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. 

********************

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. 

******************************

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)