Surname Saturday ~ October Birthdays

Happy October birthday to my youngest and most adorable grandson, my niece Rebecca, my husband's nephew Paul, my cousin Rose, and my aunt Kylene!

Especially in my thoughts today; my dad who would have been 80 years old October twenty-fifth.


Karl Larsson KLARIN

 October birthdays that appear in my family tree include:

Clarin/Klarin

My 2nd great-grandfather Karl Larsson KLARIN was born 19 Oct 1863 in Hörby, Malmöhus, Sweden. He served in the Swedish army until 1884 and later immigrated to Chicago. Karl and his wife had three daughters. Mabelle, the youngest, had a baby named Betsy Ann WALLIN 18 Oct 1933. Sadly Betsy died the same day.

Jönsdotter and Jönsson
My 2nd great-grandmother Bengta had at least seven siblings. Her sister Hanna JÖNSDOTTER was born 02 Oct 1859 in Bjäresjö, Malmöhus, Sweden. This is a copy of the husförhör (household examination roll) from Hörby 1863-1870:

Landstrom
My 2nd great-granduncle Johan Wilhelm LANDSTROM was born 22 Oct 1860 in Norra Sandsjö, Jönköping, Sweden.

Johan Wilhelm LANDSTROM

Littrell

My 2nd great-grandmother Mary Ella LITTRELL was born 30 Oct 1858 in Roanoke County Virginia. Her mother died when Ella was quite young. Ella's father married a widow with three children; Ida born 15 Oct 1857, George and Anna DEMASTER. The blended family moved to Springfield Ohio. Anna's daughter Catherine May TEACH was born there 10 Oct 1891.



Gustav Robert MANGELS



Mangels

My great-grandfather Gustav Robert MANGELS was born 20 Oct 1889 in Chicago; the oldest son of German immigrants. He and my great-grandmother divorced and both remarried. Between marriages, Gustav appeared on the 1920 census in Massachusetts as a soldier in the US Army stationed at Fort Warren. Gustav and his second wife lived in Fort Wayne Indiana where he worked for General Electric. His daughter Lucille Emilie MANGELS was born 18 Oct 1930.

Schmitt

The last child born before my Schmitt ancestors immigrated to Cincinnati Ohio, my 2nd great-granduncle Francois SCHMITT was born 24 Oct 1853 in Hellimer, Moselle, Lorraine, France. What became of him in the US is not yet known.

Tolf

My 2nd great-grandfather's brother Gustaf TOLF was born 25 Oct 1847 in Svenarum, Jönköping, Sweden. He was the first of his seven siblings to immigrate to America. Gustaf settled in Batavia Illinois where he worked as a blacksmith as he had done in Sweden. 

Gustaf and Nettie Tolf with six of their children

Gustaf's sister Frida married Charles Johan LJUNGBERG/YOUNGBERG born 27 Oct 1861 in Svenarum, Jönköping, Sweden. The couple moved from Batavia to Chicago where Charles worked for the Pullman Car Company.

Their daughter Myrtle married Joseph Philip FRIEND born 24 Oct 1885, an immigrant from Schonlinde, Czechoslovakia. Joe worked as an "operator at the moving picture theater" according to the 1930 census.

Charles and Frida's son Lawrence Charles YOUNGBERG was born in Chicago 12 Oct 1887. Lawrence had two daughters, Dolores Lorraine YOUNGBERG born 01 Oct 1913 and her younger sister Evelyn. Both girls married men with October birthdays: Dolores to Paul Evert JOHNSON born 08 Oct 1909 and Evelyn to Douglas Lee FOSTER born 29 Oct 1924.

Do we share any ancestors? If you see any familiar names above, please email me at livinginthepastlane [at] yahoo [dot] com and let's compare notes!

Margaret ? becomes Margaret Jane Shartzer

In the 1860 census, my third great-grandmother Margaret is married to Charles Littrell. They live in Salem Virginia with their two children, John and Mary Ellen.

The 1870 census reveals that Charles had recently married Julia McMasters. Their blended family included a two year old child of their own named Edward. By the 1880 census the family had moved to Springfield Ohio.

Margaret's identity seemed to be lost until one day a clue appeared on FamilySearch. A Margaret Jane Littrell who had been married to Chas. W. Littrell died in 1867. The Family History Library had two films that offered possibilities for me to explore; # 33822 with Marriage Licenses and a Marriage Register, and # 33823 with a birth and death register. I rented both.

I looked at the marriages first. It was frustrating not to be able to find Charles's marriage to Margaret. But I did locate his marriage to Julia on November 21, 1866. Both were widowed. Charles was 32, born in Roanoke County Virginia. Twenty-seven year old Julia had been born in Rockbridge County. Charles' parents are listed as John and Catherine. The Dunker minister who married the couple was John Brubaker.

The birth and death register revealed multiple birth records for children born to Charles and (variations of spellings for) Margaret Jane. Seeing my second great-grandmother's birth in 1858 proved Margaret Jane was indeed my third great-grandmother. The birth record of their first child included Margaret Jane's maiden name - Shartzer.

Sadly I learned Margaret's fate within minutes of learning her name. She and two of her young children died of flux in July of 1867.

The Littrell plot thickens. How could Charles and Julia be married before Margaret died? The answer could be as simple as an error in transcription, but this is a question I hope to answer during my next visit to the FHC.

On this Day in Her-Story ~ 1890 ~ Bessie Littrell

One of my resolutions for 2011 is to focus on my paternal grandfather's side of the family. Toward that end, I printed a calendar of birth dates for those ancestors and their families. I'd like to celebrate each of these special days by determining what I "know" about the birthday boy or girl.

Bessie F. Littrell is my first cousin thrice removed. Her father John and my 2nd great-grandmother Mary are the only known children born to Charles Littrell and his first wife Margaret in Salem Virginia.

After Margaret's death (?) Charles married Mrs. Julia DeMasters, a widow/divorcee (?) with three children. The couple had a son in 1868 and the blended family moved to Springfield Ohio shortly thereafter.

Bessie's parents John H. Littrell and Sarah E. Drumen were married in Shelby County Ohio May 15, 1883. John was a foreman at an iron works company in Springfield for many years.

When she was 20, Bessie married William H. McMahon. Their March 28, 1910 marriage license states "it is expected that Rev. Gardner will solemnize the marriage". The 1930 census shows that the couple and baby Marjorie J. McMahon reside in Reno Nevada. William died in 1969 and Bessie died in 1978, both in Santa Clara California.

Hmm. It appears I don't know very much about Bessie. As a first cousin thrice removed, that's okay for now. The real gift on Bessie's birthday was the opportunity to go through my Littrell notes and formulate a research plan.

Charles seems to have disappeared in Ohio. I'll have to do some sleuthing to see if he'll turn up. And I'd really like to know what happened to Margaret (Bessie's grandmother) in Virginia. There is a birth and death register for Roanoke County on microfilm at the Family History Library. That seems like a good place to start.