Sticking Closer to Home (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025, Week 13 Theme: "Home Sweet Home")

My grandmother Louise was the youngest in a family of 8 children born to Carl and Karen Nilsdatter Nelsen. Carl and Karen were born, raised and married in Ringerike, Buskerud, Norway. First child Gunhild Julia was born there prior to their emigration to America in 1867; the other 7 were American-born. Carl, Karen and Julia first went to Salem, Wisconsin where they stayed just 3 months, then moved on to Douglas County, Minnesota for about 9 years. The family now consisted of four (Carl, Karen, Julia and Nels) when enumerated for the US Census in Alexandria, Douglas County on 24 June 1870. They were living there on 3 October 1872 when Carl became an American citizen. He was 33 years old.

Carl's American Citizenship

In 1876 Carl and Karen moved about 20 miles from Alexandria to Erdahl, Grant County, Minnesota and made that their home for the rest of their lives. 

Carl and Karen with Carl's handwriting about the family

Earlier this year, I posted a story about 5 of the 8 siblings - those who migrated to Canada as a family group around 1910. This week's focus is on the 3 who chose to remain closer to home in the United States. Although they also made their own decisions and lived their own lives, they did not all desert Carl and Karen. Both parents ultimately died in Erdahl at the age of 72, he in 1911 and she in 1915. 

Carl and Karen's grandson Ken Bardahl and wife Elinor visiting the Nelsen Erdahl MN gravesite

Here are the three daughters who lived out their lives in the United States:

1. Gunhild (Julia) Nelson (1866-1959)

    

Julia Nelson

Julia was the just a year old when she and her parents came to America. She renounced her Norwegian citizenship and became American in 1884 when she married Andrew Lee. Their marriage record is found in the Pomme de Terre Norwegian Lutheran Church records at Erdahl, MN. At the time, the entire family was all living at Erdahl and would have taken part in the wedding celebrations.

1884  marriage of Andrew Lee and Gunhild (Julia) Carlsdatter (Nelsen)

Julia and Andrew established their home in close proximity to her parents, as clearly indicated by their adjacent entries in the 1900 census for Erdahl, Minnesota. At this time, she had given birth to 9 children with 5 still living. Julia and Andrew's children listed in the census are Clara, Charles, Marie, George and William.

1900 US Census for Albert and Gunhild/Julia highlighted in green with her parents and 4 of her siblings just below

The couple eventually had 12 children. Seven were still alive when Andrew passed away suddenly and unexpectedly overnight in his store in Berwick, N.D. in 1906. 

Julia with her grandson George c1938

In 1909 Julia married her second husband, Iver Oiaas. A few months' later, the census had them in Erdahl township. After both her parents died, Julia and Iver are found in the 1920 census in Ironton Village, MN, some 115 miles from Erdahl. Iver passed away in 1938, leaving Julia widowed once again. 

Julia was living with her youngest daughter Edna Lee Starkel in Portland, Oregon at the time of her death on 27 October 1959 at the age of 93. She was survived by 2 sons and 2 daughters, 7 grandchildren and  2 of her siblings - Selma Nelson Gilbertson of Langdon, N.D. and Louise Nelson Bardahl of Canada. She was buried back in her home town of Erdahl next to her first husband and near the burial locations of her parents.

Julia and Andrew's Headstone, Erdahl, MN.
Photo courtesy T. Burt of Findagrave.com

3,    Olava (Lottie) Nelson (1870-1949)

Lottie Nelson

Lottie married Jesse S. McNish of Chemung, N.Y. on 30 December 1898. Jesse was almost a decade older than Lottie. According to the Grant County Herald of 5 Jan 1899, "The bride is one of the best young ladies and has a host of friends. The happy couple will spend their honeymoon in California." They did not return to live in Erdahl.

1900 census Cavalier County, ND for Jesse and Lottie, married 1 year

Census records have them living in Cavalier County, ND in 1900, in Walsh County ND in 1910 and 1920 and in Sherburne, MN. in 1930. Land records with the US Bureau of Land Management show Jesse purchasing lands in ND in 1902. 

There is no record of any children. Having moved away from her parents and siblings so early, one wonders how Lottie filled her life with meaningful relationships and activities in a time when women had few options. 

Lottie died at the age of 78 in January of 1949 and Jesse followed her just a few months later. 

 

Jesse and Lottie's stone in Big Lake Cemetery, Sherburne MN photo from findagrave by kandota.

3. Hannah Nelson (1875-1945)

Hannah Nelson

Hannah was the 6th child born to Carl and Karen. On 20 August 1896, when she was 21, she married Albert Helgeson. They had three daughters (Ruby, Mildred, Lila) born between 1899 and 1904 in North Dakota. There seemed to be magnets in Cavalier Counties and in the Fargo areas of North Dakota that so often drew members of the Nelsen family there. It is unclear just how close together they may have been while there.

In 1910 the family was in Crookston City, Polk, Minnesota at the time of the census. Albert was a travelling salesman in the machinery business. Ten years later they were enumerated in Fargo, N.D. By 1930 and still in 1940 they were living in Los Angeles. 

Helgesen Dohlen Family Photo c. 1940:  Albert Dohlen, Hannah Nelsen Helgesen, Ross Dohlen, Lila Helgesen Dohlen, Newell Dohlen and Albert Helgesen - photo provided by Ross's wife Barbara in June 2006

Hannah died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, California in 1945 at the age of 69. Albert lived until 1956; both are buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles County, California. 

Conclusion:

From the time of the family's emigration from Norway in 1867, family members continued to migrate and set up their own homes and families throughout the United States and Canada. Whether sticking closer to home or moving farther afield, home and family remained a central focus for their lives.

The Lawrence Massacre: Charles F. Saum (1822-1887) 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025, Week 12 theme: "Historic Event"

Even avid American Civil War buffs don't necessarily know the story of the Lawrence Massacre that occurred early on the morning of 21 August 1863. It probably remains the worst mass shooting in the State of Kansas with somewhere between 150 and 200 men and boys killed within the span of a few horrific hours.

The Massacre was also known as Quantrill's Raid because a man named William Quantrill led a Confederate guerrilla group, Quantrill's Raiders, responsible for the attack. Lawrence, Kansas was a Unionist town with a long history of support for abolition. It also had an association with a vigilante group known as the Jayhawkers who had been attacking plantations in pro-slavery Missouri. The Massacre might therefore have been seen as payback. This was, after all, civil war.

About 450 Raiders attacked Lawrence that morning. They surprised the inhabitants, most of whom were in bed and unarmed. A few hours later, the Raiders left the burned town in ruins, with many women left widowed and children fatherless. 

Destruction of the city of Lawrence and massacre of its inhabitants by so-called rebel guerrillas. Illustrated in: Harper's Weekly, v. 7, no. 349 (1863 September 5), p. 564. -- Public Domain

One of the men living in Lawrence at the time who managed to survive the attack was Charles Frederick Saum. Thanks to the use of genetic genealogy to try to determine the paternity of my great grandfather Charles F. Edwards (1869-1941), I have established that Charles F. Saum is most likely either my 2nd great grandfather or 2nd great granduncle. 

George Adam Saum (b. Saumsville, VA 1797, d. Highland, OH 1836) married Susannah Henderson (1805-1855)  and had 7 children, including 4 sons, one of 3 of whom is most likely my great grandfather's father:

1.     Charles Frederick Saum (1821-1886, lived in Lawrence, Douglas, KS)

2.    Jacob "Jake" Saum (1822-1861, shot dead several years before my great grandfather was conceived)

3.     George Thompson Saum (1824-1912, farmed in Kellogg, Jasper, Iowa)

4.     Stephen Adam Saum (1834-1927, farmed in Kellogg, Jasper, Iowa)

The eldest son Charles Frederick Saum was born in Dodsonville, Highland, Ohio in 1821. He had one daughter born in 1844 to his first wife Mary Elizabeth Shawver before her death in 1846. His next marriage was in 1847 to Mary Bardell; the couple had nine children born between 1849 and 1869.

Charles Saum had "Go West" fever and moved first to Sidney, Champaign county, Illinois in October of 1857. Two years later, he followed brother Jake's lead and moved to Charlotte Township, Bates County, Missouri. 

In the lead-up to the American Civil War, the Saums were abolitionists. This was not a popular position in slave state Missouri. In the fall of 1860, brothers Charles and Jake were two of the few in the township to vote the Lincoln ticket, which resulted in their names being included in words of warning posted on trees, buildings and fences throughout the area:     

                                    

(Above wording cited in History of Cass and Bates Counties Missouri, p. 1148)

Civil War started in 1861. According to Charles's son Randolph Foster Saum in his "Early Memories of Kansas", in early May two men rode up to his uncle Jake's house on horseback and read him an additional notice: "Take notice. Flee to Abraham's bosom within 3 days or stretch high." So brothers Charles and Jake did flee immediately to Iowa where the other two brothers George and Stephen were living. 

Charles left his family behind in Missouri to seed and tend the crop, which ended up being a bumper crop that they never got to harvest. In the fall of 1861, Unionist James Lane made a raid into Missouri and gathered up refugees trying to flee to Kansas. With Charles still in Iowa, his wife and family went with Lane where they would be protected by U.S. soldiers. Charles learned of this and reunited with his family along the way. They arrived in Lawrence, Douglas county, KS in October 1861. 

Brother Jake made the fateful decision to go back to his home in Bates County, Missouri to gather some things. When he completed his business there and was heading off to Kansas with team and load, some of his neighbors took him prisoner, tied his hands and shot him dead on the spot. Jake's nephew Randolph summed it up: "This is what it cost uncle Jake Saum to vote for Abraham Lincoln. Sometimes it costs much to do right. But let me say in the end it costs much more to do wrong."

Charles and family settled into making a new home for themselves in Kansas. He was a carpenter and farmer, notary public, and very active in community affairs. The newspaper for 12 March 1863, just months before the  massacre, shows C.F. Saum being paid for his service in the "night police" for Lawrence. (There were several such records showing this to have been an ongoing duty,)  According to his son Randolph (who would have been about 12 at the time) Charles tried to get the mayor to keep guards posted and arm the men of the town in anticipation of Confederate raids, but his request was laughed off and ignored. 

Although his name does not appear in any records for the Massacre that could be located, there are a couple of family stories about the Massacre. The obituary of one of his daughters carried an account of the event. The following is from the Topeka State Journal (Topeka, Kansas) 7 Feb 1910, p.7, (yes, there were 5 large headlines and, yes, aside from a brief introductory paragraph saying Mrs. Cowell was dead from cancer at the age of 41, leaving a husband and three children, the entire obituary was more about her father! For the record, her name was Emma Florence (Saum) Cowell, not that it was ever mentioned in her obituary.)

          Mrs. John Cowell, Sister of S.C. Saum Is Dead

 Their Father, F.C. Saum Nearly Quantrell's Victim

CALLED TO BE SHOT

But Life Spared Because He Was Sick

Ardent Abolition Preacher and Friend of "Father" Fisher 

. . . Their father Frederick Charles Saum was a pioneer anti-slavery Methodist preacher. On this account, he was called out to be shot at the time of the Lawrence Quantrell raid of 20 (sic) August 1863 but was spared because he was ill at the time. 

He was born near Cinncinnati, O. in 1817. Went to Champlain Co., Ill. where he became a Methodist preacher. He advocated anti-slavery and in this cause "stumped" all over Illinois and Indiana.

He came to Kansas with Jim Lane's army and in October 1861 located in what is now North Lawrence. At that time, there were no houses there -- just a tract of timber, but Rev. Mr. Saum purchased land and cleared a space for a home. He farmed and preached and was an ardent anti-abolitiionist. His life had been threatened several times by the pro-slavery element but undaunted he continued to preach what he thought was right. The late H.D. Fisher, author of "The Gun and the Gospel" was one of his personal friends. 

On the morning of August 20, 1863, Rev. Mr. Saum was ill in bed with stomach trouble. The raiders came. The town was filled with Quantrell's men who were engaged in their work of massacre and pillage. "Kill every preacher, " was the cry. 

About 9 o'clock a knock came at the Saum home. Mrs. Saum opened it. S.C. Saum, then a little boy of 9 (sic), stood behind her. 

"We want that preacher," said the man at the door. The minister heard, rose from his sick bed and came staggering in the door. His visitor raised his gun, but paused. "Oh, you be sick, is you?" he said. "Well, there are plenty of breathing preachers to kill so we let you off."

Then the speaker left. A little later, Alfred Lawson, a brother-in-law of the minister, was walking on the street. One of Quantrell's men snapped a revolver at him, but it failed to go off. With the same weapon, a few moments later the raider shot and killed another man. 

A little after the raid the Saums moved to the Charles Robinson farm north of Lawrence. From there they went to Osborne County where Rev. Mr. Saum died in November 1877."     

There are a few glitches in the obituary: first and middle names or initials not in the usual order, birth year for Charles off by 5 years, age of son actually 5 rather than 9 and the date of the raid off by a day. But both Charles and his Lawson brother-in-law mentioned did live in Lawrence at the time of  the massacre and both did survive. The relationships among the people mentioned are all correct. The stories given for their escaping the fortune of so many of their townsmen seem plausible. Nevertheless, this obituary is rather skimpy evidence; more reliable sources regarding Charles being a preacher and how he avoided death during the raid have not been located.

The report may well be a bit of an embellished or completely invented family story, given that in his own lengthy memoirs of the event by Charles's son Randolph Foster Saum who was almost 13 and present during the raid, no such event is mentioned. Randolph's eye-witness account from his "Early Memories of Kansas":

"At the time we lived in south-east Lawrence near what was then called the Franklin road on the street running east and west, the first street north of what is now the City Park. We lived in the last house east on that street. 

 Early that morning my mother and oldest sister were up getting breakfast, and suddenly heard a noise and went to the east door to see what it was. I also was up and with them. We soon found out the source of the noise. It was the feet of about 400 horses with wicked men on their backs, armed with shotguns and the largest side arms. 

These robbers were riding about twelve abreast as this was out on the open commons, the road not yet confined it to the streets. Just as the front ranks got past our house about 200 feet, they all gave a demon yell and started on the gallop, some of them firing their guns to frighten and surprise the people of the town. 

Just as the last raiders passed our house the sun was just half in sight. It was very still -- not a breeze to stir a leaf on the trees. In a few moments we began to hear the reports of firearms all over the city, and it was so still that the smoke from the old Eldridge Hotel ascended nearly 600 feet high. It was the highest building in Lawrence at that time,

All the other buildings along Main Street or Massachusetts street were burned down inside 45 minutes after the raiders had passed our house. All Main street was in flames. 

. . . Those raiders were in Lawrence a little over four hours. That evening the people of the city commenced to gather up the dead and care for the wounded, and continued the next day. I remember of seeing a long row of dead men laid out on the floors of the M.E. Church."

No mention was made by Randolph of his father having been ill in bed at the time. It seems the raiders simply rode past the Saum home.

Randolph Foster Saum, son of Charles Frederick Saum

Charles Frederick Saum left a vast number of descendants, dozens of whom are my family's DNA matches. (Although we also have many matches to descendants of George, the vast majority are descendants of Charles. No descendants of third brother Stephen have shown up as matches.)  

Three of Charles Saum's youngest legitimate children were born after the Lawrence Massacre - and he may have also fathered my great grandfather some five years later.  Anyone who descends from one of these later-born children can be grateful that he was left alive that awful morning of the Lawrence Massacre. 

Some Resources:

Epps, Kristin, Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict 1854-1865, Kansas City Public Library Digital History located online at https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/quantrills-raid-lawrence

Fisher, H.D., The Gun and the Gospel Early Kansas and Chaplain Fisher: Chicago, New York, Medical Century Company, 1897 on Internet Archive accessible at https://archive.org/details/gungospelearlyka00fish/mode/2up

History of Cass and Bates Counties Missouri, National Historical Company, Saint Joseph, Missouri, 1883, page 1148 (with respect to threat to "Lincoln Allies") accessible online at https://archive.org/details/cu31924028846447

Military Records at the Archives & Library of the Ohio History Collection accessible online at https://ohiohistory.libguides.com/military/CivilWar

Philips, Christopher, "James Henry Lane" article, Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict 1854-1865, Kansas City Public Library Digital Collection at https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/lane-james-henry

Saum, R.F., "Early Memories of Kansas" series of articles run in the Paradise Farmer of Paradise, KS in the 1920's, copies of which can be located on "Jeremy Bryant's Civil War Odyssey" FaceBook page located at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088829361583&mibextid=ZbWKwL

Unsolved Murder of Fred Wescott (1867-1912) 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 11 Theme: "Brick Wall"

An unsolved murder can pose a very tantalizing brick wall. Who did it? What  happened? Why was it never solved? These questions remain unanswered with respect to the stabbing of Fred Wescott, my maternal grandmother's uncle.

Colorized photo of Wescott family group in Wisconsin 1902 - Fred is third from right, back row beside wife Josephine in white blouse; some of the children in front are theirs
(My grandmother Idella Edwards is front row far left in front of her mother Mayme Wescott)

Frederick Wescott (1867-1912) was the 4th child born to George Garner Wescott and his wife Sarah Catherine Bullen. He was the first of their children born after George's return from fighting in the American Civil War as part of Co. D, 12th Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. That might have sounded like an auspicious start but Fred's life was not to be a smooth sail on a sunny day.

His 1894 marriage to Josephine Nikodem had resulted in the births of 6 children between 1895 and 1908. The couple split up in 1906 and remarried in 1907. Sometime after the census of 1910 Fred left his family in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and headed to Minneapolis, Minnesota where he took a job as a cook in the Rising Sun, a somewhat seedy restaurant.

A decade after the photo above captured what were presumably happier family times, newspaper headlines from across the northern United States shouted Fred's tragic ending.

Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN 3 June 1912

Seattle Post Intelligencer 5 June 1912

Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN 4 June 1912

Grand Forks ND Daily Herald 8 June 1912

I don't know how my grandmother Idella Edwards (aged 14), or her mother Mayme, Fred's sister, learned of his untimely passing. They were living in Kalispell, Montana at the time and one would hope they were able to hear the tragic news from the Wescott family before seeing it in newspapers.

A more complete report on Fred's early life and the newspaper coverage of his murder can be found in another story. To summarize: 

• Fred Wescott was murdered about 10 p.m. on Saturday 1 June 1912 by being stabbed in the back at the Rising Sun Restaurant where he worked as cook
• The police were not notified until after 3 a.m. Sunday morning
• Cause of death at first called a heart attack until the coroner arrived and the body was turned over
• Stories told by his employer Mrs. Isabelle Getzman and her husband contradicted one another; both were arrested at first
• A third person arrested was Daniel Moon, clerk at a nearby hotel; he had been in the restaurant that evening and may have been the last person to see Wescott alive
• Both men were soon released, but Mrs. Getzman (aka "Scotch Maggie") remained in jail and remained silent on advice of counsel. The newspapers were not kind to her. 
• The Rising Sun was closed immediately but two canaries and a parrot were left behind

Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN 9 June 1912, Newspapers.com 

• The disappearance of Hubert Jacobs, the only witness, led to the discharge of all charges against Mrs. Getzman
• Hubert Jacobs at one point confessed to the murder, but later repudiated the confession
• On 2 April 1913, Mrs. Getzman was rearrested and she and Hubert Jacobs were both indicted by a grand jury to stand trial later that month.
• Both were released for lack of evidence.

Minneapolis Star Tribune 13 June 1913, p11

This marked the end of the investigation. There was so much confusion caused by all the conflicting stories told by the people involved.  Was Mrs. Getzman the guilty party? Or was it her husband? Or was it Hubert Jacobs? Did Daniel Moon have any involvement after all? Today, forensics would likely come up with ample incriminating evidence from such a murder scene. But the case remains unsolved more than a century after Fred Wescott so tragically lost his life.

Nelson Siblings Move to Canada (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025, Week 10 theme: Siblings)

 

Family of Carl Johan Nelson and Karen Marie Nilsdatter
Handwriting of father Carl using their Norwegian patronymic names Carlson/Carlsdatter

My grandmother Louise was the youngest in a family of 8 children born to Carl and Karen (Nilsdatter) Nelson. She had 6 sisters and just 1 brother. Their parents had been born, raised and married in Ringerike, Buskerud, Norway. First child Gunhild (Julia) was born there prior to their emigration to America in 1867; the others were all American-born.

This week's story focuses on 5 of the 8 siblings - those who migrated from Minnesota and North Dakota to Canada as a family group in 1910-1911. 

Canada had passed the Dominion Lands Act in 1872 to encourage settlement of the Canadian prairies so as to prevent the lands from falling into American hands. Like the American Homestead Act of 1862, it provided for the claiming of 160 acre parcel homesteads, subject to fulfilling certain requirements. Canada encouraged mass migration from both Europe and the United States at the time. I am grateful for the decision made by my American-born grandparents to take Canada up on its offer. I don't for a moment believe they were making any sort of political statement but were simply moving where there was abundant good farmland available.

Here are the five Nelson siblings who moved to Canada: 

 1. Louise Nelson (1881-1985)

Although she was the youngest of the siblings, I start with Louise because she was my grandmother and central to my perception of events.

Clipping from The Grant County Herald, MN 25 January 1906

John and Louise (Nelson) Bardahl wedding photo January 1906

John's Skogmo, N.D.  homestead was rather bleak. According to what Louise told me, homesteads in North Dakota had been so well-claimed that it was difficult to expand their own farm, never mind encouraging other family members to join them there. I believe it was John Bardahl who made the first trip north in 1909 to the newly-formed province of Saskatchewan to scout things out and instigate the move by the larger family group.

According to their son Ken in his 1991 collection of memories: 

First, they had to locate land that was available. keeping in mind mile upon mile of virgin prairie.  Even locating the survey pegs was a job unto itself. There were occasions when someone would deliberately change these pegs to add to the confusion, perhaps trying to keep an area open to friends or relatives who would be arriving later.  Sometimes, also, the homesteader would locate several parcels of land, so that he would have an option when he went to apply for a homestead.  This was a very smart move, because originally this all had to be done through the Moose Jaw land titles office. 

The land near the major centers was taken first by these homesteaders for convenience, etc.  As the years passed, they would have to venture farther from these centers and of course with this came many other obstacles.  There were people named “Land Locators” who for a fee would take these homesteaders out to land available, this being done by horse and buggy, the only way of travel.  It was into an environment such as this that my parents came.  It seems that the first homesteaders came into this area about 1904-1906.  Dad came up here from the U.S.A. in 1909 and settled into what would be the Atlas-Jorgenson districts, about 20 miles north of Swift Current, Sask.  This area was basically settled by people from Minn. and North Dakota areas and were predominantly people of Norwegian ancestry.

 

A page from John Bardahl's homestead application for S15-18-14 W3M

Half-way down this page in his homestead application, John states that he is a citizen of the United States of America who intends to become a British subject under the laws of Canada. 

Aerial photo of John and Louise Bardahl's Saskatchewan homestead, unknown year
They planted all the trees around the farm, including several rows on the right (west) side

John and Louise had a family of 8 children, the youngest being my father Kenneth born in 1926. I grew up on the farm that John and Louise homesteaded. 

John and Louise Bardahl family 1934
Back row left to right: Marvel, Lillian, James, Mildred, Hazel
Front row: Joetta, John, Ken age 8, Louise and Inez

John and Louise retired to Vancouver, B.C. where he died in 1945. Louise lived another 4 decades in Calgary, Alberta dying at the age of 103. She is buried next to John at Ocean View Burial Park in Vanouver.

2. Nels Nelson (1868-1932)

The only son born into the Carl and Karen Nelson family, Nels remained a bachelor for life and never had any children, He remained at Erdahl with his parents and siblings for several decades, farming with his father and running a business with brother-in-law Gus Gilbertson in Erdahl.

By 1910, he joined several sisters and their husbands in migrating to Canada to homestead in Saskatchewan. Nels took up land north of Swift Current along the Battleford Trail route at NE17-18-14 W3M. He farmed and often provided accommodations for travelers along the route. 

Nels Nelson outside his home in Saskatchewan c.1920

As children in the 1950s my siblings and I often played in his abandoned home, looking for hidden treasure.

Nelson Siblings with their families in Canada July 1910 - seated far left John Bardahl; standing back row Louise Nelson Bardahl, Josephine Nelson, Dennis Nelson, George Gilbertson and Nels Nelson
Children front row from left: Wallace Nelson, Lila Gilbertson, Lorraine Nelson, Arnold Gilbertson, Joetta Bardahl, Vernon Nelson and Francis Gilbertson
Photo by Selma's husband Gus Gilbertson

After Nels died, aged 64, his sisters Louise and Josie administered his estate and his land was acquired by his nephews James and Ken Bardahl. Family lore had it that bachelor Nels would have amassed a tidy nest-egg that could never be located. Skullduggery? More likely, Nels was struggling to make a living, just like all the others.

Nels Nelson

3. Selma Nelson (1874-1963) 

Selma married Gustav Gilbertson at her parents' home on 2 April 1901. They settled down in Erdahl, MN where Gus went into business with Selma's brother Nels. They would have four children, two sons and two daughters. 

Selma Nelson

Selma and Gus joined other of her siblings in making the move to Canada to homestead in 1910. Their homestead at SW20-18-14  W3M was near Nels and within a couple of miles of sisters Louise and Josie. The 1911 Canadian census lists them with the oldest 3 children enumerated just below her brother Nels. According to my father, Saskatchewan Archive records indicate that the Gilbertsons spent some time with her brother Nels helping with his provision of accommodations for travelers along the Battleford Trail.

Selma and Gus Gilbertson children 1910

As curious children who loved to explore, my siblings and I and some friends came upon their abandoned farmhouse and excitedly reported our find to our parents, only to learn it had belonged to Grandma's sister and her husband. Why didn't we know about this?

Another view of the photo taken by Gus Gilbertson July 1910, this time including Selma Nelson Gilbertson on far left, holding baby Marvel Bardahl (see photo above for identification of others)

Gus and Selma headed back to the United States in December of 1916 and spent most of their remaining years in Langdon, Cavalier Co., N.D. By the time I was growing up in the Saskatchewan community, their homestead was owned by the Wengel family. 

My grandmother, Uncle Jim and Aunt Inez visited Gus and Selma in North Dakota in the 1950s. Selma died at the age of 88 in 1963 and Gus joined her the following year; they are buried in Langdon.

1958 visit to Gus and Selma in N.D.
From left to right: Inez Bardahl, Gus Gilbertson, Selma (Nelson) Gilbertson and her sister Louise (Nelson) Bardahl

 

4. Josephine "Josie" Nelson (1879-1953)

Josie Nelson

Josie married Dennis Nelson (same last name but not related) on 9 March 1904. Although their wedding was a quiet one with only family members present, performed by Reverend Otto Juul, the following day the newlyweds visited Dennis's brother Ludvig and after supper went back to Josie's parents' home.  A number of the young men had organized a Hoosiers Band for a charivari - tin pans, boilers, wash basins, cow bells, shot guns and other sounds performing the "music".  According to the local Grant County Herald newspaper of 17 March 1904, "voices like the old Indian war-whoops of ancient ages, all surrounded the house of L(udvig) Nelson, bent on a treat, like hungry wolves of the forest.  The echoes were heard for miles but with no response as the couple had left. . .  The sports were sore over their fruitless effort."

Dennis and Josie were listed in Erdahl in the 1910 US Census but moved to Canada that same year. They were enumerated in the 1911 Canadian census just below Nels Nelson and Selma and Gus Gilbertson's family: Dennis 36, Josephine 31, Vernon 6, Wallace 4 and Lorraine 2. A fourth child, daughter Grace was born in 1913. These Nelson cousins of my Dad's were the only ones that I knew much, with Wally and family living nearby in Swift Current and others attending family reunions.

In the Canadian Archives  website for Western Canada Land Grants 1870-1930, Dennis A Nelson is listed for SE21-18-14 W3M.  Dennis and Josie's land was very near her sister Louise and John Bardahl's homestead.

Threshing at Dennis and Josie's farm 1916

According to their son Wally, they brought with them four horses, two cows, some machinery and household items. He spoke of the early years being trying times, breaking the land and building a home and barn (with the help of family and neighbours); later in 1910 a severe windstorm destroyed that newly-built barn. The barn was soon replaced and the house improved and enlarged. Water was an issue for a number of years. The first well was dug by hand but by 1912 a successful new well was drilled by neighbour Erwin Wengel and a 30 foot windmill installed. 

Wally said that the two boys started school when one was built in 1912, walking the 2.5 miles there and home each day. By 1914 they had a pony and cart the boys could drive to school. One cannot help but compare that to today's pampered children driven from door to door by car even when the school is within an easy walk!

In 1918, the Nelsons rented out their property and moved into Swift Current. Dennis died in April of 1920 at the age of just 45 after a short illness. Dennis and Josie's land was sold to the Bow family and then to the Lockmans; I spent many happy childhood hours there playing with my good friend, again completely oblivious to the past family history connection to this farm.

Josie died in Edmonton, Alberta in 1953 and was buried there; Dennis was buried in Swift Current, Saskatchewan at Mount Pleasant Burial Park.

5. Laura Nelson (1872-1954)

One final sibling arrived about a year after the first four. 

Laura Nelson

Laura married Steve Bardahl (half-brother to my grandfather John) at her parents' home near Erdahl, Minnesota on 5 March 1894. They moved to the Milton area of N.D where Steve farmed for a while. By the time of the 1900 US census, they were living in Milton, Cavalier Co., N.D., where Steve was a police constable. Ten years later, the census found them still in Milton but Steve was listed as a laborer. They had been married 16 years and she had given birth to two children; sadly, both had died in infancy. 

In 1911, Steve and Laura moved to Saskatchewan to join her 4 siblings who had moved there the previous year.  Steve initially applied for a homestead at NW18-18-14 W3M, very near Gus and Selma but cancelled that and applied for land a few miles away at SW20-19-14 W3M. He never proved up any of the parcels he had filed on. 

The marriage was not holding up and Laura left him. There is no evidence that they ever actually divorced. Steve returned to the States and lived with his mother for a while before moving back to North Dakota where he died at the age of 78. 

Laura lived in Canada for some time, working in housekeeping at the Banff Springs Hotel where she was sometimes able to secure employment for her young nieces. 

Laura Nelson with nieces Joetta and Mildred Bardahl

Laura never remarried and died in Langdon, N.D. in 1954 at the age of 82; she is buried in the Lebanon Cemetery in Langdon not far from her sister Selma. 

Laura's stone in Langdon, N.D. by HL49 on findagrave.com website

Conclusion: 

Of the 5 Nelson siblings who had arrived in Saskatchewan around 1910, 3 spent the rest of their lives in Canada. No doubt moving as a family group provided a good support system much needed in forming new homes and community. They would have helped each other building homes and barns, drilling wells, dealing with animals and equipment, raising a family, starting schools and churches and creating a sense of community. There must have been numerous challenges. By the time my Dad was born in 1926, things were in place for a fully-functioning farm in a thriving community that the Nelson siblings had helped establish.

Some Resources

Memories to Cherish: Stewart Valley and Leinan; Stewart Valley-Leinan History Book Committee, Printed by Friesen Printers of Altona, Manitoba, 1987

Saskatchewan Provincial Archives homestead records located online at https://www.saskarchives.com/collection/homesteading/homesteading-records

Carl Nelson and Charles Edwards - Two Tales of Illegitimacy (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 9 theme: "Family Secret")

Not until I became a keen family historian did two well-hidden secrets eventually come to light. Today these matters would not be kept secret and would not really matter, but there was a time when this was something that would have caused embarrassment and discrimination. 

The secrets related to the fathers of my two grandmothers. Having been born half a world apart in quite different cultures, the two illegitimate births were treated differently even at the time. 

Carl Johan Nelson

1. Carl Johan Nelson (1839-1911), my paternal grandmother's father, was born in Ringerike, Buskerud, Norway on 26 August 1839. The Lutheran State Church was responsible for maintaining the official vital records for the country. Hence, the following entry (highlighted in yellow) is the official birth and baptism certificate for Carl Johan. Although babies in Norway were usually baptized shortly after birth, Carl was about 10 months old.

Birth and Baptism Record for Carl in the Norderhov, Buskerud Church Book

No secrets buried here! The column to the right of the child's name indicates whether the child was born in or out of wedlock: Carl was born out of wedlock. Whenever possible, fathers of illegitimate children were named as was the case for Carl. From this, we see that his parents were Nils Olsen Sorgefoss and Guri Larsdatter. 

The plot thickens when Carl's baptism record reveals that both parents had had previous children born out of wedlock (far right column). It seems rather cruel to have plastered this onto the record for innocent baby Carl! Nils had fathered a son Martin Nelson with Berthe Halvorsdatter early in 1838. Guri had a son Engebret Nelson fathered by Nels Erikson Honnefoss in 1833. Nils would eventually marry the mother of his son Martin in 1842; Guri never married and raised her sons on her own. 

It must have made for interesting times for the 3 boys in the small community and might explain why Guri's sons chose to move to America when they grew up. More details can be found in another story on this blog. 

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Charles Francis Edwards

2. Charles Francis Edwards (1869-1941), my maternal grandmother's father, was born three decades later and an ocean away in Keokuk, Iowa on 22 February 1869. As far as I am aware, his secret died with him after he seems to have successfully masked his illegitimacy by inventing a history of half-truths and outright lies. 

The story he told was that he was orphaned at a young age and raised by an older sister Grace. His mother, he said, was Rachel Hoover, a cousin of President Herbert Hoover. She had been married three times - first to another Hoover by whom she had a son Sam, next to an Edwards by whom she had twin daughters Minnie and Grace and him and then finally to a Payton. His family were devout Quakers. I wasted untold hours trying to find records of his family in Quaker records. The were NOT Quakers. I wasted untold other hours tracing the ancestors of President Herbert Hoover to try to find any connection to my Hoovers and Edwards. They were NOT related to President Hoover that I could ever discover.

One piece of information I had located in the marriage record for Charles when he married Mary Jane Edwards in 1896 was that his parents were Louis Edwards and Martha (not Rachel) Hoover. But I could never find Louis and Martha in any other records. 

Eventually I was assisted by genealogist Alice Hoyt Veen of Iowa who was able to determine that Charles's mother was actually Barbara (not Rachel or Martha) Hoover. She found parents and extended family for Barbara and was able to establish that Charles had at least told the truth about his mother having been married three times and the children she had. 

But Charles was NOT orphaned at a young age. He was a young man living with his mother and working in Independence, Kansas when she died there in 1890.

It also became clear that Barbara's second husband Louis Edwards died shortly after the end of the Civil War in early 1866 and could therefor not have fathered Charles three years later. 

Sadly, American vital records in 1869 in Iowa were non-existent. Not only is there no record of who fathered Charles, there is NO birth record for Charles and hence no paper trail.

Until genetic genealogy became available it seemed we would never know who Charles's father was. Using DNA and spending untold hours analyzing results for various family members who were tested eventually led me to a family named Saum where one of three brothers was almost definitely his father. A more complete story of my search can be found through another story on this blog. 

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Both my grandmothers had fathers with secrets surrounding their births. In one case it was an open secret fully acknowledged in public records while in the other is was completely buried. There is no evidence that either of my grandmothers ever learned their fathers' secrets. 

Honorable William Bullen (1805-1846) 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 8 Theme: "Migration"

William Bullen, my first cousin 4X removed, was born into a family that survived and thrived by migration. Born in Ware, Massachusetts 24 February 1805 as the second oldest of the 4 children of "General" John Bullen (1783-1850) and his first wife Lucina Drake, William grew up in Hannibal, Oneida Co., N.Y. This was the sanctuary where his grandfather "Revolutionary Captain" John Bullen (1747-1724) had fled to avoid capture for his part in Shay's Rebellion, an aftermath of the American Revolution. William's father would have been just 4 or 5 years old at the time the family fled, but he would no doubt remember those turbulent times. The family settled in Hannibal near Clinton, N.Y. for several decades, but the next generation developed an interest in moving west to greener pastures. 

William Bullen photo from his Findagrave,com entry with permission granted by HWA

William Bullen married Julia Hart on 24 February 1830; their first child, Orris Hart Bullen was born in Hannibal 1 July 1832. 

The Bullens were among those interested in exploring the opportunities for establishing new settlements in "the west" fueled by glowing reports of rich fertile soil and bright sunny skies. In December of 1834, a supper meeting was held at the Hannibal home of William's older brother John Bullen, Jr.  (and, yes, there are far too many "John Bullens" in my tree!). So as to spread out the financial burden and provide for as pleasant a migration experience as possible, those in attendance expressed an interest in setting up a joint venture with shares to be sold for $10 each. In February of 1835 "The Western Migration Company" was formed with Reverend Peter Woodin, a respected Baptist minister, as chairman and John Bullen, Jr. as secretary. 

An exploration committee of three men headed west in March of 1835. It should be remembered that there were no established transportation routes to the western shores of Lake Michigan at the time (although the recently constructed Erie Canal had made a significant improvement in transporting people and cargo between Albany and Buffalo). When the men from Hannibal set off in search of land for their new settlement, they proceeded from Hannibal by way of Lake Erie to Detroit and then across country to Chicago. This is where they discovered that there was no road north to Milwaukee so they set out by land, mostly following the beach of Lake Michigan, and eventually finding a small sailing vessel that took them to Milwaukee. There they found the property far too expensive for the funds their share sales had generated and returned home empty-handed.

Western Emigration Company General Migration Route to WI 
Google Earth

Another expedition, this time including brothers John Jr. and William Bullen, went out in June of that same year and settled on a spot at the mouth of Pike Creek where they claimed land. John Bullen, Jr. had been made the sole representative of the group to finalize matters. The area was originally known as Pike Creek, but by 1837 it was called Southport (because of its location in the very southern part of Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Michigan) and then in 1850 it was renamed Kenosha (a Native American word reflecting the plentiful pike).

But the Bullens were not the only ones there making claims in the summer of 1835. Two speculators, Samuel Resique and John Noble, noting that the island in the mouth of the Pike River had not been properly marked and claimed, decided to settle on the island. The island ("Washington Island" now "Simmons Island") was considered one of the best pieces of real estate, and months of disagreements ensued, sometimes with armed men menacing one another in  "Resique's War". With his armed band, William Bullen took possession of the west side of the island and built a 2 story building, said to be the finest home in Wisconsin territory a the time. Without ever actually coming to blows, the men came to an arrangement to split ownership of the island. Many of the settlers from the Bullens' Western Emigration Co. were part of a temperance society while Resique set up the first tavern in the village on his side of the island, resulting in an uneasy truce. 

While William was away battling for property, his wife Julia was home in Hannibal tending their young son and preparing for the birth of their second child, a daughter Mary Gertrude Bullen. 

With ownership of Washington Island settled, the Bullen brothers felt they had things well enough in hand to return to Oswego County, N.Y. late in 1835/early 1836 to arrange for migration of all the members of the Western Migration Company who wished to make the move. 

The Western Migration Company purchased and stocked a 100 ton schooner The Martin Van Buren. When the group reached Chicago, John, Jr. purchased cattle and drove them north to Pike Creek where he and others soon opened 4 stores, including one in the name of "William Bullen & Co." which company was dissolved in 1840. By 1843, William was in business on his own. By then, many of the amenities expected in a community had been established. A local newspaper, the Southport Telegraph, had started publishing in 1840.

Southport Telegraph September 1843

My direct ancestor David Bullen, brother to General John and uncle to John, Jr. and William, had also moved to the new community and is listed as one of its original settlers, but the births of his children in New York up to that for my great great grandmother Sarah Catherine Bullen in September of 1838 would indicate that he did not move his family there until later. The 1840 census shows his whole family having made the move to Wisconsin. Land records indicate David had also acquired land there.

Nelson and Dunlop cite an historical article from the Kenosha Evening News of 15 June 1935, p.27 telling how William Bullen built the Southport Academy in 1840.  It was used for a variety of community events like schools, social functions, church meetings. William's father General John erected a "pretentious three-story structure with a cupula" addition, after which it was known as the National Hotel. The following advertisement shows the Academy was meant to be a paying venture, not free education. 

Southport Telegraph, December 1841

Wisconsin Territory was formally established in 1836 and Racine County (including Kenosha) the following year. The population of Kenosha in 1836 was 16 families (64 people); by 1843 the population had blossomed to 1820 people. William Bullen was chosen as one of the county's two representatives in the Council of the Wisconsin Territorial Assembly from 1838 to 1842, and was selected as the President of the first Council. 

Laws of Wisconsin reported in the Milwaukee Sentinel of 22 Jan 1839
(William Bullen as President named on each law)

Encouragement for emigration from New England to Wisconsin could be found in the local Southport newspaper. The following article goes on at great length to describe the amenities now available in Wisconsin and to encourage folks to sell out sooner rather than later in New England and make the move to the land of plenty.

Southport Telegraph 16 May 1843

Two final children were born to William and Julia in Kenosha, Wisconsin: William Herbert Bullen in 1843 and Julia Frances Bullen in 1844. William died in Kenosha on 27 October 1846 aged 41.

As for the Western Emigration Company, it dissolved in 1837 after settlement had been established. It has been suggested that it benefitted no one but the Bullens and their close circle. Since the people who purchased lands with the joint stock intended to make use of the lands themselves, there was no way for investors to recoup or benefit from their investments. No one ever made an accounting for the finances nor were the lands ever shared among the joint stock holders. William himself made some attempt to use his own funds to reimburse some of the non land-holding investors, but it was at a rate of 33 cents on the dollar. 

A listing of the property forming the estate of William Bullen shows his extensive land holdings. 

Administrators' Sale of the Estate of William Bullen
(Julia's father Orris Hart was an Administrator)
Kenosha Telegraph-Courier of 29 Nov. 1849

Although William Bullen and his extended family worked hard, contributed much and thrived in the new community they were so instrumental in establishing, their legacy also contains a few blemishes. Migration for them had clearly been a profitable venture.

Some Resources

Nelson, M. and Dunlop, R., Compilers,  Source Book for the Bullen Family; Privately printed in the 1930s, "Honorable William Bullen", 142-148

Trenary, O., Souvenir: Kenosha County Courthouse; (Kenosha, WI: 1925) accessed online at https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/ARADYEAR2MWDKI8S

The History of Racine and Kenosha Counties Wisconsin (Chicago: Western Historical Company 1879)  accessed online through Google Books at https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_History_of_Racine_and_Kenosha_Counti.html?id=GWxQBg7uyWQC&redir_esc=y

William Bullen, Wikipedia Article accessed online at at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bullen_(Kenosha_pioneer)