In Grandma’s Kitchen

The phrase “Invite to Dinner” (52 ancestors theme) invokes so many memories of the many meals in Grandma’s Kitchen. She was always having a picnic or planning a family reunion and the holidays were filled with many wonderful flavors and sweet treats. So I pulled out a well-used cookbook printed by the Ladies Aid of the Martintown Church looking for some of the recipes by my grandmother, Martha Hanson. The recipes lack a lot of details such as this recipe that is wonderful with the summer lettuce from the garden.

Sweet and Sour Dressing

• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup vinegar
• 2 very well beaten eggs
• Butter the size of a walnut

Cook in saucepan until thickened. Chill.

By the way “butter the size of a walnut” is about 2 tablespoons. A “hen’s egg of butter” is about 3-4 tablespoons. And if you come across a recipe listing “sweet milk” it is whole milk distinguishing it from “buttermilk”.

This recipe for “Chocolate Chip Custard Pie” reminded me that my grandmother did not have the luxury of instant puddings, chocolate chips in a bag or frozen whipped topping. And as a farm wife she used what they raised and grew.

Chocolate Chip Custard Pie

• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• ½ c. semi-sweetened chocolate, chipped
• 4 egg whites
• ½ c. sugar
• 2 c. milk, scalded
• ¼ t. cream tartar
• 1 T. gelatin
• ½ c. sugar
• ¼ c. cold water
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 graham cracker crust

Beat egg yolks, add sugar and milk. Cook in double boiler until thick. Add gelatin softened in water. Add vanilla. Cool. Add the chipped chocolate. Add cream of tartar to egg whites and beat stiff. Add the ½ c sugar and spread over mixture. Chill 1 hour

If you try this recipe remember the listing of ingredients does not follow the order used in the recipe. And I am sure the graham cracker crust wasn’t purchased.

In the cookbook was also a recipe by my grandmother for “Raised Doughnuts” which shows there was no concern for things like “low fat” or “watching cholesterol numbers”.

Raised Doughnuts

1 ¼ c. milk, scalded and cooled. Take out ¼ c. and add 1 cake fresh yeast and 1 t. sugar. To rest of milk add 1/2 scant c. butter or other shortening, ½ cup sugar. Stir and add yeast, then add 4 c. sifted flour, 1 t. salt, 2 beaten eggs, beat until ball or loaf. Let rise 1 hour or until light. Roll, cut and let rise again until light. Fry in deep fat. These are not tough.

That last line “These are not tough”, did it mean they were not a tough doughnut or that they were not tough to make?? When it came to cooking I don’t believe anything was too tough for my grandmother to make.

My Grandmother, Martha Hanson, in her kitchen.

Every year on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day my grandpa looked forward to my grandmother’s oyster stew. As kids we were not so excited and grandpa liked to gross us out by picking out the oysters and eating them whole. Me….I sipped on the soup and left the oysters behind but I remember how delighted my grandpa was at enjoying the soup and teasing us kids! There was never a dull moment in grandma’s kitchen!

Grandma’s kitchen was in the family for three generations but there is nothing like the memories of working with my grandmother as a child in her kitchen.

The Bruehlmann Family Start a New Life

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks has started for 2018 and the writing prompt for the first week is “Start”. As I considered what ancestor I would write about I thought of my husband’s grandparents and mother and their start in a new country.

Johann Thomas Hefty was the son of a Swiss immigrant who became a farmer in Green County, Wisconsin. Johann became the owner of the Hefty property after buying out his three brothers’ shares. He was influential in welcoming and sponsoring families to America. Johann sponsored my husband’s grandfather, Gustave Bruehlmann, in March of 1906 and he came to the Hefty farm to live and work. Sometime between 1906 and 1910 Gustave returned to Switzerland. On a 1910 passenger list he is stamped as a non immigrant alien and listed as returning home to Monticello, Wisconsin.

In a biography of Mrs. G. Bruehlmann-Bauman it says Gustave returned to Switzerland in 1919 for five years. On December 1, 1924 Gustave married Klara Marie Baumann in the Holy Cross Church in Heudorf, St. Gallen. They lived on a farm and on August 9, 1925 their daughter, Klara, was born. With the hopes of a better life, they sold the farm and made the journey to America. But this time the journey would be through Canada. They arrived in Montreal, Canada on May 31, 1926 sponsored by friend, Max Baumel, who had been in Canada for 10 years. They settled in Magog, Quebec which is about 75 miles east of Montreal. Their second daughter, Etta (Dennis’ mother), was born August 24, 1926. She says she’s part of three countries, “conceived in Switzerland, born in Canada and naturalized in America.”

On July 18, 1927 the Bruehlman family returned to the Hefty farm via Detroit. This time Johann’s son, Fred Hefty, sponsored the family and the “hired-man’s” house pictured below was their home until 1932 when they moved to Argyle, Wisconsin. Four more children were born while living on the Hefty farm.

Photo courtesy of Linda Schiesser

But their start in a new country was not easy. They could not foresee what would lie ahead raising a family during the depression years in a new country with a strange language. Their oldest daughter, Klara, became ill and would die on February 9, 1935. In September of 1936, their 6 year old son, John, would contract polio. One day he had a terrible headache and fussed and cried and the next morning he was paralyzed with infantile paralysis.

While looking through Klara Bruehlman’s Bible I found a piece of paper written in the Swiss/German language with “Testamony” written at the top. I could make out that she was writing about her faith in Jesus Christ. With some help from someone who could read the language the essence of her story was that she was experiencing health problems and pain. She had six little kids, no money and nobody to talk with so she wanted to end her life because of the pain. She found relief through faith in God and a Bible verse that encouraged her was, “Earth has no pain that God can’t handle.” God healed the pain, except for the bad teeth. “I don’t complain anymore.”

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Jana Duval Crandall, “Swiss and proud of it,” The Monroe (Wisconsin) Times, 1 June 2016, sect. A, p. 3, col. 5-6.

Manifest, La Lorraine, 11 March 1906, List 1, p. 5, for Mr. Gustave Bruhlmann (age 23 years, 8 months), digital images, New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 (https://ancestry.com: accessed 14 July 2015).

Manifest, Kroonland, 29 March 1910, List 2, p. 6, for Gustav Bruhlman (age 27 years, 9 months), digital images, New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 (https://ancestry.com: accessed 22 May 2011).

Manifest, Muenchen, 31 May 1926, sheet 1, vol. 6, p. 175, for Gustav Bruehlmann (age 44), digital images, Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 (https://ancestry.com: accessed 22 July 2015).

Manifest, Port of Montreal, Canada, 18 July 1927, for Gustav Bruhlmann (age 45), digital images, Vermont, St. Albans Canadian Border Crossings, 1895-1924 (https://familysearch.com: accessed 19 July 2015).

Klara Bruehlman, “Biography of Mrs. G. Bruehlmann-Baumann,” date unknown; privately held by Ida Gerber, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Monroe, Wisconsin, 2018. Ida is the daughter of Klara Bruehlmann.

Karen Bogenschneider, “The Day We Opened Grandma’s Trunk,” 10 February 1984; privately held by Ida Gerber, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Monroe, Wisconsin, 2018. Karen Bogenschneider is a granddaughter of Klara Bruehlman.

Klara Bruehlman, “Testamony,” date unknown; privately held by Ida Gerber, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Monroe, Wisconsin, 2018. Ida is the daughter of Klara Bruehlmann and owns the Bible of Klara Bruehlman in which the testimony, written on a piece of paper in the Swiss language, was found. The paper was examined by someone with knowledge of the Swiss language and the essence of the testimony was translated.

Thankful for a Fireman Nearby-Maybe

Nellie Trotter was born Ellen Agnes O’Rourke, the daughter of Charles & Dora (Pinkham) O’Rourke, in Jordan Township, Green County, Wisconsin on 12 January 1896. She married Ray Trotter on 14 November 1914. Ray, born 22 August 1888 in Jordan Township, was the son of William & Calista (Sawin) Trotter and he was a second great uncle of my husband. Nellie was most remembered for owning the Argyle Hotel in Argyle, WI in Lafayette County. The hotel was razed in 1970 and the Norseman Supper Club was built on the location. But my curiosity about Nellie was piqued when a fellow genealogist who grew up in Argyle, “raised her eyebrows” and said she remembered Nellie. As a young girl she recalled Nellie leaning against one of the buildings with her arms crossed watching the people activity on the main street of Argyle. It wasn’t an “I’d like to chat with you today” leaning but a “Don’t bother me, I’m watching you” attitude of leaning. What was the story of “Nellie Trotter?”

Nellie and Ray farmed for several years but sometime in the 1930’s they purchased a tavern in Argyle. The first indication of trouble I discovered was a news article concerning Ray’s arrest for having a slot machine in his tavern. A raid took place on 11 March 1936 and the slot machine was seized. Sometime in the early 1940’s Ray left the tavern business and went to Beloit to work at the Fairbanks-Morse Co until he retired. I don’t know when the hotel was purchased but Nellie operated it until Ray’s death in 1965. Their story begins to create a lot of questions. Were they separated? Did Ray help with running the hotel? According to Ray’s obituary he lived in Beloit for about the last 25 years. In one of Ray’s obituary it doesn’t even mention Nellie as his wife. Ray died 22 February 1965.

Then there is the news article about the fire at Nellie’s house. It’s Thanksgiving Day 1962. Peter Kurth, a volunteer fireman, set a fire in Nellie’s house. He was intoxicated at the time. He even helps the firemen extinguish the fire. That may have been a cover up because after he was arrested he admitted to starting the fire. Thankfully there was only minor damage and she didn’t lose her home. But more questions. Why would someone want to set her house on fire? What was their relationship? Was he angry with her for some reason? The news article said it was Nellie’s residence not Ray & Nellie’s. I asked my friend if she knew or ever saw Ray around Argyle while she was growing up. She had no recollection of Ray.

Nellie died 12 July 1983. Her obituary is a glowing summary of their years together of farming and owning the hotel in Argyle. There is no mention of Ray living and working in Beloit, only their joint venture at owning a hotel. But that’s as it should be…..being thankful and remembering the best of our days. And Nellie is best remembered as the owner of the Argyle Hotel.

Argyle Hotel

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“Seize Slot Machine At Tavern In Argyle,” Morning Star (Rockford, Illinois), electronic newspaper, archived, (http://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 22 November 2015), p.2, col. 2.

“Volunteer Admits He Set Blaze,” Morning Star (Rockford, Illinois), electronic newspaper, archived, (http://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 22 November 2015), p. 3, col. 6.

Ray Trotter Obituary from “Trotter Family History”, December 1997; Updated February 2004

“Ray Trotter Dies, Rites On Thursday,” Morning Star (Rockford, Illinois), electronic newspaper, archived, (http://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 22 November 2015), p. 4, col. 7.

“Nellie Trotter,” Monroe Evening Times, 13 July 1983; Green County Genealogical Society, Monroe WI (accessed 7 November 2015), vol: 1983 Obituaries, “T”.

Dillon, Dennis G, “Second to None, A History of Argyle, Wisconsin, 1844-1990”, (Mt Vernon, IN: Windmill Publications, Inc/Lafayette County Historical Society, 1994), p 127; digital images, Green County Genealogical Society; Monroe, Wisconsin (accessed 24 November 2015).

The Orphan Sisters

The 1900 census of William and Calista Trotter (My husband’s 2nd great grandparents) listed their granddaughter, Alice Thompson, as living with them. I decided to investigate why she was living with them and discovered the two orphaned sisters, Alice and Wilma Thompson. I have attempted to put their story together from census, school and marriage records. I still have several questions but Trotter researchers before me didn’t find those answers either.

Alice Bell Trotter was the oldest child of William and Calista Trotter born on 23 Aug 1863. She lived with her parents in Jordan Township, Green County, Wisconsin until her marriage to Charles Bradford Thompson in 1885. Charles was born on 21 July 1855 to Alden and Mary Thompson in York Township, Green County, Wisconsin. In 1870 his family was living in Jordan Township and it was probably during the years from 1870-1880 that the family had a relationship with the Trotter family. By 1880 the Thompson family moved to Hamilton County, Nebraska. But I believe Charles may have already had his eyes on Alice Trotter but because Alice was only 16 years or younger (Charles was 8 years older than Alice) when the family moved to Nebraska he moved with them to Nebraska to help his father with the farm. Charles returned to Green County to marry his sweetheart, Alice, on 20 Sep 1885.

Charles and Alice settled in Edgar, Clay County, Nebraska. Their first daughter, Wilma Irene was born on 11 July 1886 and their second daughter, Alice Charlene, was born 16 Apr 1894. Then tragedy strikes the family. Charles dies on 9 Jun 1894 and he is buried in the Edgar Cemetery. Then Alice dies on 12 Dec 1894 and she is buried in the Lewis Cemetery in Green County, Wisconsin. I have not been able to find any record of what happened. Was there an accident or did disease cause their deaths? It looks like after Charles death that Alice and the children were brought back to Wisconsin, possibly to be cared for by her family. When Alice died she left two orphaned daughters, Wilma, 8 years old and Alice, 9 months old.

Wilma Thompson

In the 1900 census Wilma, now 13, is living with her aunt and uncle, Henry and Ada McDaniel in Oneco, Stephenson County, Illinois. Oneco is south of Green County across the Illinois-Wisconsin border. Ada McDaniel was Alice Bell Trotter’s sister. Alice, age 6, was living with her grandparents, William and Calista Trotter. Over the next 10 years many changes take place and I can only put pieces together and guess at the reasons why.

In 1901 Alden and Mary Thompson (Wilma and Alice’s paternal grandparents) move from Nebraska to Kalispell, Montana. This may be related to the reason that Wilma is attending Central School in Kalispell, Montana in 1904. She is now about 17and in the 8th grade. Also some time before 1910 Henry and Ada McDaniel moved to Pawnee, Kansas. Did this effect Wilma’s decision to move to Montana with the family of her paternal grandparents? Wilma’s grandfather, Alden Thompson, dies on 4 Feb 1905. Wilma marries Alexander Reid in Kalispell, Montana on 17 May 1905.

In 1910 Alice, age 16, is living with her aunt and uncle, Franklin and Martha Thompson, in Edgar, Clay County, Nebraska. Franklin was a brother to Charles Thompson, Alice’s father.  What were the reasons for the move? Were William and Calista getting to old to care for her or was it an invitation and a desire to be with her father’s family?  Alice Thompson marries Clair Stout Vorhees on 30 Oct 1914 in Edgar, Nebraska.

Wilma and Alec Reid had 10 children. They lived in Montana following their marriage, Washington in 1920, Idaho in 1924 and Joplin, Montana in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Wilma Irene Reid died 6 Dec 1963 in Phoenix, Arizona at the age of 77.

Alice and Clair Vorhees had 4 children. They lived in Nebraska until between 1935 and 1940. Sometime prior to 1940 they moved to Stanislaus County, California. They moved around between Ceres, Modesto and Monterey. Alice Charlene Vorhees died 27 Oct 1985 at the age of 91 in Turlock, Stanislaus County, California.

It appears the two orphan sisters were separated after the death of their parents. They may have had contact in their younger years while living in Wisconsin but were soon separated by the ages of 10 and 17 living in different states. It looks like they did not live close enough to have much contact while raising their families. I wonder if they had enough of a relationship to write each other over the years or if the loss of their parents produced a loss of a sister relationship.

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Wilma Thompson photograph, Ancestry Family Trees, 8 April 2014, Russell Violett/Violett family tree, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 15 September 2015); Portrait of Wilma Thompson as a young girl.

William Trotter – the Fiddle Player

The theme this week is “musical”. I have no musical talent and the closest I came to carrying a tune was as a teenager I carried my transistor radio with me. Even though my children and grandchildren have inherited the musical genes from their ancestors, I hadn’t given much thought to who those ancestors could be. So I began looking for the musical ancestor.

The only musical story I have been able to find has been for Dennis’ 2^nd great grandfather William Trotter and Andrew Laubaugh (who is a possible shared ancestor). Browntown, Wisconsin held a July 4^th celebration in 1896 and William played the fiddle and Andrew, the organ. At 57, William (also known as “Skinner Bill”) was considered one of the old timers.

Beyond this story I don’t know too much about his music playing, but I suspect that if he played the fiddle well he probably played it often for family and other events. William was a farmer and a United Brethren minister. Would he have played some hymns on the fiddle along with his preaching?

William was the son of John Trotter and Isabelle Brazel born on 5 October 1839. His father died when he was about a year old. His mother raised him and his sister and two brothers in Jordan Township of Green County, Wisconsin. William lived with his mother, caring for her, until she died in 1869. William married Calista Sawin on 24 November 1862. They had eleven children. William died at his home in Woodford, Wisconsin at the age of 73 years, 3 months, and 18 days on 16 March 1913. I wish I could have heard William play that fiddle.

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Centennial Committee and the people of Browntown, Cadiz and Jordan, Our Part of America, Browntown, Cadiz, Jordan, 1890-1990, Compiled and edited by Ruth Pintar, 1990: page 60.

Homesteads

910 Highland Ave, Beloit, WI

My mom, Carol Baars, grew up in Beloit, WI and lived at 910 Highland Ave until she married my Dad, Franklyn Hanson within a month of her high school graduation. He was still in the service when they married on 24 June 1949. After a honeymoon in Chicago he returned to Fort Lewis, WA and my mom returned to home until my dad was discharged from the service on 27 December 1949.

1501 ½ Liberty Ave, Beloit, WI

According to Frank & Carol Hanson’s 1949 state and federal income tax returns their first home together was an apartment at 1501 ½ Liberty Ave, Beloit, WI. Within a year they had moved to Janesville, WI. He worked for General Motors Corporation for the next 4-5 years until he decided to go into farming.

N511 County M between Browntown and Martintown, WI

Greater Green County Pictorial Atlas 1954

My grandfather’s farm remained in the family for three generations. Art and Martha Hanson purchased the farm for $19,000 in March 1948. In March 1968 my parents purchased the farm for $31,000. My brother, Robert Hanson, purchased the farm in January 1996 for $100,000. All are a fraction of what farms sell for now!

I have lots of memories from that farm which bordered the Pecatonica River and sat on the sharp, accident prone corner of County M. My grandmother loved family reunions and grandchildren, therefore we spent a lot of time together with cousins at the farm. We learned such things as how to pick & clean strawberries, gather and wash eggs for selling and how to rub the popcorn off the cob after it had dried. I’m sure she swept a lot of kernels off the floor when we were done. Grandma had a flower garden that was the envy of everyone and driving by you were able to enjoy it because of the necessity of slowing down for the sharp curve around the farm (take note of curve in picture above). Next to the flower garden stood an apple tree that produced apples for three farm generations.

In the kitchen was a sofa/fold-down daybed with a large aerial picture of the farm hanging above it. It was the place to listen to the radio with the morning local and farm news, to rest from farm labor, to take afternoon naps and to pose for many family and cousin photos. The upstairs of the house was the “cousin” haven – the place we slept and played together. At the top of the stairs on the landing stood a wardrobe for three generations. When my brother sold the farm that wardrobe found a home in my living room – a nostalgic reminder of my childhood days at grandma and grandpa’s farm.

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Greater Green County Pictorial Atlas (p. 123). (1954). Chicago, Illinois: Loree.

June Wedding of William Baars and Caroline Tews

William and Caroline Tews are my grandparents, but I never had the opportunity to know them. Caroline died at the age of 55 when my mom was 10 and William died at 67 when I was 1.

They were married on June 19, 1907 in Beloit, WI at the St Paul Lutheran Church. According to the records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America the witnesses to their marriage were Caroline’s sister, Louise and William’s brother, Arthur.

Since both were raised on farms in the rural Beloit and Rockton, IL areas I imagine a simple wedding. The wedding dresses of that period had the high collar, lace bodice, and pouf sleeves. It was probably not an elaborate dress but may have had rows of ribbon around the bottom of the skirt. Her hair would have been atop her head. She would have been a beautiful bride. I have no pictures so my imagination will have to suffice.

Caroline’s nickname was “Carrie”. I have an engraved pocket watch with her name “Carrie I. Tews” 1902. William was listed as “Willie” on the 1900 federal census and the 1905 state census. After that he is always listed as William on records. He was distinguished from his father, William, by being listed in records as William G or Wm G or Wm H G Baars. The “G” was for George and the “H” is a mystery. William worked as a moulder at the Beloit Ironworks (foundry).

Events of 1907 when William and Carrie were married:

• Theodore Roosevelt was president
• The Chicago Cubs Win the World Series
• William and Carrie could go to a movie for a nickel
• Life became a little easier for housewives with the introduction of the electric washing machine
• The Scott Paper Co, which was already producing toilet paper, created the paper towel called Sani-Towel
• Mother’s Day was created
• Industrial capitalism was on the rise in 1907 and jobs were plentiful until . . . .
• Panic of 1907: Stocks started to tumble on Oct 15 and by the end of the month there was a run on the banks. This lasted for several months.

William George Baars (1884-1951)            Caroline Ida Tews (1885-1941)

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“Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Records,” database and digital images, ancestry.org (http://www.ancestry.org : accessed 14 June 2015), search for William Baars, marriage: 19 June 1907, p 151, image 135, Chicago, Illinois: Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

Editors of Publications International, Ltd, “11 Highlights of 1907,” electronic edition, history.howstuffworks.com (http://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/11-highlights-of-1907.htm#page=11: accessed 11 June 2015).

Center for History and Economics of Harvard University, “1907 Timeline,” electronic edition, fas.harvard.edu (http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~histecon/crisis-next/1907/timeline.html: accessed 11 June 2015).

Alchin, Linda, “Panic of 1907,” electronic edition, American-historama (http://www.american-historama.org/1881-1913-maturation-era/panic-of-1907.htm: accessed 11 June 2015).

Mikkel Hansen to Michael Hanson

The challenge of the Norwegian patronymic naming system can be daunting. The use of a fixed family surname did not become a law until 1923, although the change to the use of fixed family name had begun earlier. So under this system sons of Hans were called “Hanson” while the daughters would have been called “Hansdatter”. You can imagine how many Mikkel “son of Hans” Hansen may have lived in an area. They would further identify themselves with the name of the farm they were living on. It wasn’t actually part of their name but it was used as an identifier. So Mikkel Hansen may be recorded as Mikkel Hansen Moe (Mikkel “son of Hans” residing on the farm of “Moe”) If they moved to another farm the name would change. I have found farm names related to my Mikkel Hansen as Moe, Quværnen, Toverud and Klaeggerud. His father lived on the farm Quværnen and his wife’s family lived on the farm Moe and I haven’t discovered any records to verify the Toverud or Klaeggerudfarms. Also you may have noticed in the spelling of Quværnen that the Norwegian language has some additional letters that are not in the English language. In spite of these challenges I have been able to find information about my 3rd great grandparents who migrated from Norway in 1852.

On Mikkel’s baptism record his name is spelled Michel Hanson and his parents were Hans Andersen & Maren Andersdtr. He was born on 24 March 1812 and baptized on 27 March 1812 in Gran, Oppland, Norway. It is quite common to find variations in the spelling of name. On his marriage record his name is Mikkel Hanson residing at Moe. On 31 March 1838 he marries Johannes Mikkelsdatter. Her parents are Mikkel Svendsen and Sigrid Cleaphasdatter. I do not know for sure where they resided after marriage but I suspect it may have been on her parents farm since his residence was listed as Moe on the marriage record which was also the residence of Johannes’ father on the marriage record. The birth of 5 children followed from 1839 to 1848 – Maren Sophia (my 2nd great grandmother), twins, Mikkel and Hans, Anders and Johannes. By this time in Norway’s history the opportunity to own land had become difficult which gave rise to the emigration movement to America. So Mikkel and Johannes made the decision to take their family to America with the hope of owning land. They emigrated in 1852 along with Johannes’ sister Anne and her husband Abraham Johannessen (Johnson) and family. Johannes’ father also emigrated in 1852.

I have not found any passenger lists or know what ship they sailed on. But I have a friend whose Norwegian ancestors also emigrated at the same time. With the sharing of our records there is a strong possibility they actually emigrated together. She is making a trip to Norway this summer and we are both excited to discover if this is actually true and what information she will uncover.

In 1854 Mikkel’s (name now Michael) dream of owning land came to pass when he purchased 80 acres in Wiota Township, Lafayette County, Wisconsin. Here they raised their family and spent the rest of their lives. Michael died on 20 June 1882 and Johanne died on 1 March 1888. For a young Norwegian family the dream “to prosper” was a dream fulfilled in America with the owning of land.

Virginia Hanson

Franklyn Hanson (1925-2008)

Arthur Hanson Sr (1899-1982)

Oscar Hanson (1876 – 1956)

Ole Hanson (1830-1912)/Maren Sophia Michaelson (1839-1907)

MIKKEL HANSEN (1812-1882)

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John Føllesdal “Norwegian naming practices,” The Basics of Norwegian Genealogy Research; electronic edition, RootsWeb.Ancestry.com (http:// http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~norway/na12.html: accessed 11 May 2015).

“Norway, Baptisms, 1634-1927,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NW1K-BP2 : accessed 6 May 2015), Michel Hansen, 24 Mar 1812; citing ; FHL microfilm 125,461.

Hadeland Lag of America. “August 2007 – Emigrant Searching 22.” PDF File. The Brua Newsletter, August 2007, p. 5-6. http://www.hadelandlag.org/history/Brua/yridx/200700.htm: Accessed 5 May 2015.

Michael Hanson patent, 2 October 1854, Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States, Springfield, Virginia; digital images, “U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 for Michael Hanson,” Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com: accessed 6 May 2015).

Alexander Adair Served in a Different Regiment

Ezra, Charles and Alexander Adair were brothers of and my husband’s and my 2^nd great grandmother, Irene Adair Poff. Ezra and Charles served in the Civil War in the same company, the 5^th Independent Battery, Wisconsin Light Artillery while Alexander served in the 18^th Regiment Infantry, Company B.

Alexander was born 18 April 1844 in Kent County, West Canada (Ontario) to John Adair and Nancy (Martha) Simpkins. They immigrated to Green County, Wisconsin sometime after 1851 and before 1855 and they settled on a farm in Jordan Township. On 16 November 1861 Alexander enlisted to serve in the Civil War, about 2 months after his brothers had enlisted. His regiment left Milwaukee, WI on 30 March 1862. He fought in the Battle of Shiloh and the siege of Corinth, Mississippi. During July and August he did duty in Bolivar, Tennessee. During this time he developed lung disease and mustered out on 18 September 1862. This may have been pneumonia which was a common and serious ailment amongst the soldiers. But Alexander’s Civil War story does not end here.

In my research I found that an Alexander Adair from Monroe, Green County, Wisconsin had enlisted on 7 November 1862 with the 31^st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, Company G. This would have been about 6 weeks after he had mustered out of the 18^th Infantry Regiment. I had a difficult time connecting this record to my Alexander Adair but felt that it was unlikely that there were two Alexander Adairs from Monroe, WI. It didn’t make sense that all his records referred to his service in the 18^th Infantry Regiment and never to the 31^st Infantry Regiment until I had found an image of the roster for the 31^st Infantry. Alexander Adair is listed as mustered out on 23 January 1863 because he deserted. He probably did not want that part of his service remembered. I can only speculate what may have happened. Was he pressured to re-enlist after his health improved? Did he fear going back into battle? Was there a family need or emergency back home? I will never know this part of the story.

After the war Alexander remained in the Green County area marrying Geraldine Osgood on 4 July 1871. By 1880 they settled in Lafayette County (one county west of Green) in the South Wayne area. He worked as a farmer and a carpenter. His wife died on 16 June 1892. They had 11 children, which I have been unable to sort out or find all of them. The names were very similar and misspelled often on census records. Alexander Adair died on 15 April 1922 and is buried in the Hoffman Cemetery near South Wayne, Wisconsin.

In researching these three brothers, I have learned about their service in the Civil War and about the war itself. I have gained an appreciation for the service of all the men who fought on both sides in a very difficult, brutal war. And many did not come home.

When Johnny comes marching home, Hurrah, Hurrah,

We’ll give him a hearty welcome then, Hurrah, Hurrah,

The men will cheer, the boys will shout,

The ladies, they will all turn out,

And we’ll all feel gay,

When Johnny comes marching home.

 

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1. Year: 1851; Census Place: Howard, Kent County, Canada West (Ontario); Schedule: A; Roll: C_11729; Page: 49; Line: 45
2. 1860 U.S. census, Green County, Wisconsin, population schedule, Jordan, p. 267 (penned) , dwelling 146, family 97, Alexander Adair: digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 13 March 2015); from National Archives microfilm publication M653, roll 1438, image 276.
3. 1861-1865 Roster of Wisconsin volunteers, War of the Rebellion, Section: Vol. II. Eighteenth Regiment Infantry, p. 87 Alexander Adair: digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 29 March 2015
4. “18th Regiment Infantry, Union Regimental Histories, Wisconsin” (Wisconsin), electronic article, Civil War History (http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/unwiinf2.htm#18thinf: accessed 1 Apr 2015).
5. Adjutant-General’s Office. Roster of Wisconsin volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 (Madison, 1886). Digital image; Roster for 31st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, Company G, pg 459. Online facsimile at http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/u?/tp,35928
6. Wisconsin, Marriages, 1820-1907, database, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com: accessed 29 November 2013), entry for Alexander Adair.
7. 1880 U.S. census, Green County, Wisconsin, population schedule, Jordan, enumeration district 139, p. 117C (stamped), dwelling 92, family 96, Alexander Adair: digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 30 March 2015); from national Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 1454
8. Find A Grave.com, digital record, Find A Grave (http://www.findagrave.com: accessed 29 November 2013), memorial for Geraldine Adair, Find A Grave Memorial #102112056, South Wayne, Lafayette, Wisconsin.
9. Find A Grave.com, digital record, Find A Grave (http://www.findagrave.com: accessed 29 November 2013), memorial for Alexander Adair, Find A Grave Memorial #102112054, South Wayne, Lafayette, Wisconsin.
10. Alexander Adair obituary, Monroe, Wisconsin, Monroe Evening Times, 15 April 1922; Green County Genealogical Society.

Charles Adair Served in the Same Battery as His Brother

Charles Adair, son of John Adair and Nancy (Martha) Simpkins enlisted in the 5th Battery of Wisconsin Independent Light Artillery with his brother, Ezra. The Civil War came in August 1861 and Charles enlisted on 19 September 1861, two days after his brother had enlisted.

During the first week in April 1862 they faced their first battle at Island #10, a confederate stronghold in the Mississippi River that cut off Union movement on the river. Their artillery had not yet arrived so in preparation for battle they built earthworks for gun positions and maintained camp life. Hard work, boredom and disease was faced as the battle raged in the distance. Their captain, Oscar F Pinney, wrote home “I can hear a cannon every half minute and that shake the ground where we are”.¹

They moved on to Pittsburg Landing to support the union troops following the Battle at Shiloh. From May to August the 5th Battery supported troop movements in Tennessee and Mississippi and faced weeks of diarrhea from contaminated water supplies and poor sanitation.² In October the 5th Battery found themselves in a position at the extreme front in the Battle of Perryville (Chaplin Hills). Captain Pinney would order his men to lie down during the fight which certainly saved lives. The canons became so hot that a cease fire had to be ordered but they saved McCooks Corps from being destroyed.¹

By mid-November, the campaigns in Kentucky and Tennessee were winding down and the 5th Battery went into winter camp near Nashville. They had been assigned to General William S. Rosecrans’ Army of the Cumberland. On a rare winter assault they moved out with 47,000 troops to drive the Confederate army from the Murfreesboro, Tennessee area. On December 31 they engaged in furious combat near Stones River. So many artillery horses were killed that men were pressed into service to move five of the battery’s six guns. The battle raged for three days.²

Battle of Stones River (Murfreesboro, TN) – Library of Congress

War changes things fast. Captain Pinney was wounded at Stones River and later died. Private Charles Adair was killed in battle at Stones River. His brother, Ezra, would go on without him to start the march known as “Sherman’s March to the Sea”

Charles Adair was born in Canada about 1842-43. His family had settled in Jordan Township, Green County, Wisconsin by 1855. He died at the Battle of Stones River on 31 December 1862.

 

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1. Roth, Nathan. “Farm Boys Artillery Men” (Monroe, Wisconsin: New Life Press, 1997); Green County Genealogical Society, pg 12-26.
2. Figi, Matt. “Oscar F. Pinney, Citizen Soldier.” Bugles, Bayonets & Beyond: Green County and the Civil War. Ed Tom Howe. Spring 2015, pg 39-42.
3. Year: 1851; Census Place: Howard, Kent County, Canada West (Ontario); Schedule: A; Roll: C_11729; Page: 49; Line: 43
4. 1860 U.S. census, Green County, Wisconsin, population schedule, Jordan, p. 267 (penned) , dwelling 146, family 97, Ezra Adair: digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 13 March 2015); from National Archives microfilm publication M653, roll
5. 1861-1865 US Civil War Soldiers, database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 March 2015); entry for Charles Adair, State served: Wisconsin; Regiment: 5th Independent Battery, Wisconsin Light Artillery; Enlistment Date: 19 September 1861; Discharge Date: 31 December 1862; compilation of records.
6. 1861-1865 Registers of Deaths of Volunteers, p. 6, entry for Charles Adair: digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 March 2015); National Archives, record group 94
7. “The battle of Stone River or Murfreesboro,” Library of Congress, digital images, loc.gov (http://loc.gov: accessed 19 March 2015).