Sunday, May 28, 2017

Mystery Photo- Sturm & Mapson Family

This Southern Minnesota photograph was likely taken in the Granada, MN area. 
5 of the 7 subjects are identified. Two remain unknown. 




Left to Right :
Martha Sturm, Hazel Mapson, Beatrice (Mapson) Sturm, Unknown Male, Josephine (Sturm) Mapson, Leathal Mapson, Unknown Female

It appears that this photo was taken in the early 1920's. The Sturm & Mapson families were related to each other by marriage and had many relatives in the area. They were also very involved with their country church so it is possible that the 2 unidentified individuals are either kin or friends.

Hopefully someone out there will recognize either of these individuals!

Thursday, May 25, 2017

TBT- John Sturm Cabinet Card Photo

Spotlighting photos from my extensive photo collection
This week it is-
John Sturm [1869-1921]
My Great-Great Grandfather



John Sturm was born in 1869, in rural Long Grove, Illinois, the son of Johann & Salome (Sturm) Sturm. His parents were both immigrants from Ostheim, Alsace Lorraine.

After marrying and starting a family, they eventually left Illinos and settled for a brief time in Wisconsin before relocating to Southern Minnesota. They farmed here for about 15 years, before John passed away from colon cancer at 52 years old. 

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Lost Heirloom-- Esther Meister Baptismal Certificate

I recently rescued this 100+ year old baptismal record for Esther Elisabeth Meister, who was born 6 May 1912, the daughter of Ludwig & Emma (Lorenz) Meister. 

Brief research shows that Esther lived most, if not all, of her life in Dane County, Wisconsin. At some point, she was married becoming Esther Husker.

She died in 1996. At this point it's unclear if she had any children or any siblings.


It would be great to get this heirloom item to a relative who will treasure & appreciate it~

Thursday, May 18, 2017

TBT- Hattie (Maine) Hanlon McLaren & Children

Spotlighting photos from my extensive photo archive
This week it is-
Harriet "Hattie" (Maine) Hanlon McLaren & her children

Onnie Hanlon Rathbone, John Hanlon McLaren
Lyda Hanlon Small, Hattie Maine Hanlon McLaren
-Photo taken in later 1940s, before Lyda's 1949 death



Harriet Maine was the daughter of Erastus & Eliza (Pierce) Maine, born in 1864 in rural Winnebago, the 5th of 11 children the couple would have. 

Marrying twice, first to John Hanlon and later to James McLaren, Hattie lived in Southern Minnesota and South Dakota before settling in Alberta, Canada and later British Columbia.

Her children often used the McLaren name, though any formal adoption seems unlikely.

The mother of 5 children, only 3 lived to adulthood and are pictured above-
Eliza "Lyda" Hanlon Lofthouse Small [1884-1949]
John Hanlon McLaren [1890-1977]
Onnie Hanlon Trott Rathbone [1894-1961]

Hattie died in November 1952, at the age of 88. Three weeks later, her older brother Selwyn died following a stroke. They were the last of the Erastus Maine family.

Sunday, May 14, 2017

Lost Heirloom- August Sohre Baptismal Certificate

I recently rescued this lovely framed German baptismal certificate from the 1890's. I'm not fluent in German, but I was able to make out bits and pieces. 

The certificate is for August Louis Hermann  Sohre who was born May 10, 1884 in Horicon, Dodge Co, Wisconsin, the on of August Sohr & Henrietta Wegener [sic]. He was baptized on June 16, 1884.

I did a brief search into August Sohre and see that he eventually settled in Blue Earth County, Minnesota and children & grandchildren. 

I'm hoping that this certificate can find its way home to a relative to treasure it

Saturday, May 13, 2017

Test That DNA~ Do Not Delay!!

Have you yet to delve in to the world of DNA to aide in your genealogical research? Or have you tested yourself or other relatives, but still have others whom you’d like to test? I’m here to remind you, DO NOT DELAY!

My Great-Grandmother had a large number of “double first cousins”-- 3 brothers & sisters from one family married 3 brothers & sisters from another family. Leaving a whole bunch of first cousins who shared both sets of Grandparents with one another. My Great-Grandmother was one of the oldest cousins and has been deceased since the 1930’s…. however, she had cousins who were much younger-- including the last living one, a kindly gentleman born in 1919.

Late last year, I inquired of this cousins daughter, if she thought her Father would be willing to be tested. As he was the final living relative from this triple family marriage & share the same DNA that my Great-Grandmother would.

I’d thought about having him tested the last couple of years, and as he was in his late 90’s, I realized I shouldn’t delay. Since he lived 100’s of miles away, it wasn’t as logistically handy; it required mailing the test & then having them mail it in turn to the lab, themselves.


Lucky for me, this cousin was happy to provide a sample and had daughters nearby who would ensure the test was completed & sent in properly.

Delayed results, because of the large influx of holiday kit purchases, had the sample processed in the Spring. Finally, the day arrived when I received notification that the results were in!

The next day, I received word that this 97 year old cousin had passed away! Sadly, I was unable to share his results with him.

My paternal Grandmother came from a small family. And her parents came from a relatively small family each. Small families and a rather large number of relatives who remained unmarried/childless kept the pool of relatives rather small.

My Grandmother passed away nearly 30 years ago, while I was still a young child. Her only sister, 12 years younger, would pass away only 6 years later. This left my Great-Uncle, the only remaining sibling. A huge asset in my genealogical quest over the last two decades, I’d been meaning to ask him to test DNA, as he was the last living relative of that generation. As is often the case, I procrastinated until this Uncle in his late 80’s suffered a stroke and his health no longer gave the option to obtain a sample, until his death some months later.

Once you test that DNA, you have the results forever. Sadly, our relatives (especially the older generation) are not going to be around indefinitely. As a strong supporter of DNA as a tool in genealogy research, I can’t recommend enough getting samples as soon as possible!

You won’t regret having the test done… but you will regret if you wait too long…