul, Erma and Bob, 1941.

To quote Great Aunt Agnes in 1968, “All through the years, and now, we brothers and sisters, and their wives and husbands, have been together a great deal. … Ever since the first child was born to Mother and Dad in 1888, there never has been one Christmas Eve, that all, or some of the Haedt brothers and sisters have not been together, First with Mother and Dad, and then with Dad. When Dad died in 1939, we kids agreed we would carry on the Christmas party.” I know that at least until 1977, Grandpa’s last Christmas, at least some of the brothers and sisters were together for Christmas Eve.

Back- Bob, Julius, Ernest, Paul. Front-Laura, Agnes, Erma, Lureena.

Growing up over 1000 miles away from any family, I envied the closeness of those siblings, and definitely desire to follow their example.

#52ancestorsin52weeks #Love

My Grandparents, Julius and Frances Haedt, were married just 3 days shy of 51 years. Their love survived the stock market crash, the Dust Bowl and Depression, World War II job changes for the war effort, and 20 + years working for the Homestake Mine, never letting go of their dream to own their own ranch. While I looked at my grandparents as being very strait-laced, their story had a unique start.

In 1925, Frances Doud, at almost 20 years old, was hired to teach at the Burton School, a small one room country school, east of Piedmont, SD. This was over 60 miles from her parents’ sheep ranch, so she lived with a schoolboard member’s family.

That fall there was a dance at the school. Frances went to the dance with a young rancher whose relatives attended the school, John McFarland. During the evening, John introduced her to his good friend and neighbor, Julius Haedt. Apparently it was love at first sight, as Frances and Julius left the dance together, leaving John alone at the dance.

When the school year ended, Frances returned to her parents’ ranch near Vale, SD. In their letters there was talk of marriage, but that fall, (1926) Frances went to Fort Wayne, Indiana to take some college classes. This was very heartbreaking for Julius, but he rented a farm and began to furnish the house in preparation of bringing his bride home.

Julius greeted Frances at the train station in Rapid City in early April, 1927, then she again returned to her parents’ Vale ranch. Spring in South Dakota brings some pretty unstable weather and in 1927, there was much rain and snow, making the roads impassable. The letter writing continued, and Julius tried to get to Vale for a few weeks, but to no avail. Frances’ last letter, dated April 27, 1927, tells Julius that when he comes to see her, she will go home with him. They were married May 5, 1927, at the minister’s home in Sturgis, SD.

The marriage produced a daughter, Joyce Lorraine, October 28, 1929. Julius almost lost the love of his life after childbirth, but Frances recovered, and together they dealt with the many hard nocks of life. During the Dustbowl years, they left the ranching lifestyle and Julius went to work at the Homestake Mine, only to have it closed during World War II. They then were sent to Wyoming and Utah to work in War Industries, then back to the mine. They saved money and never let go of the dream of their own ranch. When Julius retired they fulfilled that dream and purchased their own small ranch. Both Julius and Frances thoroughly enjoyed this time in their lives, and shared that joy with family and friends. And John McFarland, who took Frances to that dance back in 1925, remained a very dear friend.

week 6 – Surprise #52ancestorsin52weeks

Back at the Family History Center, just 3 days after meeting the German genealogist, I was in for another awkward moment surprise. You see, the Jensen family were the last of my ancestors to come to America. One thing has always been very clear, they came from Denmark in 1881, but even Chris could not find the immigration records. I was hoping for some help with this, and went to a volunteer that works with Danish records. I explained that Carolina came to America with her parents, Soren and Ingabore Jensen, and her sisters, Katie and Elsa Marie Jensen. They lived in Arhus, Denmark. The volunteer nodded and began typing. Within minutes she says, “your grandmother wasn’t a Jensen, it was Sorensen, and her mother was’t Ingabore, she was Ingeborg. Her last name wasn’t Jensen, it was Simmensdatter, or Simmensen. All of the children are not Jensens, They are Sorensens.”

Me – “What do you mean? How do you know? Are you sure they are the same family? But…”. The very kind volunteer explained to me that Soren was Jen’s son, so his last name was Jensen. Ingaborg’s name was Simonsdatter or Simonsen because her father was Simon. This is the correct family because the children’s names and birthdates match. Besides it is the only Soren Jensen family in Arhus in 1870’s that had the correct names for the rest of the family. I knew about patronymic names, but who knew that Denmark still was not using hereditary surnames 150 years ago?

This family left Arhus, Denmark as Soren Jensen Funder, Ingeborg Simmensen, Caroline Sorensen Funder, Niels Sorensen Funder, Kjersten Sorensen Funder and Elsa Marie Sorensen Funder. They came to America as the Jensen family, with Americanized spelling of first names. No wonder we could not find any records for this family! Now another mystery to hunt down. Carolina and Katie apparently did not mention a brother to my grandfather and his siblings. What happened to Niels? Did he come with them to America? More research to be done.

Denmark passed a law in 1821 stating that families needed consistent surnames, but it took 50+ years for this to trickle down through society. Many men used their job as a last name, some chose a location, while others kept the Patronymic version. Is this why Funder is added to the children’s names? I’m not sure, but apparently funder translates as ‘overthere’. Personally, I think dropping the Funder was a good decision, although Jensen is the most common surname in Denmark.

Week 5 – At the Library #52ancestorsin52weeks

Joyce Lorraine Haedt Crawford, my mom, learned library skills while in high school, in Lead, South Dakota. These skills included library processing, Dewey Decimal System and even book binding. She never imagined how that would give her a career, as after high school, she went to school and became an X-ray technician.

Fast forward to Tuolumne, California, 1964. Tuolumne was a lumber town that was building a new school. Joyce volunteered to start a school library in the elementary school. Within a year, she was offered a permanent position, paid. Mom took this all very seriously, establishing a very good, well organized library. For the first few years, every book was hand picked at the nearest bookstore, 60 miles away. We hauled every library book back to the school in our Volkswagen. Then mom processed each book and typed each card for the card catalog.

Joyce went back to college and took librarian classes in 1966 and 1968. She then shared the skills she learned with the other school librarians in our county. She taught hundreds of students how to use the card catalog, how to find a book on the shelf, and how to put a book away correctly. She really enjoyed having jr high students help her in the library. The library grew and mom worked diligently to repair books, and to have a good reference section as well as the fiction section for beginning readers through 8th grade.

She continued as the librarian for over 30 years. I can’t even begin to imagine the number of books and card catalog cards she personally processed, just to get them on the shelves. It was a true labor of love, and it showed. She quietly went about her work, never being recognized for building that library from scratch.

It was after her retirement that she started the geneology hunt. She made sure that each person, or event, was cross referenced before she recorded it. When I began to do geneology on line, she was very skeptical. If I found something she had not been able to find, I had to find out exactly where the information came from, and get a copy of it if available, and look for a cross reference for it. She definitely did not want any errors in the geneology she archived.

Joyce also got involved in the local geneology society and historical society. She worked diligently to map and record burials at the local cemetery, where a disgruntled employee had disposed of many old records. There were many other people that mom researched for local records, again, a labor of love.

My parents move out of their home of 40 years, and brought her geneology archives for me to store until they got settled. Sadly, mom passed away in 2011, before they were fully moved into their new house. I have yet to go thoroughly through all of the binders she put together, but I have added some information and broken through 3 walls that mom could not get past. This is a great way to share much of the work mom archived for us. Hopefully I will continue to be as diligent with the research I do.

Have you ever wondered about your ancestors and wished you could meet them? I have, and although there are several, I would love to meet this great grandmother. You see, Carolina was born in Arhus, Denmark in 1871, and came to America when she was 10 years old. The following story was related by her daughter, Agnes. ‘It took her family, including 2 little sisters, 2 months to come from Denmark to Rapid City, SD. They were at sea for 16 days, then caught trains to Pierre, Dakota Territory, and by wagon from there to the Black Hills. As they were crossing the Missouri River, the wagon containing their trunks was overturned, and washed away. They lost all of their keepsakes from Denmark.’ They arrived in the Gold Rush Camps in 1881, just 5 years after the area was opened to settlement.

Carolina married my grandfather, John August, ‘Gust’ Haedt while she was 16 years old. She had her first child at 17, then 9 more in the next 19 years. They had some hard times, but also some good times living on a ranch north of Rapid City. Just months after the birth of her last child, Carolina died of Cancer at the young age of 36 years.

I wish I could ask her about that long, dangerous trip to Dakota territory, and how she adjusted to life in the frontier as a child. How about life in Denmark? Since my grandfather and his siblings did not seem to keep any Danish language, how difficult was it to learn English? Was she happy to get married at 16? Was Carolina a very positive, cheerful person? Her children, at least the seven I got to meet, were very close for the rest of their lives, and very dedicated to family. Did she have an influence in that attitude?

I have tried to imagine what it was like for Grandma Carolina, to put myself in her shoes… Her life makes my life seem pretty easy, without many hardships and losses.

When I saw the theme for this week, I thought I would write about Nebuchadnezzar, an ancestor I have always heard about, but I don’t remember the rest of his name. My next thought was my mom’s maiden name, Haedt. My family pronounces it ‘Hate’, but one cousin pronounces it ‘Height’. I am told it is because his bride just couldn’t accept Hate.

Great grandfather, John August Haedt was born in Posen, Prussia in 1859. He came to America in 1861, with his parents Martin Gottlieb and Wilhelmine. Martin died at sea, but Grandpa, his sister, and his mother joined relatives in Wisconsin. Mom got this far in her research, but only hit walls in trying to find immigration records or family in Prussia. She visited the Family History Library several times and attended German Genealogy seminars, but only questions. Before they came to America, was the name Hedt, Hadt, Huidt, Hudt…

Fast forward to last year. Cousin Kathy invited me to go to the Family History Center in Salt Lake City. She, and her friend Sandy, have been there a few times and know their way around the facility. I told them that I wanted to work on my family from Posen, Prussia (currently Poland). My first time to visit to the library, I followed them to the International floor. They approached the help desk and told the gentleman that I needed help with German family. He nodded, pointed at a table and said, “One of our premier German genealogists just happens to be here this morning.” So, off I went with the documents I had.

Mind you, I have never been to a genealogy seminar, or worked with a professional. I sat down, spread out some paperwork and started to explain. She nodded and began typing on her computer. Within minutes she asked, “Was your grandmother married before? Was her last name Oppert?” I was shocked. Yes, this was true, but how did she find it? And, how did she know it was the right family when the name was Hoeth. She told me, “Look, it is right here.” I saw a city name I did not recognize, and asked about it. After all, how could she find in minutes, what Mom had spent hours looking for. She explained that cities in Prussia have both German and Polish names, and my family’s name is German, not Polish. I was still confused and asked HOW she found the information, and how could I be sure it was my family. Yes the first names matched, as did the dates, but how was I supposed to know for sure. She looked at me, and said, “Spelling doesn’t matter in geneology.” I was overwhelmed and my head was spinning, so I tried to clarify. Again, she tells me, “Spelling doesn’t matter in genealogy. Spelling is a relatively new concept, and not everyone could write. I was very excited, but did not know how I could confidently go forward. Right there was Martin Hoeth, his father was George Hoht. But how could I continue my search? So again I tried to clarify. This time, banging her hand on the table, “SPELLING DOESN’T MATTER IN GENEALOGY!

I was left to reflect more on that spelling concept than on pursuing my Haedt, Hoeth, Hoht, Huidt family. An unusual name doesn’t mean that it is any easier to track. Truly, spelling doesn’t matter in genealogy. Spelling only became important when most people could read and write their own name. Who ever recorded baptisms, marriages, etc., spelled a name the way they heard it, and how one person wrote it phonetically might be different than how it was recorded the next time.

Remember as you do your research, SPELLING DOESN’T MATTER IN GENEOLOGY!

#52ancestorsin52weeks. Week 2, challenge

Way back in 1980, my husband’s grandmother found out we had just passed through Idaho, and asked me to help her find her brothers. This led to a fruitless search, until the internet opened new options. Eventually I connected with other decendents, and we found on the 1910 census that her father was ED Nelson. Looking for more info, we found many Nelsons in Idaho that had first names that began with E. Was he Eddie, Edward, Edmond, Eric, Eli… There were many options, but we could not find a way to connect any of them with grandma. With 5 of us approaching it in 5 different ways, you would think we would uncover something with documentation, but we just kept hitting walls. We did find Grandma’s siblings and mother, and would return to the ED hunt again and again.

Finally, (years later) as my husband’s cousin, Kathy, and I were working on the family tree, she went to the Family Search website, and found the marriage license for E.D. Nelson and grandma’s mom, Rosa Dakin. His name was Edmond Daniel Nelson, named for his father and grandfather. We also found that Edmond had several cousins named Edmond, so no easy task to sort it all out. Our mystery ED was not only found but connected us to a very extensive family tree that is well documented!

My great grandfather, Robert Fulton Crawford, was born in Fayetteville, Tennessee in 1837, and died in Lead, South Dakota in1918. Since I was a child, I have heard tales about him and his life story has fascinated me.

THE MYTH

I must have asked a question that triggered this story the first time, but my grandma was a great story teller. As she sat knitting, she began the following tale… “Your grandpa always said his dad was born in Arkansas. When he was just a toddler, his mother was killed by her slave girl. His father was out working in the fields on Christmas morning and the girl hit her mistress over the head with a cast iron skillet. (imagine my wide eyes as a preteen). The girl left young Robert with his mother’s dead body, and they weren’t found until his dad came back from the field. The slave was hunted down, convicted and killed. Robert’s father kept the slave’s young son and raised him with Robert. Both boys grew up, went to law school and became lawyers. The slave boy became one of the first ‘black’ lawyers in America. and Robert was the first judge in Kerrville, Texas.” I was shocked and couldn’t wait to share this information with my parents. They assured me this is just family lore with grandma’s embellishments.

Another time grandma pulled out a typed story, probably written by one of my dad’s older sisters. “Robert Fulton Crawford, (named after his father’s friend Robert Fulton, inventor of the steam boat). He married and had 2 sons, Hugh and Kit. Kit became a writer and used the name of Marion Francis. Their mother died. Robert Fulton Crawford was a drummer boy in the Civil War. He was well educated, attended the University of Missouri and became a lawyer and business man, he made lots of money. He went from Texas to Kansas, saw a friend who had a beautiful daughter, 35 years his junior. Her name was Bessie Amelia Smedley. Hugh was 2 years her senior and Kit the same age. Robert and Bessie married and had 7 children: Robert Fulton jr., Paul, Earl, Jean, Pearl, Claude, and Grace. Robert Fulton lost all of his money, and moved to Spearfish and became the County Judge which he was until he was nearly 80. James Buchanan was Robert F. Jr.’s uncle. Grandpa Crawford was brilliant, had a terrible temper and totally unfair to his wife and children although the children had a great deal of respect for him.” This just heightened my curiosity and desire to chase my family roots.

his obituaries state that he attended Cumberland University of Tennessee. During the Civil War he served in the struggle under General Dick Taylor. He was the leading factor in the Cherokee Livestock Association which leased the Cherokee Strip from the government, but sold out his interest there in 1883., moving to Spearfish in the spring of 1886, where he resumed the practice of law… While in Texas and Kansas City, he was very successful in the livestock business, accumulating hundreds of thousands of dollars, until the failure of three banking houses swept away the major part of his fortune.

The MAN

Mom, the Archivist, was surprised to find some of the myth to be true, along with many other fascinating details about great grandpa Crawford.

Robert Fulton Crawford was born in Fayetteville, Tennessee in 1837. His parents were Andrew Crawford and Minerva Buchanan. The young family joined relatives in Washington County Arkansas. The story about the murder is partially true!

In History of Washington County, we found the following:

“In the year 1840 the committee officiated at another execution. This time a slave-girl, Caroline, was hung for the murder of her mistress, the wife of Andrew A. Crawford.” More details are recorded, but that is another story.

His obituary states that he attended Cumberland University in Tennessee. he was admitted to the Bar in the state of Missouri in 1860. Robert, or R.F., was a young attorney in Kerr County Texas in 1861. Feb., 1861, he joined the Texas Minutemen, and in August of 1861, he married Fannie Hudson. It is written that Robert, a young attorney, was being paid as a teacher in 1862, and he reenlisted in the Confederate army. He was appointed as the First Kerr County Attorney in March of 1867, and was removed from that position in August of 1867 by military order. The reason given is involvement in the confederacy.

Robert and Fannie had 4 children, James Hugh (1863), Richard F (1865), Etta J. (1870), Kit (1872), all born in Kerr County. The years of Reconstruction were a difficult time in Kerr County. In December, 1872, R.F. and Fanny began selling their property in Kerrville.

It is known that Robert participated in getting cattle herds to Kansas City. By 1875 he had moved his family to Kansas City, Missouri and owned Crawford and Co. Wholesale Butchers. This changed to Stock Dealer and Stock Raiser by 1880. We have found no documentation about him with the Cherokee livestock Association. In 1881, Fannie and at least 2 of their children died and are buried in Kansas City.

While still listed as a cattle dealer in Kansas City in 1883, Robert was on the move. He married Bessie Smedley, a girl 30 years his junior, and they had a son, Robert Fulton jr., born in Sherman Texas. The marriage took place in Johnson County, Kansas. Another son, Paul, was born in 1885 in Kansas City. Meanwhile, R.F. Is shown to own shares of the Carbonate mine, Carbonate, SD in 1885.

R.F. was living in Spearfish, SD in 1886, when he sold his shares of a mine in Carbonate at quite a loss. It is thought that Robert went north because of the cattle business, and his mine investments, settling in Spearfish. It is not known when Bessie and the children arrived, but the next child was born in Spearfish in 1888. We know that he is listed as an attorney and Judge (Justice of the Peace) in Spearfish, and lived there while adding 5 more children – Jean (1888), Earl (1890), Claude (1893), Pearl (1898), and Grace (1903) to the family. He was known as Judge Crawford. His daughter, Jean, brought him to her home in Lead, SD, when illness overtook him. He passed away in January, 1918, and is buried in Spearfish, SD.

What happened to the Slave’s son? Did RF help organize the Cherokee Livestock Association? Did he make hundreds of thousands of dollars, only to lose it when 3 banking houses failed? Did Kit really change his name? What happened to Kit? Still to be determined… Myth or reality?

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton