Ancestors in the 1930 U.S. Federal Census - Part 10

April 1st was Census Day for the 1930 U.S. Federal Census. In honor of that census day, throughout the month of April I posted lists of my known direct ancestors and where they were residing during that census. I am continuing this series into the subsequent months. I'll also list who's missing; for us family historians, missing individuals on census records can be the most frustrating and intriguing challenges of genealogy!

In Part 2 of this series, I presented census information on my paternal grandmother living in the home of her adoptive parents, Alfred Henry HOLST and Nellie May CONCIDINE. Nellie's parents were both deceased by 1930, although she had a step-mother (Minnie Belle FIELD) and younger half-brother (Everett CONCIDINE), possibly living in California (they are currently missing-in-action in this census). In this post, I will discuss Alfred's parents, Johann "John" D. HOLST and Ida C. (or Marie) GUSTAVSON, in relation to the 1930 Federal Census.

On April 9, 1930, John and Ida were enumerated (E.D. 28, Sheet 9B) at their home on Center Street in the village of Coopersville, Polkton Township, Ottawa County, Michigan. This is the village in which my father, his siblings, his mother and his uncle grew up, and where one of my aunts and some of my cousins live today. In 1930, all five of John and Ida's surviving children (they apparently lost two in infancy) were living in the area, with the exception of John, Jr., who lived in Florida.

The household consisted of:

• John D. Holst; head of household; owner of a home worth $2,000; home not on a farm; male, white, age 69, married; age at marriage: 20; did not attend school in the last year; able to read and write; born in Germany; parents born in Germany; language spoken before coming to the United States: German; immigrated to the U.S. in 1883; a naturalized citizen; able to speak English; works as a janitor at a condensery for wages; employed; not a veteran.
• Ida C. Holst; wife; female, white, age 68, married; age at marriage: 19; did not attend school in the last year; able to read and write; born in Sweden; parents born in Sweden; language spoken before coming to the United States: Swedish; immigrated to the U.S. in 1883; a naturalized citizen; able to speak English; occupation: none.

According to a local historian, Chris Heimler, the home that John and Ida lived in was actually 468 Center Street, and it had quite a history in and of itself. The house had been a residence for several prominent families in that community. In looking over my notes to write this post, I realized there were some loose ends that needed tying up, and I hope to discover more about this residence and perhaps even obtain photos of it.

The 1920 U.S. Federal Census states that John had been born in Hannover, and the 1900 census gives his birthdate as April 1860. Ida, born 28 October 1861 in Sweden, must have immigrated to Germany before her marriage there to John on 6 February 1880. Their son, Alfred, was born in Germany before the young family immigrated in 1883, departing Europe from Hamburg, Germany and Le Havre, France. They arrived in New York City on 5 July 1883 on the Lessing (go here and scroll down to the bottom of the page to see a photo of the ship). Also aboard was 17-year-old Henriette HOLST, who was listed as being a citizen of Prussia, while John, Ida and Alfred are citizens of Hannover. Holst is a common German name, however, as its meaning is "woods." I'm keeping an eye out for Henriette to see if she ever shows up in my Holsts' lives again.

The Holst family first settled in Spring Lake Township, Ottawa County, Michigan, where they were enumerated on the 1884 Michigan State Census. In 1900, they were in Ravenna Township in nearby Muskegon County, and in 1910 and 1920, resided in Sullivan Township, also in Muskegon County. According to John's obituary, they moved into Coopersville in 1923; it erroneously states they had always lived in Ottawa County since immigration. John enjoyed hunting even into his elder years, and he and Ida celebrated their 50th anniversary in a community-wide event in 1930. She died in 1939; and John died the following year.

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 11, Part 12)