TBT- Johannas Weerts WWII Service

Spotlighting photos from my extensive photo archive

This week it is-

Johannas Weerts [1902-1975]

My Great-Great Uncle

Johannas Weerts was born in rural Martin County, Minnesota the 8th child to Harm & Elizabeth Weerts, who were German immigrant dairy farmers. They had left their home in Ostfreisland (far NW Germany) a decade before & settled in Iowa before relocating to Southern Minnesota.

Shortly after the outbreak of World War I, Johannas moved to rural He continued to reside in the Amenia area and was later married to Clara Cramer in 1943.

He died in 1975 from complications of pneumonia following a broken hip. 

Lost Photo- David B. Phillips of Ohio

I recently rescued this great cabinet card photo

On the back side in an ancient scrawl, someone wrote 

'David B. Phillips'

After a quick Ancestry search, it appears that there are a couple of potential David B. Phillips who resided in Ohio that are from around the correct era.

Hopefully someone out there has either David in their family... or has a little more research time to devote to tracking down the correct gentleman!

It's really a great photograph and it should be with a genealogist who can treasure it

TBT- Hiram Maine & Loren Maine "Boxing"

Spotlighting photos from my extensive photo archive

This Week It Is-

Hiram Maine [1904-1979] & Loren Maine [1901-1980]

My Great-Grandfather & His Older Brother

This photo, taken sometime in the early 1910's in rural Cass County, Minnesota was sent by Minnie Maine down to her old neighbors the Hartman's in Southern Minnesota. This fun snapshot of her two youngest sons was likely taken on their farm in Home Brook Township, due to the hats & raised fists, it's pretty much impossible to tell which one is which. 

Hiram would continue to live on that farm the rest of his life, dying in 1979. Loren would eventually move back down to Southern Minnesota and farm in rural Winnebago, later moving into town. He died of cancer a year after his brother. 

Lost Photo- Emery C. Nelson of Clermont, Iowa

I recently rescued this cabinet card photo from an antique shop.

The back states 

"Compliments of Emory C. Nelson Clermont Iowa"

Emery Clifford Nelson was born 21 Jan 1892 in South Dakota

The son of P.H. Nelson & Guri "Julia" Olson.

About 1900, his mother was remarried to Andrew (Paulson) Jahren and the family was living in Iowa. Research also shows that he had a younger brother Carl Nelson 1898-1967

As his Mother & Step-Father moved to Montana and later California, Emery continued to live in the same household as him, up to at least 1930 where he is listed as a single 38 year old laborer.

Since it seems unlikely that Emery has an descendants of his own at this point, hopefully someone from the family of his brother Carl would treasure this great little photograph.

A Blizzard & A Stay-cation.... What to do?

Here in Southern Minnesota, we've definitely been feeling Winter the last few weeks!

We've had snow and then shockingly (even for us!) cold weather. And now, today, as I write this I can hear the roar of neighboring snow blowers as they clear out from yesterday.... while our Blizzard Warning expired in the night, the temperature is currently -10 and we're in a Wind Chill Advisory until at least later today.

Oh Spring... where for art thou?

Lucky for me, I'm on vacation from work for a couple of weeks... enjoying a "stay-cation" even though I wish I was frolicking on a warm sunny tropical beach somewhere, as I was last February. And yesterday, listening to the howl of the wind I just had no motivation to tackle the dull house chores that piled up all week....

So, what did I do??

First, I did some extensive searches on Ebay to see what genealogical books were out their for both my family surnames and locations of interest! Then I headed over to the New England Historic Genealogical Society where they have a huge listing of Used Books for Sale, as well as the personal genealogy page for Dr. Michael Lacopo (Hoosier Daddy) who has an ever changing list of books for sale from the excess duplicates of his own collection.


Of course I found a number of books that I decided I MUST have! And now I'm eagerly awaiting their arrival, hopefully a few of them get here by next week when we're forecast to receive another huge Winter storm (insert some combination of sobbing/angry emoji here).

In addition to the book hoarding that I engaged in, I also took the opportunity to research a number of different societies & associations that I have interest in joining. Some societies have specific renewal dates (often the first of a new year) and I found quite a few that I want to join and organized them based on renewal dates.

I did join The Rhode Island Genealogical Society, The New Hampshire Society of Genealogists, and The Sandwich Historical Society (Carroll Co, NH) right off the bat, with their easy to join on-line application. And also printed off forms for those that require checks sent via snail mail.

Today, I'm going to putter my way through the rest of the list... I have a few family associations I want to explore and they require more in-depth forms as lineage is required. 

I'm still lingering over coffee this morning... stalling in my snow removal responsibilities, and just enjoying the morning. The sun streaming in the windows is misguiding, but still a nice addition to this frigid day.

Time to refill my coffee and then on to tackle the filling in of some paper applications.

What are you doing this Winter Friday? Perhaps you're a lucky one enjoying warm weather someplace?
What genealogical tasks await you this coming weekend?

TBT- Arthur Blair as a Young Child

Spotlighting photos from my extensive photo archive

This week it is-

Arthur Blair [1891-1962]

First cousin to my Great-Grandmother Laura (Nelson) Maine

Arthur Blair was born 15 June 1891 in Bancroft Township, Freeborn County, Minnesota, the 5th and final child of William Blair & Sarah Nelson. 

Art and his sister Nellie were the only children to live to adulthood, as the oldest 3 children died of illness before reaching 2 years of age. Their mother Sarah was the oldest child of Ole Nelson & Mary Rosetta Grinolds, who were early residents of Freeborn County, Minnesota. After their 1876 elopement, William & Sarah moved throughout Southern Minnesota before eventually settling in Richland County, North Dakota.

He was married to Bess Brown and they would gone on to have 6 children, and continue to live in rural Richland County.

Sadly, Art & his youngest son were involved in an automobile accident on 3 July 1962, his son dying instantly. A hospitalized Art passed away the following day from complications of his injuries.