Handwriting: The Personal Touch (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 49 theme: 'Written")

Genealogists treasure connections to their ancestors. Old family letters, journals and diaries are often especially touching with the ancestor having created it by hand with their own personal flair. Never mind the possible hints that handwriting analysis might reveal. Just the sheer joy of looking at something written by the ancestor's hand can tug at the heart.

With the steady decline in the use of cursive handwriting, written materials left behind now will almost certainly be typed and digitized into conformity. No personal touch except for the content. And even content is being de-personalized with the increasing use of AI. 

Time to revisit some of the handwriting samples left behind by a few members of my family. 

Starting with my Dad Kenneth Bardahl (1926-1997), a keen family historian. I don't have to look far in my materials to find things written by him. Here is one example relating to a copy of a book page about his grandfather Hans Bardahl. 

Written materials provided to me by Kenneth Bardahl 1988 

Yes, Dad, I do enjoy seeing this notation you made and, like you, I hope future generations can also enjoy it. As we do with the writing you did in 1991 at the request of your grandson Grant. Here is the cover letter from Dad's 35 page handwritten life story:

I never heard his story about his day as a sales clerk in menswear and wish I could ask him about that. More stories would have been even better, Dad.

Dad's maternal grandfather Carl Nelson (1839-1911) had beautiful writing as can be seen from these handwritten invitations for his daughter Louise's wedding:

Nor everyone could claim beautiful penmanship. My maternal grandmother Idella Edwards shared a significant amount about her eclectic early American ancestry with her son Robert. Here is an example of her writing from the 1960s relating to her grandfather George Garner Wescott's service in the American Civil War.

Although she had been a school teacher, Della was the first to acknowledge her poor penmanship. I remember when she was learning to type in the late 1950s in preparation for starting a motel business; she told me it would be the only way people could read her writing!

One final person I would like to note is Jorgen Torkelson Neurak (1788-1839), one of my mother's paternal ancestors who was klokkar (sextant) at Nissedal, Telemark, Norway and would have been in charge of keeping the church records. (The Lutheran State Church records are the official vital records for Norway.) For example, the following would have been Jorgen's handwritten entry for the 1835 birth and 1836 baptism of his son Halvor Jorgenson.

Birth and baptism records 1836 from Nissedal Kirkeboker Parish Register 1814-1862, p.49

I find it particularly poignant  to note that upon his death in 1839, the writing in the church books (starting with his burial) took a turn for the worse as a new clerk took over the responsibilities. (Anyone who has experience with old records in Gothic script knows the challenges faced in deciphering even simple words and names when the penmanship is excellent, never mind when it's not.)

Handwritten notations are far more touching than the more easily read and searched digitized version of the same information. It's that personal touch provided by the hand of our ancestors that will be missed when it comes to records being left by us now.

Post Script

After bemoaning the move to digitization and use of AI, it occurred to me that I am not leaving much in the way of handwritten records myself. I have, however, kept journals of my genealogical journey and have copied from a page written by me in January of 1998 at the Alberta Family Histories Society monthly meeting, Beginners' Session. Apparently they were filling us in on local resources available in Calgary. Sadly, I doubt that my log book/journals will provide much of particular interest to future genealogists.

Lefse on the Plate! (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 48 Theme: "Family Recipe")

Norwegian lefse (in North America sometimes spelled with an "a" as lefsa to indicate its pronunciation) is a soft flatbread made with mashed or riced potatoes, butter, cream and flour. It is generally spread with more butter before eating, then sprinkled with sugar (and sometimes cinnamon) and rolled up, or, in my family, more often spread simply with butter and rolled up to be eaten as a bread. It can also be used in savory snacks or lunches by rolling it up with meat, cheese or other fillings as you might with pita, naan or tortillas. It is a staple at Christmas and Thanksgiving in my Canadian family. 

My earliest recollection of lefse-making in my family was at home on the farm when my Grandma Bardahl came to visit. My parents had taken over my grandparents' Saskatchewan homestead in an area populated primarily by people of Norwegian heritage. My paternal grandparents were both 100% Norwegian Americans who had moved across the border to Canada. My maternal grandfather was entirely of Swedish and Norwegian background, but because my maternal grandmother was not Scandinavian at all, my mother Elinor (Anderson) Bardahl did not grow up with lefse (or any other Norwegian treats, for that matter).

That left it up to my Grandma Bardahl to show my mother how it was done. Grandma's old ridged rolling pin and her heavy grill to put on the wood stove were brought out, as was the turning stick (called a lefsepinne or snustikke in Norwegian --  but we just called it the turning stick or poking stick). This long narrow stick normally resided safely at the bottom of the living room pull-down blind and could be pulled out when called into service.

Here is the family recipe for Lefsa in my mother's handwriting:

Bardahl, Elinor, Recipes from Grandma's Kitchen, 2nd edition, privately printed 2013, page 9 (with my notation to refrigerate the potato mixture 1-2 days where the recipe says "cool"; this is the recommendation of my brother Craig and his wife Melanie)

Although the recipe does not indicate this as part of the method, for children most of the fun comes from helping by using the lefsa lifter to poke the bubbles that form when the first side cooks on the grill. Hence, our name of "poking stick".)

My mother became so adept at making lefse that she sold it for many years at the Swift Current Farmers' Market. The following newspaper article featured her lefse-making skills:

The Southwest Booster, Swift Current, Saskatchewan, November 18, 1991 

(I had forgotten my father's comment regarding their specialized car license plate that read "LEFSA" saying he had obtained it so he would always have lefsa on his plate! Groan!)

In the same way that Elinor's mother-in-law had taught her, Elinor in turn got her daughter-in-law Melanie started in the lefsa-making business. Melanie's husband Craig is equally involved and the couple have run a successful business selling their fine product throughout western Canada. They have tweaked the family recipe to make it work very well on a much larger scale. It remains delicious and of consistently excellent quality, making it exceedingly popular. It keeps them very busy for much of the year, particularly ahead of holiday seasons. 

Isaac Barton (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 47 theme: "The Name's the Same")

Isaac Barton is a name that shows up 8 times in my database and numerous times in other databases for various branches of the Barton family. For example, the Barton Database has 207 instances of Isaac included in the first/middle name for a Barton surname. Findagrave.com has 148 matching listings. Even local Victoria genealogist Buxton has 11 Isaac Bartons in her book. It would be interesting but exceedingly time-consuming to investigate all instances of "Isaac Barton".

I have a particular curiosity in sorting out any potential relationships for two of the men sharing this name. Not only do I have a maternal ancestor named Isaac Barton (my 4th great grandfather), but I have a paternal cousin who has a different man of the same name who is her 4th great  grandfather. Both of these men came from the New York State area and were born in the late 18th century. However, the family of my Isaac Barton supported the American cause in the American Revolutionary War, whereas my cousin Louise's branch were "Loyalists", remaining loyal to the British. Louise's Isaac moved north to what would become Canada; he died in 1851 in Prince Edward County, Ontario. My Isaac died in 1857 in Huron, Wayne County, NY.

Try as I may, I have yet to find a connection between these two men who share the same name. What I have been able to learn about these two Isaacs:

1. My 4th great grandfather Isaac Barton was born about 1780 in Huron, Wayne, New York. In 1804 he married Margaret "Abba" Vought/Voak who came from Cortlandt, Westchester, New York. Between 1804 and 1820, they had a family of 5 daughters and a son. 

In the 1850 US Federal Census, Isaac is at Huron, Wayne County, NY.  He was 70 and a farmer; wife Margaret was 65. Enumerated next to them was the family of their son Gerod Barton, 45. 

He died 24 June 1857 at age 77 and is buried in the Huron Evergreen Cemetery in Wayne County, NY.

 

Isaac Barton memorial, Huron Evergreen Cemetery; photo by Robert Byrne of Findagrave.eom

2. Louise's 4th great grandfather Isaac Barton was born about 1770 in New York State. He married Phoebe Vonblack. Following the American Revolutionary War, his father Gilbert Barton (1734-1782) escaped north with his family to start a new life in Canada. Gilbert was a Quaker who had served for the American cause, despite being admonished for breaking Quaker rules against serving in wars. 

[Don't let me get started with all the Gilbert Bartons in my and my cousin Louise's family trees. So far no overlap has been found among the Gilberts either, notwithstanding the names being the same.]

Louise's Isaac died in 1851 in Prince Edward, Ontario.

Buxton had speculated that perhaps these two Isaacs were the same man (and combined data from the two men into one in her listing!) -- at least until she found the inconsistencies. On page 49 of her work she wrote the following:

 224. Isaac BARTON was born in 1770/74 in NY. Died after 1851 in Hillier Twp, Prince Edward County, Ontario. --The 1992 IGI gives marriage date of 1804, in a Presbyterian Church in Westchester Co., NY of Isaac BARTON and Abba C. VOAK; this rules out this Isaac and Abba being the parents of our Gilbert born 1800 in Prince Edward County, Ontario. It also rules out this Isaac being the Quaker Isaac found in 1851 census of Prince Edward County, Ontario, whom I still believe to be the father of Gilbert. . . .

--[1851 census Hillier Twp.] Isaac, age 82, widower, living with Marmanduke ELLIS and his wife Mahatable. Mahatable is prob. d/o Isaac.

Conclusion: Although the names might be the same, these are clearly two different men from two different Barton lines. So it seems I must remain content to be related to cousin Louise through our mutual Norwegian lines on my Dad's side.

 

Some Resources:

• Barton Database accessed online 27 October 2025 at https://www.bartondatabase.com/
• Buxton, Anna Joan, Family History of Barton 1559-1993, privately printed Victoria, BC, Canada December 1995, 199 pp, copy in possession of author of this story
• "The Barton and Ellis Connection",  Loyalist Trails, United Empire Loyalists of Canada, accessed online 29 October 2025 at https://uelac.ca/loyalist-trails/loyalist-trails-2011-50/

Joseph Benson (1640-1705/6), 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 46 theme: "Wartime"

Joseph Benson, my 9th great grandfather, was born in 1640, two years after his parents John and Mary Benson along with two children under age 4 emigrated aboard the ship Confidence from Caversham, Oxfordshire, England to Hingham in New England. Joseph was the first of the family born in America. His early years were spent in Hingham before the family moved to Hull. 

Benson locations at Hingham and Hull, Plymouth Colony - Google Earth map

After his father's death, Joseph bought out his brother's share of the estate and remained in Hull. He married Sarah Bass in about 1666 and had a family of 8 children with her, all born in Hull. Their second child was Sarah Benson who grew up to marry Joseph Pratt; this couple became my 8th great grandparents.

Living where and when he did, it was almost inevitable that Joseph would be called upon to serve in King Philip's War in 1675-76. Several other ancestors were also involved, two of whom have been written about in stories earlier this year: John Wickes and Joseph Turner. King Philip's War  (aka the Great Narraganset War) was an armed conflict between the indigenous people of the northeastern colonies and the  English colonists and some of their indigenous supporters. (With the benefit of historical hindsight, I find it much easier to sympathize with the original inhabitants than with my colonial ancestors.)

The King Philip War - a raid on the settlers. Engraving from The Providence Plantations for 250 Years, Welcome Arnold Greene, 1886. (Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons)

Joseph became a soldier and first appears in the muster rolls of those serving under Captains Johnson and Jacob on 24 March 1675 with the following notation: "02-16-00" (perhaps payment?). Then in the "List of Capt. Johnson's Company" made at Dedham 10 December 1675, he is named among the six men listed from Hull. Captain Isaac Johnson was the older brother of my 9th great grandfather Humphrey Johnson who also served in the same Company.

The Company consisted of 75 men from Hull and the surrounding settlements (Roxbury, Dorchester, Milton, Braintry, Weymouth and Hingham). 

It was one of the two companies that led an attack in the Great Swamp Fight in Rhode Island on 19 December 1675. Captain Johnson and three other men were killed and eight were wounded as they charged a Native American fort in a 3-hour battle. No mention is made of either Joseph Benson or Humphrey Johnson having been among the wounded; both survived the War.

The Great Swamp Fight Monument
Photo by Innapoy 16 July 2013
Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons License ( GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation)

Joseph died in Hull on 2 January 1705/6. For his service, in 1733 he was awarded a grant of land in Narragansett #5, Souhegan East (now Bedford, NH) that was claimed by his son and heir.

Some Resources:

• Benson, Fred H., The Benson Family Records, The Craftsman Pres(s: Syracuse, N.Y., 1920; available online at HathiTrust at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005729634
• Bodge, George M., Soldiers in King Philip's War; containing lists of the soldiers of Massachusetts Colony who served in the Indian War of 1675-1676; Printed for the author, Boston 1891, accessed 8 October 2025 on Internet Archive; pages 111-115 at https://archive.org/details/soldiersinkingph00bodg
• Britannica online article about "King Philip's War"  at https://www.britannica.com/event/King-Philips-War