Illinois Kinfolk Konnection

Hello All;

My name is Carolyn (variously known as IllinoisGray and DawsonDescended) standing in for Wayne while he is vacationing in sunny Cook Co., IL. This Thursday is May 8, 2003 and (as Wayne would say) time to move on to our next contestant, Pam. Andrea, I certainly hope you feel comfortable with our efforts and I trust we offered you new direction.

Our next contestant is Pam (msstory) with "Bowens of Williamson County", followed by Ruth (gramaru) with "Olson", and then Jim (JIP) . The postings for all three are included below. (Folks, please let us know of any updates).

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This week's Brickwall:

Pam--posted on 18 Nov 2002
"My great-grandmother, Alice Bowen Harrison, was born in Herrin, Illinois in 1882. Her parents were Jamie and May Anderson Bowen, according to her death certificate. Supposedly, they were from Ohio, but I believe the Bowens were originally from Wales. I have never found them in census or any other kind of record. I would be very interested in learning something about them."

Pam posted a follow-up on 24 April of this year:
" I would like to find out more about the Harrison Family (or Families) of Herrin, Illinois. I have some information about George H. and Delilah Herrin Harrison, and their son, David Ruffin Harrison. There is another family headed by Charles Harrison, who I believe may be a relative of mine. I have been trying to see if there is a connection between these families, and would also like to know more about them."

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Next week's Brickwall:

Ruth--posted 26 Nov 2002
"Once upon a time, these people magically appeared in Amity twp., Livingston Co., IL: Ole Olson, his wife Julia (Gundla), and their sons John and Lars. They were there just so John could join Co. F of the 33rd IL Infantry in January of 1865, or so it seems. John was mustered out in November of 1865 at the end of the war. They turned invisible again until John surfaced to marry Ann Olson (born in LaSalle Co. in 1850 according to her obit) in 1868 in LaSalle Co. Her parents were (family lore here, no documentation) Andrew and Barbra Olson. (Barbra somehow ended up in Bode, IA, died, and was buried there, but not Andrew, who was probably Andreas/Andres and the Olson part is anybody's guess, as is the spelling of the name.) All these people except Andrew and Barbra (they evaporate completely!) pop up in the 1880 census, still in Livingston Co. By 1899 the group (plus the children of Ann and John--Lars' whereabouts are unknown) has moved to South Dakota, where they start dying off. John's son, Oscar, ended up in IA, married my grandmother, and his sisters married in South Dakota. Andrew, Barbra, Ole, Julia, John and Lars were originally from Norway, I am told, no idea what area nor when they immigrated. Talk about banging one's head on a brick wall! Any information would be wonderful! Thanks for reading. "

A follow-up posted on 25 Nov 2002:
"Thanks for trying on my Norwegian nightmare! I haven't found Ole (born abt 1823 in Norway, died 1899 in South Dakota), Julia (born abt 1816 in Norway, died 1899 in South Dakota), John (born abt 1851 in Norway, died 1913 in South Dakota) and Lars (born abt 1854 in Norway, evaporated after 1880) except in 1880 census so far in IL, except for John's mustering out form and the marriage license and certificate for John and Ann. Supposedly they emigrated sometime between 1854 (when Lars was born in Norway) and 1865 (when John joined the Union army) to Amity township, Livingston County. They all upped and moved in about 1895 to South Dakota to some prime land located near an Indian reservation--just in time for the Battle of Wounded Knee. Great timing from these folks, huh?
Andrew was called "Ole Oleson" in the 1860 census for Rutland Township, LaSalle County, born abt 1830, then disappears, evidently he died, because Barbra/Barbara/Barbro (born abt 1818 in Norway, died 1895 in Bode, Iowa) shows up in the 1860, 1870 and 1880 census for Rutland township as a widow. Their children Ann (born abt 1851 in IL and died 1907 in South Dakota) and Herman/Hermann/Ammond/Amon (born abt 1857, then POOF!!) show up in 1860, and Herman is still living with his mother in 1870 and 1880. Barbra keeps house and Herman is a laborer. In 1870 they live with the Truax family and in 1880 they live with a Merrill family.
If you are interested, there is another quirk in the Norwegian naming patterns. Along with the patronymic of Olson, Larson, etc., there is the farm name in Norway. All the farms have names in Norway, and the name of the farm was used like a surname/address. Therefore, Lars Larson Opheim was: Lars, son of Lars, living at the Opheim farm. Sometimes when they emigrated, each child would take a different surname. I have one family in another line with 6 children who emigrated, each child took a different surname! There were the Olsen's (patronymic), the Knudsliens (the family farm name), the Knutliens (spelled it different just for fun, I think!), the Brodales and Brodalens (they lived at the Brodalen farm just before emigrating), the Kinseths (another close farm). Isn't genealogy fun? There were also those who decided to "Americanize" and then the fun REALLY begins!"

From: gramaru Sent: 11/25/2002 5:15 PM
Here's a hint for anyone searching Norwegian ancestors: The naming patterns were quite strong until about 1890. The first son was usually named after the father's father and the second son after the mother's father (this applied to the girls, as well, being named after paternal grandmother, then maternal grandmother), and so on. Then, if a spouse died and the survivor remarried, the next child of the correct gender was named after them. Also if an aunt, uncle or one of the children died, the next-born child was named for them. You might end up with 4 sons with the same first name--oldest named for paternal grandfather, second named for maternal grandfather, third named for a deceased uncle, and a fourth named for an older son who died in infancy.
By the way, to anyone who thinks their family is hard to find, contemplate this: it seems like every other emigrant took the name "Olson" and many of them were named "Ole". I have TEN "Ole Olsons" in my family tree--some of whom spell the last name Oleson, Olsen, Olesen, Olsenn, Olsønn, and so on!

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Brickwall 2 weeks from now:

From: JIP (Original Message) Sent: 6/22/2002 4:20 PM
Seeking date of b. & d., place of burial of:
Thomas T.Poor, believed to be born in VA abt 1817, went west, KY, MO, & IL. Married Elizabeth Booth on December 5, 1843 in Pike County IL. Resided in Calhoun county, IL (Hamburg District) Children: William A., Napoleon B. Respina (Respiner) - this is my gggrandfather. Thanks - JIP

Update:

From: JIP in response to Message 1 Sent: 7/12/2002 9:42 AM
For those that are NEW MEMBERS since my last posting. I am seeking the birth date, death date and burial place of THOMAS T. POOR, who is my gggrandfather. The only VALID DATA that I have is that he was married to Elizabeth Booth, was married in Pike county, IL and was married on December 5, 1843. He was listed as being 33 years of age in the 1850 census and his wife, Elizabeth was listed as being 35 years of age in the 1850 census. At that time they were living in the Hamburg, Calhoun County, IL area. It has been said that he was born in VA and move west, through KY, then to MO and on to IL. Others say that he was possibly born in Woodford County, KY - No verification on either of these places of birth. He had children by the names of: William A., Napoleon B., and Respina or Respiner. Any information that one could provide me with regarding birth, death and place of burial would be very much appreciated. Thank you - JIP

From: JIP Sent: 11/15/2002 6:02 AM
THANK YOU ONE AND ALL - I did receive the information. Some info I had,
but you have provided additional data that I DID NOT HAVE - This will be
put into my existing files - Little by little, I am certain that I will
get those birth dates and burial places - I know the data is out there
somewhere - some of which may have been destroyed by fire, so I will
continue scratching - Again, thanks folks, you a great group of
helpful individuals. JIP

From: JIP Sent: 1/13/2003 6:42 AM
Thank you for your efforts in my behalf.
JIP (Jim)

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Missing you Wayne. How do you do this every week? I have a new found appreciation for all that you do!

Carolyn formerly IllinoisGray aka Dawson Descended

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Illinois Kinfolk Konnection	[email protected]