52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 4 "Education"

Esther Louise Johnson in about 1920

 On the 1940 US Census, they asked for each person's Highest Grade of School Completed. For my maternal grandmother, Esther Louise (Johnson) Ogden (1902-1984) the entry is "H3" meaning that she only completed three years of high school. You might wonder why she did not finish high school with only one year to go. Luckily I don't have to wonder because my mother shared her mother's story with me.

In the summer of 1920, after Esther's junior year of high school in Gordon, Sheridan County, Nebraska, her parents, Swedish immigrant Gustav Johnson (1867-1941) and Rosabell (Strayer) Johnson (1872-1955), decided to move their family from Gordon to Henning, Otter Tail County, Minnesota. When my grandmother went to register for high school in Henning, she was told that she would have to complete two years of high school there rather than just the one. Something about a difference in education standards between where she came from and Henning. My grandmother said nuts to that and never enrolled in her new high school.

Several years later she went back to Sheridan County to visit her cousins. A young man there named Emery Ogden was dating one of her cousins. After meeting Esther and getting to know her, he dropped the cousin and began courting Esther. There were married in Rushville, Sheridan County, Nebraska on 19 March 1929. 

Their first daughter Ardis Rosemary Ogden was born in Sheridan County on 20 September 1930. She died only two days later. My grandmother was so frightened by that experience that when it came time for my mom, Shirley Ann Ogden (1931-2014) to be born, Esther went to back to Henning to be with her mother for the birth. That is why my mother was born in Minnesota and not Nebraska where her parents were living. 

Latest 1940 US Census Find

I finally found the last of the five ancestral households I wanted to find. I spent most of last night looking through MN ED 56-46 (HENNING VILLAGE) for my Johnson great-grandparents. Lots of Johnson families in Henning, but I could not find Gust and Rose, my Johnson ancestors. They were in MN ED 56-45 in 1930 and according to the Morse and Weintraub Unified 1940 Census ED Finder, they should have been where I was looking.

Tonight I decided to try looking in MN ED 56-45 (HENNING TWP. EXCLUDING HENNING VILLAGE). Guess who was the first household listed on page 1?

That wasn't so hard, was it? I just hope it's that easy to figure out why I can't find my wife's father or his parents on Roselle St. in Oak Park, IL.

More 1940 US Census Finds

I found my mother's family. They have a page all to themselves in Shannon Co., SD, ED 57-2.

And here in Mission, Todd Co., SD ED 61-,1, is my great-grandfather, William F. Ogden with his second wife. Nearby is a Charbonneau family which may be his in-laws. I also found his daughter Ethel with her husband John Kilber. These are my mom's Aunt Ethel and Uncle John.

That's four out of the five households I wanted to find. I've been through Henning, Otter Tail Co., MN several times looking for my last set of great-grandparents. I've found over a dozen Johnson families in this smal town, but not my Gust and Rose. I guess it's time to look into other EDs near Henning.

Census Sunday: 1940 US Census

I've identified the eleven ancestors that I want to look up on Tuesday.
2. Joseph A. Huigens, Jr
3. Shirley A, Ogden
4. Joseph A. Huigens
5. Julia Huigens
6. Emery J. Ogden
7. Esther L. Ogden
8. John Huigens
9. Mary Huigens
12. William F. Ogden
14. Gustaf A. Johnson
15. Rose Johnson

That's a lot of people. More than I thought I'd find. My dad's other grandparents died in the early 1930's. My mom's grandmother died in 1938.

Fortunately I can reduce this to five households.
1. Joseph A., Julia and Joseph A. Huigens
2. Emery J., Esther L. and Shirley A. Ogden
3. John and Mary Huigens
4. William F. Ogden
5. Gustaf A. and Rose Johnson

Next comes determining where they lived in 1940 and then the Enumeration District (ED). For four of these households, this is a piece of cake. They lived in the same place they did in 1930. So all I have to do is find the ED for 1930 and use Stephen Morse and Joel Weintraub's 1940 ED Finder to convert them. Here's the results.

1. Joe and Julia Huigens family in Sheridan CO., NE 1930: 81-27 1940: 81-7, 81-12, 81-18, 81-26
2. Emery and Esther Ogden family near Pine Ridge, Shannon Co., SD
3. John and Mary Huigens in Creighton, NE 1930: 54-6 1940: 54-6
4. William Ogden in Mission, SD 1930: 61-40 1940: 61-1, 61-26
5. Gust and Rose Johnson in Henning, MN 1930: 56-45 1940: 56-46

So that's a little more complicated than I thought. Only two are a direct one-for-one. Still it won't be too bad. These are rural, sparsely populated areas, so I won't have too many pages to look through. By reading the ED descriptions, I can make some educated guesses which EDs to start with.

According to my mom, her family was living on a dairy farm near Pine Ridge, SD when her sister Margie was born in Nov. 1940. That's not where they were in 1930, 1935 or 1945. There are only 8 EDs for Shannon Co., SD: 57-1 through 57-8. Again, these are areas with low populations so it won't take long to scan through them.

It looks like I'm all set for Tues. The harder part will be trying to find various generations of aunts, uncles and cousins. That's a whole other ballgame.

Tombstone Tuesday: The Johnsons

This is the last set of photos of my great-grandparents' grave markers. Gustaf Adolf and Rosabelle (Strayer) Johnson are buried in Inman Cemetery, Henning, Otter Tail Co., MN.

I've now posted pictures of all the grave sites for my grandparents and great-grandparents. Next week it's on to the great-great-grandparents.