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)

Captain John Marchante (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025, Week 6 Theme: "Surprise")

Panama 2023 photo by author

Notwithstanding my having encountered many surprises during my quarter century of family history research, the word "surprise" occurs just once in my extensive genealogy database. 

My 11X great grandfather Captain John Marchante was from Yeovil, Somerset, England. He became a privateer (essentially a pirate authorized by Queen Elizabeth I) serving under Sir Francis Drake for the decade from 1585-1595. Their numerous campaigns against the Spanish included the 1587 Cadiz expedition, a pre-emptive strike on the Spanish Armada. 

Marchante accompanied Drake on his ill-fated 1595 voyage to challenge Spain in the area that would become Panama.  Both men lost their lives, Drake from disease and Captain John from the "surprise" that awaited the English in Panama.

Panama Canal area
Photo by author 2023

After failing to seize a Spanish treasure ship in Puerto Rico, Drake and his entourage moved on to Panama where they took the town of Nombre de Dios (near the location of the Panama Canal today). They had been hoping to intercept Spanish gold being brought over the isthmus, but when Drake's forces marched up the hill, they were surprised to discover a Spanish fort on top. About 20 Englishmen were killed, including Captain John who died there 2 January 1596. 

 A longer story with more details about the life of John Marchante can be found through this link.

Captain John Johnson (1590-1659) - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025, Week 5 theme "Challenge"

My 10X great grandfather John Johnson was born in England about 1590 and shows up in the record for his marriage to Mary Heath (1594-1629) at St. Mary the Virgin Church in Ware, Hertfordshire, England on 21 September 1613.

St. Mary the Virgin Church, Ware, Hertfordshire - photo by Christine Matthews licensed for reuse through the

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

Included among their children was my 9X great grandfather Humphrey Johnson (1620-1693), whose story would appropriately suit this week's topic of "Challenge", but I had already written a story about him (accessible through this link).

Shortly after Mary's death and John's second marriage, the family sailed to the Colony of Massachusetts Bay on the Arabella as part of the Winthrop Fleet, landing at Salem 22 June 1630. The Johnsons were Puritans and one might discuss the challenges faced by these religious dissidents at the time, but that isn't going to be the focus of this week's story either. 

They were among the English founding families of Roxbury (now part of Boston) where John took an active part in the affairs of the community, serving on various committees and juries. He was able to read and write. By 1638-40 he had 6 goats and 4 kids (which, based on goats’ reputations, could also have inspired a story about challenges). 

In 1641 he was chosen Surveyor General, which included responsibility for the weapons and ammunition of the Colony. He was to ensure that each soldier had a musket, sword, rest and pair of bandoliers with 2 fathoms of match for each musket. (As best I understand this, the muskets would have been matchlock muskets which use a piece of slow-burning match cord to ignite the gunpowder. Two fathoms of match would have been 12 feet or twice a man's armspan.) Much of this along with 17-18 barrels of gunpowder were stored in the Johnson home. On 6 April 1645, fire broke out and levelled the house; the ammunition blew up causing homes in Boston and Cambridge to shake with what residents thought to be an earthquake. Fortunately no one was home at the time and, surprisingly, no one was killed. That may in part be attributed to a high wind that changed direction in time to save all other nearby homes.

Johnson did not seem to be blamed for this disastrous loss of defense materials. Instead, the general court was chastised for its many years of not having taken better care of the community's stock of weaponry and there was also some thought that it served them right for previously not having come to the defense of their countrymen in Virginia and Plymouth against the Native Americans. (Today we might well challenge the assumption that they should have been waging war on the Native Americans in the first place!)

However, this brings us to the challenge that now faced John Johnson (aged about 55) to replace his house and out-buildings and all the family's personal effects. He was certainly a man of means with significant land holdings who also ran a tavern. No doubt the community came to his aid. But he also benefitted by having no qualms about his conflict of interest when he used his own tavern for training day meetings and headquarters for Roxbury's military Train Band of which he was Captain.

Just months after the fire, John Johnson was listed as an officer to oversee the establishment of a school for which he himself became a donor. This was the origin of the Roxbury Latin School which is billed as the oldest boys school in North America as well as the oldest school in continuous operation in North America.

Johnson was a signatory on a report for rebuilding of the community's defenses on Castle Island on 20 July 1652. He was a Selectman in government during the 1650s and also was involved in a group erecting a new mill. He obviously remained involved in community responsibilities throughout his life.

John Johnson died 30 September 1659 and was buried in the Eliot Burying Ground in Roxbury. 

Eliot Burying Ground, Roxbury, MA
from Findagrave.com website
Permission to use photo kindly granted by photographer Rhonda Clark

The inventory of his estate after his death shows just how well he had met the challenge of rebuilding his fortune lost in the fire and explosion 14 years earlier. The list of possessions goes on at length (6 pages!) and is valued at 668 pounds, an amount considered very high for those times. The full list includes 6 beds and abundant bedding, clothing, carpets in every room, silver, chests and trunks, several tables, stools, chairs, many yards of cloth, pounds of cheese, bushels of grain, several cows, sheep, ram, lambs and a horse, along with several parcels of land. He clearly provided a very comfortable life for his family while meeting the challenges of his lifetime. 

Some Resources:

* Johnson, Gerald Garth: The Biography and Genealogy of Captain Johnson from Roxbury, Massachusetts: an uncommon man in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1630 to 1659; published by Heritage Books, Bowie Md 2000; available on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/biographygenealo00john/mode/2up

*Anderson, Robert Charles: New England, The Great Migration Begins, Vol. 2, G-O, p1105

Myrtle Bullen and Ruth Dunlop (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025, Week 7 Theme: "Letters and Diaries")

My first cousin 3 times removed, Myrtle Iva Bullen is a kindred spirit I never had the opportunity to know in person. Still, I know she and I would have been close friends had we not been separated by so much time and distance.

Early on in my genealogical journey I was provided with loose photocopies of a collection of letters and writings from the 1930s. My Uncle Bob Anderson had received it from a distant cousin in similar format and had sorted  the loose sheets into sections and renumbered the pages. As a result, most of the pages have more than one hand-written page number. 

The title page calls this "Source Book for the Bullen Family" collected and compiled by two women - Myrtle Bullen Nelson and Ruth Dunlop. I sometimes call this work the "Nelson-Dunlop Papers".  Until this week, I had not been able to find a family connection to Ruth, but now have her placed in my tree and know that she was Myrtle's niece and my 2C2XR.

Title Page for the Nelson-Dunlop Papers

It had also taken several years for me to determine where Myrtle Bullen fit into my family tree. Our most recent common ancestors were her grandparents (my 3rd great grandparents) David Bullen (1788-1872) and Jane Murdie (1801-1857). Myrtle's father was David Bullen Jr. (1832-1911) whose younger sister Sarah Catherine Bullen was my ancestor. 

Myrtle had three sisters, Eva born 1868, Maud born 1869 and Mayme born 1874. Myrtle was born 22 October 1879 in Arlington, Columbia, Wisconsin. It was only this week while preparing this story that I learned of the existence of  Mayme, which led to the connection to Mayme's daughter Ruth Dunlop. This compilation of data was an ambitious family project undertaken by aunt and niece. While Myrtle's sister Eva also contributed to the Source Book, she wasn't credited in the authorship. 

Wescott Family Photo c.1902, Mayme Bullen Dunlop back row 2nd from left and Eva Bullen Wescott 4th from left; my great grandmother Mary-Jane "Mayme" Wescott Edwards is on the far left with her 4 children in front of her; Ruth Dunlop should be here, about age 2 - possibly front row fourth from left in front of her mother

Writing on the back of a 27 August 1935 letter addressed to Eva Wescott from the Port Washington, Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce shows the collaboration of the women, with historical searching interspersed with current family news. Forwarded to Myrtle from "Ev", it discusses the information received and says "not much satisfaction." She goes on to detail current family matters saying that "Gene, Myrtle and Florence Marsh were here last Sunday. Florence said she would look up the Bullen history at some place in Washington, D.C. , , , Are you getting anything out of the papers I sent? Wonder if we could find out anything from old records in Milwaukee? Kenneth and family were here yesterday. He has four awake boys. Evelyn will go to school in Wausau and take the two years at Training School."

Birth record for Myrtle Iva Bullen daughter of David Bullen and Hannah Hodgson

Myrtle lived her entire life in Wisconsin, marrying Adolph Nelson on 25 June 1902. Included in the Source Book is information from the newspaper clipping announcing the marriage; from this we learn that the marriage occurred at her father's home in Arlington with only a small party of relatives present.

No evidence has been found for any children for them, perhaps generating her interest in looking back up her tree to research its earlier members. Sadly, she did not include many details about herself in her collection. She died 13 January 1971 and is buried in Hillside Cemetery in Poynette, Columbia, Wisconsin. 

Headstone for Myrtle and Adolph in Hillside Cemetery, photo from findagrave.com website
 used with permission of photographer EAKII

As for Ruth Dunlop, she was born in Minnesota 1 March 1900 to Myrtle's sister Mayme and her husband William Caldon Dunlop.

When Ruth grew up, she probably attended college, based on her career at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, She was a member of the  AAUW (American Association of University Women) and was listed in a 1936 Courier newspaper article about the group's State Support of Public Education regarding equalization of educational opportunities.  She never married. Her career at the college lasted from July 1923 until her retirement in July of 1969. Census records describe her employment as college teacher, stenographer at the college and records clerk at the State Teachers College. According to her obituary on the College's website, she was the Advanced Standings Analyst in the Admissions Office at the time of her retirement. She died at the age of 80.

Myrtle and Ruth's "Source Book for the Bullen Family"  was their magnum opus.  Its contents include sections on our shared common ancestors David Bullen Senior (1788-1872) and Revolutionary Captain John Bullen (1747-1824). Also included are sections on extended family members the Honorable William Bullen, General John Bullen (1783-1850), Caroline Quarles and Family, Lathrop Bullene, David Crosit, Alfred Bullen, Orlando Foster, Hudson Baes and Charles Clement and for Myrtle's Hodgson mother's family.

In addition to copies of many newspaper articles and excerpts from history books, examples of some of the correspondence included in the source book are:

• letter to Ruth Dunlop from the County Archivist in the County of Montgomery Department of History and Archives of Fonda, New York dated 20 January 1936 (relating to her query about David and John Bullen in the 1790 census and other records for Whitestown, NY)
• letter to Ruth Dunlop from the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York dated 2 January 1936 (relating to (non)membership of John and David Bullen and referring to the Morgan affair)
• letter to Eva L. Wescott (Myrtle's sister Eva who had married Harvey Wescott) from the Principal Emeritus of the Hannibal NY High School dated 15 December 1935 (also relating to the roles of John and David Bullen in the Masonic Lodge at Hannibal of which they were founders and first Senior Warden and first Master respectively, and how the Lodge went with the Morgan times)
• letter to Eva from their cousin Americus Vespuccius Brown dated 19 October 1935 (relating to his knowledge about the family background of David Bullen and Jane Murdy)
• letter to Myrtle from cousin Josephine Brooks (a descendant of John Bullen) of Portland, Oregon dated October 1935 (relating to the family's move to establish Kenosha, Wisconsin, and visits to some of the family members' gravesites in Kenosha and in Paris Hills, NY)

While reviewing the Source Book this week, I realized there was much information I had overlooked and not added to my database, including finding where Ruth and her mother fit into my Bullen family tree. Many more relatives have now been added to my tree and more details added from the collection amassed by Myrtle and Ruth (and Eva too). The gift they created for the family keeps on giving.

Having used their Source Book for the Bullen Family extensively over the years, I think it is well past time to honor the work of these dedicated family historians who left no descendants of their own. Thank you, Cousins Myrtle and Ruth!

Some Resources:

Without the kind assistance of the Archivist, Cedar Falls Historical Society, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, I would still largely be in the dark about the life work of Ruth Dunlop. They were able to provide information including Ruth's various addresses in Cedar Falls over the decades, newspaper clippings and the link to the College Website. Many thanks!

Jane Davididson (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025, Week 4 - "Overlooked")

Jane Davididson was overlooked for years. First, she simply wasn't named in any available records, but even after coming across her name, I  considered her a stepmother to my maternal line 3rd great grandmother Jane Murdie (or Murdy) and continued to pay her little attention. 

Mitochondrial DNA is passed from a mother to all her children but only daughters pass that on to the next generation. My mitochondrial haplogroup H2a1 came down my female line from Jane Murdie, and also from her mother, quite possibly the woman named Jane Davididson.

I suspect the reason for my oversight was the wording in the "Source Book for the Bullen Family" collected and compiled in the 1930s by Myrtle Bullen Nelson and Ruth Dunlop, quoting from a letter written by Jane Murdie's granddaughter Mrs. A. H. Nelson: 

My grandmother's (Jane Murdy) father died and her mother married a Mr. Chambers who was the father of Mary and Kate Chambers.

I interpreted that to mean that Mr. Chambers was Mary and Kate's father but, no mention being made of their mother, it wasn't the same unnamed woman who was Jane Murdy's mother but some other unknown previous or subsequent wife. When I later came upon several unsourced references to Jane Davididson as the mother to the Chambers daughters, it still did not occur to me that she might also be Jane Murdie's mother.

Piecing together the sequence of events without much in the way of documentation, it seems Jane Murdie's mother had married Mr. Murdie in Scotland, came to Hannibal, Oswego, New York where daughter Jane was born in 1801 (or possibly as late as 1808). Mr. Murdie headed west on business with a fine herd of horses but was never seen again, eventually being presumed dead. 

Without finding any death or marriage records to pinpoint dates, there are a couple of possible scenarios that fit the known events. First possibility is that by about 1817 the widow Murdie married John Chambers and had 3 daughters with him: Mary born 1818, Louisa born 1820 and Catherine "Kate" born 1823, the same year Jane Murdie married David Bullen. (This may seem like a huge gap between the birth of Jane and of the younger girls but is certainly quite possible, especially given the circumstances.) 

Kate Chambers Gilmore Griggs, daughter of Jane Davididson and possible half sister of Jane Murdie

Another possibility is that Jane Davididson died sometime after 1823 and John Chambers then married the widow Murdie, Jane's mother, whose name remains unknown. 

Jane Murdie married David Bullen in Hannibal, Oswego, N.Y in 1823. When the Bullens moved from New York to Wisconsin, the Chambers soon moved there too. The 3 Chambers girls all married and had families. One of the few pieces of documentation that has been located is the obituary for daughter Kate.

Obituary of Kate Chambers, La Grange WI 23 August 1900

Although only one sister (Louisa) is said to have survived Kate, it is noteworthy that "Mrs. David Bullen" (Jane Murdie) attended from a distance. Clearly they had been close to justify this travel. Were they half sisters or step-sisters? 

The lack of documentary evidence leaves the possibility of using DNA to solve the mystery. Although I have tried to find an appropriate descendant of one of the 3 Chambers girls who would be able to take a mitochondrial DNA test to see if they too have the haplogroup H2a1, their families seem to have "sonned out", leaving no likely candidates. (One autosomal match does descend from a Chambers sister but that could be from any number of ancestral lines.) Although we still cannot know for certain whether Jane Davididson was Jane Murdie's mother, at least now she is no longer being overlooked.