Fearless Females: Day 4

Today's prompt for the Fearless Female Women's History blog challenge is:
March 4 — Do you have marriage records for your grandparents or great-grandparents? Write a post about where they were married and when. Any family stories about the wedding day? Post a photo too if you have one.

Let's see where I stand with having sources.

Grandparents

Joseph HUIGENS and Julia KAIN, 18 Nov 1914 probably at St. Ludgers Catholic Church in Creigton, Knox Co., NE. I do not have church or civil records for this marriage. I do have a picture, though.
Emery OGDEN and Esther JOHNSON, 19 Mar 1929 probably at Morse Memorial United Methodist Church in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE. Again, I don't yet have civil or church records for this marriage.

I have a newspaper clipping from the Rushville newspaper of 22 Mar 1929. The hand-written correction was made by my mother.




I also have a picture that was supposedly taken on their wedding day.

Great-grandparents

John HUIGENS and Mary FITZLER, 1 Feb 1884 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Henry, Marshall Co., IL. I don't have any church records for this marriage and I have a surplus of civil records. Many years ago my mother sent off for a Certificate of Record of Marriage from Marshall Co. The date on that is 29 Jan 1884. A few years ago, I also sent off for the same record. Ther version I received states 24 Jan 1884. Clearly the people who transcribed the record had different opinions on that one character. To add to the confusion, the wedding announcement from the Henry Republican on 7 Feb 1884 states "Married, in the city, Feb. 1, at the German Catholic Church, by the Reverend Father Hout, JOHN HIGGINS and Miss MARY FITZLER." So is the date on the original certificate the date they obtained the license? I need to get to the courthouse and see the original marriage license.

Frank KAIN and Maggie KENNEDY, 14 Feb 1888 at St. Irenaeus Catholic Church in Lyons, Clinton Co., IA. Again, no civil or church records. Not even a picture.

William OGDEN and 1) Mary HERREN, 25 Jan 1895 in Elk Point, Union Co., SD, 2) Mary CHARBONEAU about 1939. No records or pictures for these either.

Gustaf JOHNSON and Rosabell STRAYER, 4 Sept 1899 in Rock Island Co., IL. No details and no church records, but I do have a marriage record index from an on-line database of Illinois marriages. And I have a picture.
So I really need to get busy gathering records, transcripts and originals at courthouses. I do have some church records and civil records for some of my great-great-grandparents.

Fearless Females: Day 3

Today's prompt for the Fearless Female Women's History blog challenge is:
"March 3 — Do you share a first name with one of your female ancestors? Perhaps you were named for your great-grandmother, or your name follows a particular naming pattern. If not, then list the most unique or unusual female first name you’ve come across in your family tree."

None of my female ancestors was named Kevin. Not too surprising.

Most of the first names of my female ancestors are very commonplace. Lots of Mary's and Maria's and Anna's. Lots and lots of Anna's for some reason. Most of them German.

I'd have to say that the most unusual female first name is that of my great-great-great-great-great-grandmother, Alchey GARRISON. She was the mother of Elnathan MORRELL, who was the maternal grandfather of my great-great-grandfather, Robert OGDEN. That makes her #197 in my ahfentahl. This information came from on-line family trees and has not been verified.

I have no idea how to pronounce "Alchey." The only information we have for her is that she was born in 1750 in Peekskill, Weschester Co., NY and that she married Thomas MORRELL in 1767 there. That also came from on-line family trees and has not been independently verified.

Tombstone Tuesday: Esther Louise OGDEN

This is the grave marker for my maternal grandmother, Esther Louise (JOHNSON) OGDEN. She died in the Black Hills Rehabilitation Hospital, Rapid City, Pennington Co., SD. She is buried in Fairview Cemetery, Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE.

Fearless Females: Day 2

Today's prompt: Post a photo of one of your female ancestors. Who is in the photo? When was it taken? Why did you select this photo?

This is a photo of my Swedish great-great-grandmother Christina Lotta Jonsdotter. She was born 4 Jul 1839 in Slottsbäcken, Locknevi, Kalmar, Småland, Sweden and died on 10 Oct 1919 in Gordon, Sheridan Co., NE. She must have been living with her son, my great-grandfather's family when she died since Gust JOHNSON's family is in Gordon in the 1920 US Census.

Stina, as she was also called, arrived in New York on 25 Apr 1881 on the ship The City of Paris. She came to the New World with her husband, Carl Jacob JOHNSON, and their five children.

The photo was probably taken between 1890 and 1910 in Henry Co., IL. I like it because it shows that Stina was not a slave to fashion, but was a very practical woman. The photograph also has an ethnic feel to it. She may be in America, but she is still Swedish through and through.

Fearless Females: Day 1

Lisa Alzo in her blog "The Accidental Genealogist" has suggested 31 daily prompts for National Women's History Month. The first prompt is:

"March 1 — Do you have a favorite female ancestor? One you are drawn to or want to learn more about? Write down some key facts you have already learned or what you would like to learn and outline your goals and potential sources you plan to check."

My favorite female ancestor is my maternal grandmother, Julia Mary (KAIN) HUIGENS. This is a picture of us together when I was 15 months old. My birthday was two days before hers, so I felt a special connection to her growing up. All four of her grandparents were Irish immigrants, so it's also appropriate to honor her to kick off Irish-American Heritage Month.

What do I know about her? She was born 19 May 1894 in Knox Co., NE to Francis and Margaret "Maggie" (KENNEDY) KAIN. They were probably living around Bazille Mills when Julia was born. She was their second child. She is on the right in the picture below. Her brother Richard is in the back in the middle. Nora is the sister on the left and Francis Jr. is in the front in the middle.
She married Joseph Andrew HUIGENS on 18 Feb 1914 at St. Ludgers Catholic Church in Creighton, Knox Co., NE.
They had 7 children, the youngest my father Joseph Anthony HUIGENS. The family moved west to Sheridan Co., NE in Jan 1926, about a year before my father was born.

My grandmother died at Parkview Nursing Home in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE on 29 Apr 1979, shortly before I graduated from college. I was unable to get home for her funeral, but I visit her grave every time I'm back in the area where I grew up.

What else would I like to know about her? Exactly where her family was living when she was born, where and how long she attended school, the cause of her death (I remember she was sick for a long time with some disease of the blood).

What is on my research list for her? Order the state death record for her, investigate church records from St. Ludgers in Creighton or Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Rushville, use Knox Co. land records to pinpoint where her family was in 1894, order her SS-5 application, get a copy of her marriage record from Knox Co., find out the location of where the family farmed in Sheridan Co. I also need to track down the photo I have of her grave marker.