The Story of Lost Lynn: Part 2

This is the second in a series about Lynn Walker Westaby, my children's paternal great-grandmother's uncle. When their great-grandmother was still alive, she told me about her Uncle Lynn, who had a short and tragic life. Although he never married nor had children, he is worth remembering. Come along with me as I tell the story of Lost Lynn.

The Westaby family, c. 1908 with Will Leland, Izma's future husband, and unknown boy. Probably taken on their farm west of Forsyth. All photos in this post scanned by author in 2014 from the collection of Troy W. Midkiff, Vancouver, Washington.

In Part 1, we learned that little six-year-old Lynn lost his right foot and part of his lower leg due to a terrible railroad yard accident in his hometown of Forsyth, Rosebud County, Montana. It couldn't have been easy to navigate the world as a disabled person in 1911, especially in a small rural town or on the family's farm. Somehow, he and his family figured it out. We don't know if he had a prosthesis at such a young age; he was known to wear one later.¹ But for sure, he was using crutches within a few months of his amputation.²

He certainly didn't let his injury slow him down! He was a bright lad and held nothing in back, in school or in activities. By second grade, he was a top-notch speller in class.³ During Forsyth's Fourth of July celebrations in 1914, when he was nine, he won first place in the greased pole contest,⁴ which involves climbing a vertical greased pole the fastest! His upper body strength must have been pretty good due to compensating for his missing lower limb. In third grade, he was lauded for having perfect attendance and never being tardy during the month of February.⁵

By the time he was 15, he could play either the catcher or the pitcher position on his school's sixth grade baseball team (the Panthers) and was scheduled to play a series of seven games against the seventh grade team (the Giants) for the grand prize of five gallons of ice cream. While the Giants ultimately won, a local reporter stated that the game was well played: "...although the Panthers received a bad defeat they put up a good exhibition of the national past-time and took their defeat like veterans of a couple of world series. Both teams pounded the horsehide hard and often, but the superior playing of the Gaints [sic] was too much for the Panthers."^{6, 7}

It's not clear why he was 15 years old in sixth grade, but schooling in those days was different than today. When students were required to help in the family business or on the farm--and his family had both--they could miss months of school and have to pick up where they left off when they returned. Speaking of the farm, Lynn raised pigeons and was declared a winner for his pair of giant runts in the 1920 Eastern Montana Fair held in Glendive, in neighboring Dawson County.⁸ The following year, he won second prize for the best booklet on an agricultural topic. The choices were poultry, cattle, horses, hogs, wheat, corn, dairying, or potatoes.⁹ While the newspaper article doesn't give more details, it would not have been surprising if the topic was dairying, as Lynn's father Rice had started his Jersey Island Dairy in 1905 on their farm on Westaby Island on the Yellowstone River, about a mile west of town.¹⁰

The Westaby siblings pose c. 1910.
Back row, left to right: Izma, Lynn, George
Front row: Reuben, Guy, Charles

But all was not fair fun and ball games in the Westaby family: by the time of the 1921 fair, Rice had married his second wife, Nora Alice Myers.¹¹ We don't yet know when he and Rebecca divorced, but as early as 1914, she had been living separately from him in a home in Forsyth that may have been owned by her family, working in her son Guy's steam laundry.¹² She was listed as the head of the household in the 1920 census in her Forsyth home, with Lynn living with her.¹³ Rice was enumerated on the farm with their son Reuben.¹⁴ By then the older children were adults and no longer living at home. George and Izma had each married; George and his wife Rena Lerfald lived in Forsyth with their four-year-old daughter Helen (my children's great-grandmother) and George's brother Guy.¹⁵ Izma and her husband Will Leland were living in Glendive with their toddler, Velma, and Will's brother Joe.¹⁶ Charles had moved south to Sheridan, Wyoming to work for the railroad.¹⁷

Will Leland holds Helen Westaby while Lynn stands nearby, c. 1917.

Lynn was now a young man. Like his older brothers and sister, he would soon be off on his own.

Sources:

1. Westaby Family Notes, MS (No place: no date); privately held by Helen Mary (Westaby) Midkiff Tucker, Sunnyside, Washington, c. 1980s. A handwritten copy was made by her grandson, Michael J. Midkiff [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Spokane, Washington, c. 1980s. Whereabouts of the original manuscript is unknown after 8 November 1997, the date of Helen Tucker’s death.

2. “Is Improving Rapidly,” Forsyth Times-Journal, (Forsyth, Montana) 4 May 1911, p. 1, col. 7, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 February 2025).

3. "Spelling Report: Marcyes School," Forsyth Times-Journal, 5 February 1914, p. 3, col. 5-7, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

4. "Forsyth Has Big Celebration," Forsyth Times-Journal, 9 July 1914, p. 4, col. 3, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025.)

5. "Have a Good Record," Forsyth Times-Journal, 11 March 1915, p. 3, col. 6, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

6. "Hammond School Plays 1st Ball Game of Season," Forsyth Times-Journal, 1 April 1920, p. 1, col. 3, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

7. "Giants Take First of Series of Five," Forsyth Democrat (Forsyth, Montana), 22 April 1920, p. 10, col. 2, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

8. "Success Crowns Eastern Montana Fair in All Departments," Yellowstone Monitor, (Glendive, Montana), 23 September 1920, p. 1, col. 23 and p. 4, col. 3, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

9. "List of Winners at Fair Given Below," Yellowstone Monitor, 20 October 1921, p. 2, col. 4, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

10. "Local and Otherwise," The Forsyth Times, (Forsyth, Montana), 16 March 1905, p. 8, col. 2, Newspapers.com (accessed 16 March 2025).

11. Custer County (Montana) Clerk of the District Court, marriage license and certificate no. 3902 (1921), Rice Westaby and Nora Alice Myers; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 1 March 2012), "Montana, County Marriages, 1865-1950."

12. Miles City, Glendive, Forsyth and Ekalaka City Directory and Custer, Dawson, Rosebud and Fallon Counties Directory 1914 (R. L. Polk Co. of Montana, 1914), entry for Mrs Rebecca C Westaby, p. 397; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469/ : accessed 25 June 2025), image 213 of 284, "U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995."

13. 1920 U.S. Census, Rosebud County, Montana, population schedule, Forsyth City, p. 19B, dwelling 386, family 459, Rebecca A [sic] Westaby household; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 27 May 2025), image 37 of 38; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 975.

14. 1920 U.S. Census, Rosebud County, Montana, population schedule, School District No. 4, p. 2B, dwelling 42, family 42, George R. Westaby household; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 27 May 2025), image 4 of 9; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 975

15. 1920 U.S. Census, Rosebud County, Montana, population schedule, Forsyth City, p. 11A, dwelling 206, family 251, George R. Westerby [sic] household; Ancestry.com;(https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 9 June 2025), image 21 of 38; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 975.

16. 1920 U.S. Census, Dawson County, Montana, population schedule, Glendive City, p. 5A, dwelling 85, family 101, William Leland household; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 4 July 2025), image 9 of 42; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 968.

17. 1920 U.S. Census, Sheridan County, Wyoming, population schedule, Sheridan City, p. 26B [corrected], dwelling 187, family 266, lodger in the James Dawson household; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 4 July 2025), image 49 of 51; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 2029.

Notable July Fourth Events in Our Family History

Free photo image by Kaboompics.com
Found at Pexels.com

Today is Independence Day in the United States, the 249th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by our founding fathers. On this day, Americans celebrate the birthday of our nation.

I thought it would be interesting to look through my RootsMagic family tree databases and see what significant events happened on July 4th in our family's history. I ran queries in my own database, my children's paternal lines database, and my grandchildren's paternal lines database.

There were many July 4th births, marriages, and deaths of individuals, mostly distant relatives. There were no July 4th burials, which makes sense. A burial is a sad occasion and Independence Day is for celebrations.

I won't list every July 4th birth, marriage, or death below, but I will list ones for direct ancestors or those which may have had an effect on a direct ancestor.

Births

Oddly enough, only one of the three July 4th ancestor births was on American soil.

My paternal great-great-grandfather, James W. Barber, was supposedly born on this date in 1841, somewhere in England. He is a brick wall ancestor, which means I know nothing about his family of origin: parents, siblings, etc. I also don't know where in England he was born or lived. The first record in which I can positively identify him is the 1871 Canada Census, although I did find an 1862 marriage record for a couple with somewhat wrong names in the correct location (that's a blog post for another day!).

Another July 4th birth belongs to John D. Concidine, my adoptive 3rd-great-grandfather, who was born to Dennis Concidine and Honora "Nora" Gilligan in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland. John's granddaughter Nellie May Concidine and her husband Alfred Henry Holst adopted my paternal grandmother, Jane Marie York, who became Jeanne Marie Holst.

Polly Emeline Dennis, my grandchildren's paternal 3rd-great-grandmother, was born on July 4th in 1840 in Tennessee. It probably was in Overton County, where her father James Thaxton Dennis was found in the censuses from 1820 through 1840, before moving on to Dent Co., Missouri. 

Polly's mother was Lucinda Catherine Hunter, which I find interesting because my grandchildren's surname is Hunter; their father's direct paternal line. But Polly and her mother Lucinda are found in their paternal grandmother's line. This means my grandchildren have Hunters on both sides of their dad's family tree. These lines don't seem to be related: on their dad's paternal side, the Hunters can be traced into early New Jersey, while Lucinda's line is found in South Carolina. But Hunter, after all, is a common occupational surname.

Marriages

My children's paternal great-great-grandparents, George Rice Westaby III and Rena Lerfald, were married on this day in 1915 in Glendive, Dawson Co., Montana. I've been spending a lot of time lately researching the Westaby family and am in the middle of a series about George's youngest brother Lynn.

In my own family, the only ancestor who had a July 4th marriage was Filippus Willems Jonker. He married his first wife, Grietje Eisses, on this date in 1812 in Kloosterburen, Groningen, the Netherlands. His second wife, Catharina Klaassens van der Laan, was my ancestor. They married 4 April 1831 after Grietje's death, and were my 4th-great-grandparents.

Deaths

No July 4th ancestral deaths were located in any of the three family trees. However, on this date my great-great-grandparents Tjamme Wiegers "James" Valk and Berber Tjeerds "Barbara" de Jong tragically lost two children, two years apart, in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan.

In 1895, their youngest daughter Chaterina died at age 5 months, 9 nine days of "summer complaint." This was an old medical term describing severe diarrhea and dehydration, usually in infants, typically caused by spoiled milk. Remember that pasteurization was not common until the 1920s and people in the 1890s relied on ice boxes or cellars to keep their food cool, but it was not reliable. What's especially sad is that Chaterina was the third and last daughter James and Barbara had named for James's mother in an attempt to carry on her name in the family.

In 1897, little Tjamme died from measles at one year old. The family had just celebrated his first birthday four days earlier. His name was recorded as Thomas on the death record; another anglicization variation. Pneumonia and encephalitis complications are the most common causes of death from measles. It would have been horrible for Tjamme's parents to watch him burn up with a fever they couldn't bring down and watch him struggle to breathe. We are so fortunate to have a measle vaccine available for our children today.

---

What July 4th significant events have you found in your family tree?

With Best New Year Wishes

(click to enlarge image)

Postcard to Miss Rena Lerfald in Glendive, Dawson Co., Montana from Sophia [unknown - possibly Lerfald] in unknown location.  No postmark or stamp. Circa 1914-1915.  Westaby-Lerfald Postcard Collection.  Digital image privately held by Miriam Robbins, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Spokane, Washington.  2016.

Surname Saturday: LERFALD

The LERFALD line is my children's father's paternal grandmother's mother's maiden name. Actually, my children's father is descended twice from this line, as his great-grandmother's parents were first cousins to each other.

I've been stuck for a long time on how to present this Surname Saturday, because it doesn't follow the nice "template" I've set up for the other surnames I've blogged about for several reasons: Norwegian surnames in the 19th century did not get passed down from father to son as they did in other Western European countries (more on that in a moment); and because my husband's great-grandparents were cousins to each other AND both cousins used the LERFALD surname, it further complicates how this post is written. By the way, these cousins were not children of brothers who used the LERFALD surnames, but of a brother and a sister who used variations of LERFALD. In fact, their daughter, my children's father's great-grandmother, had three of her four grandparents using some form of LERFALD as a surname! Further explanations follow.

Norwegians used patronyms until about 1850s in the larger cities, 1900 in most locations, and 1923 everywhere in Norway when a law was passed requiring persons to adopt a permanent surname to be passed from one generation to the next. A patronym is a surname based on one's father's name, and it changes with each generation. So Pedar, Ola's son would be known as Pedar Olason. Pedar's sister Regina would be known as Regina Olasdotter. The women would keep this surname even after they were married. This was very typical in most Scandinavian counties, with slight spelling variations due to the languages used (-sen and -dtr were used in Sweden, for instance). Additionally, in the Norwegian rural communities it was also common to add a second surname based upon the farm you owned or worked on or the community from which you came, and with laborers who migrated from one farm job to another, that second surname would change accordingly.

Stories and History:

The LERFALD family originates near the village of Hegra, municipality of Stjørdal,  Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway in the Stjørdal River valley. To the east of the village was a farming community of Lerfald, which is the surname many of my children's father's ancestors used, as they were farm workers in the area. Also in the location of Hegra are over a thousand ancient petroglyphs (rock carvings), apparently called leirfald (see Wikipedia article here). Another translation for ler fald is "clay hill." This area was known alternately as Lerfald, Lerfall, or Leirfall. In my children's family tree, you'll see the surnames LERFALD, LERFALDBJØRG, LERFALDBJØRGEN, LERFALDHOLMEN, and LERFALDTRØEN. These variations were formed by adding suffixes, which each meant something that gave a more specific location or description in the Lerfald area: -bjørgen means "birches" and -holm means "small island." (Click here to see this location on a satellite map.)

Rather than list the direct paternal line of Regina LERFALD from her earliest known ancestor to the present, I am listing Regina's complete ahnentafel as known, using my children's father's ahnentafel numbers:


Generation 1
11. Rena LERFALD: born 25 Sep 1890 in (Zumbrota, Goodhue Co.?) Minnesota; died 12 Jul 1966 in Toppenish, Yakima Co., Washington.

Generation 2
22. Peder Johnsen LERFALD: born 25 Apr 1855 in (Trondheim?) Norway; married 7 Jun 1881 in (Goodhue Co., Minnesota?); died 16 Aug 1936 in Woodville, St. Croix Co., Wisconsin.

33. Regina LERFALD: born 2 Apr 1859 in near Trondheim, Norway; died 23 Dec 1943 in Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., Wisconsin.

Generation 3
44. John Nilsen LERFALD: born 21 Sep 1823 in Norway; married 10 Jun 1850 in Norway; died 2 Feb 1911 in Goodhue Co., Minnesota.

45. Sigrid Lassesdotter LERFALDBJØRG: born 5 Apr 1823 in Norway; died aft 1866 in (Goodhue Co., Minnesota?).

46. Ola Pedersen FORDALSHAUGEN: born 6 Feb 1820 in Norway; married 27 Apr 1848 in Norway; died 17 Feb 1872 in Norway.

47. Ane Nilsdotter LERFALDHOLMEN: born 9 Nov 1826 in Lerfaldholmen, Norway; died 7 Dec 1909 in Wisconsin or Minnesota.

Generation 4
88. Nils Pedersen LERFALDTRØEN: born 4 Nov 1787 in Norway; married 29 May 1815 in Norway; died 7 Jan 1867 in Norway.

89. Randi Olasdotter LERFALDHOLMEN: born 4 Apr 1787 in Norway; died 14 Sep 1848 in Norway.

90. Lasse Johnsen LERFALDBJØRGEN: born 1 Jan 1788 in Norway; married 8 Jun 1812 in Norway; died 23 Nov 1858 in Norway.

91. Mali Eriksdotter SMÅGÅRD: christened 9 Sep 1781 in Norway; died 6 Dec 1866 in Norway.

92. Peder Johnsen LERFALD: born 1761 in Norway; married in Norway; died 1858 in Norway.

93. Randi Olasdotter FORDAL: born 1790 in Norway; died 1851 in Norway.

94. Nils Pedersen LERFALDTRØEN: Same as person number 88.

95. Randi Olasdotter LERFALDHOLMEN: Same as person number 89.

Generation 5
176. Peder Andersen LERFALDTRØEN: christened 17 May 1750 in Norway; married 22 Jul 1782 in Norway; died 1810 in Norway.

177. Gudlaug Nilsdotter: born 1752 in Norway; died 25 Dec 1831 in Norway.

178. Ola Eriksen LERFALDHOLMEN: born 1756; married 4 Jul 1782 in Norway; died 9 Jun 1836 in Norway.

179. Marit Johnsdotter: born abt 1751 in Norway; died 6 Jun 1843 in Norway.

180. John Lassesen LERFALD: christened 11 Oct 1764 in Norway; married 8 Nov 1787 in Norway; died 1812.

181. Gunhild Ivarsdotter FORNES: christened 1764 in Norway; died 8 Dec 1854 in Norway.

182. Erik.

184. Johan.

186. Ola Gunnarsen FORDAL: born 1723 in Norway; married in Norway; died 1803 in Norway.

187. Ingeborg Sivertsdotter SALEM: born 1754 in Norway; died 1808 in Norway.

188. Same as person number 176.

189. Same as person number 177.

190. Same as person number 178.

191. Same as person number 179.

Generation 6
352. Anders Pedersen SKJELSTAD: born 1718 in Norway.

353. Mali Brodsdotter SKJELSTAD: born 1720 in Norway.

354. Nils.

356. Erik.

358. Johan.

360. Lasse Johansen BUAN: christened 15 Aug 1722 in Norway; married 4 Apr 1748 in Norway; died bef 22 Nov 1795 in Norway.

361. Beret Olsdotter ØSTKIL: christened 1721 in Norway; died bef 22 Nov 1795 in Norway.

362. Ivar.

372. Gunnar Olasen FORDAL: born abt 1691 in Norway.

373. Randi Iversdotter TRALSTAD: born 1686 in Norway.

374. Sivert Guttormsen BARAS: born 1715 in Norway.

375. Anne Invaldsdotter BJUGAN: born 1715 in Norway.

376. Same as person number 352.

377. Same as person number 353.

378. Same as person number 354.

380. Same as person number 356.

382. Same as person number 358.

Generation 7
704. Peder Andersen SKJELSTAD: born 1690 in Norway.

705. Ingeborg Eystensdotter: born 1690 in Norway.

706. Brod Larsen HOLM: born 1680 in Norway.

707. Guri Pedersdotter: born 1680 in Norway.

720. Johan.

722. Ola.

744. Ola HAAKONSEN: born 1659 in Norway.

745. Gurra Jonsdotter FORDAL.

746. Iver Gunnarsen KARTUM: born 1659 in Norway.

748. Guttorm Olasen EINANG: born 1690 in Norway.

749. Ingeborg Sivertsdotter SALEM: born 1698 in Norway.

750. Ingvald Olasen BJUGAN: born in Norway.

751. Sigrid Andersdotter INGSTAD: born 1680 in Norway.

752. Same as person number 704.

753. Same as person number 705.

754. Same as person number 706.

755. Same as person number 707.

Generation 8
1408. Anders.

1410. Eysten.

1412. Lars.

1414. Peder.

1488. Haakon.

1490. Jon Gunnarsen FORDAL: born 1620 in Norway.

1492. Gunnar Olasen KARTUM: born 1627 in Norway.

1496. Ola Pedersen EINANG.

1497. Anne Bardosdotter EINANG.

1498. Sivert Andersen SALEM: born 1644 in Norway.

1500. Ola BJUGAN: born 1644 in Norway.

1502. Anders Olasen INGSTAD: born 1643 in Norway.

1504. Same as person number 1408.

1506. Same as person number 1410.

1508. Same as person number 1412.

1510. Same as person number 1414.

Generation 9
2980. Gunnar Johnsen FORDAL: born 1580 in Norway.

2984. Ola Guttormsen KARTUM: born 1600 in Norway.

2992. Peder.

2994. Bardo Andersen HEMBRE: born 1619 in Norway.

2995. Ingeborg Guttormsdotter EINANG.

2996. Anders Olasen SALEM: born 1604 in Norway.

3004. Ola Jansen INGSTAD: born 1600 in Norway.

Generation 10
5960. John FORDAL: born 1550 in Norway.

5968. Guttorm Olasen KARTUM: born 1550 in Norway.

5988. Anders.

5990. Guttorm Aluffsen EINANG: born abt 1580 in Norway.

5992. Ola SALEM: born 1580 in Norway.

6008. Jan INGSTAD: born abt 1570 in Norway.

Generation 11
11936. Ola KARTUM: born 1500 in Norway.

11980. Aluff Arnesen EINANG: born 1530 in Norway.

Generation 12
23960. Arne EINANG: born 1500 in Norway.


More about the LERFALD family:

1. Online database (I update this at least once a month): LERFALD ancestors and relatives (no info on living persons available) - link brings you to a list of name variations; click on any to see individuals with these surnames. You can also input any surnames, including variations of LERFALD, which I have listed above in my children's father's ahnentafel..

2. Posts about LERFALD ancestors and relatives on this blog

3. Some scanned LERFALD photos

4. Some scanned LERFALD postcards


My children's LERFALD immigration trail:

Stjørdal,  Nord-Trøndelag Co., Norway > Goodhue Co., MN > St. Croix Co., WS > Dawson Co., MT > Rosebud Co., MT > Yakima Co., WA > Thurston Co., WA > Clark Co., WA > Spokane Co., WA

Peder and Regina LERFALD's 50th Anniversary

Source: 50th Anniversary of Peter and Regina Lerfald. Photograph. 7 June 1931. Original in the possession of Troy Midkiff [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Vancouver, Washington. 2008.

The couple sitting on the bench are my husband's great-great-grandparents, Peder Johnsen LERFALD (1855 - 1936) and Regina Olasdotter LERFALD (1859 - 1943), celebrating the 50th anniversary of their marriage, which took place 7 June 1881, probably in Goodhue Co., Minnesota. The photograph was likely taken at their home in Woodville, St. Croix Co., Wisconsin. Peder and Regina are not only husband and wife; they are also first cousins. But not, despite their surnames, are they both related on their fathers' sides.

Peder was born 25 April 1855 to John Nilssen LERFALD and Sigrid Lassesdotter LERFALDBJØRG, near Trondheim, Norwary. He was the fourth of seven children (one died in infancy) in a family that immigrated to America in 1866. His mother appears to have died shortly after they arrived, and his father remarried to Randa [--?--].

Regina was born 2 Apr 1859 to Ola Pedersen FORDALSHAUGEN and Ane Nilsdotter LERFALDHOLMEN, also near Trondheim. In fact, both Peder and Regina likely were born in or around the community of Lerfald, to the east of Trondheim. Regina was the sixth of nine children and her mother and siblings immigrated to the U.S. in 1874 after her father's death two years previously.

Peder's father John and Regina's mother Ane were brother and sister. You can see they both had the patronym "Nils...", meaning of course, their father's name was Nils. But they had different surnames because Norwegians at that time and place used the surname for the location in which they lived or the farm on which they worked. Their surnames would change with their location. When they immigrated to the United States, sometimes they used their latest surname, and other times they used their patronyms. The ladies often used the masculine version of their patronyn, becoming Ane "Nilssen" instead of Ane Nilsdotter, even though it didn't make sense. Americans were used to names ending in -son or -sen, not -dotter. I've found Regina in records where she used Lerfald as a surname and at other times used Olsen. Because of the many different names that were used, I've actually had a harder time finding my husband's ancestors after they arrived in the U.S. Their family histories in Norway have been very easy to trace using bygdebøker, a unique combination of census, family histories and farm histories within a parish.

Peder and Regina had six children: Sofia, John, Anna, Ole, Rena (my husband's great-grandmother), and Nannie, who died in infancy. John and Ole never married and are pictured in the photograph above. The woman is probably Anna, who lived nearby in Eau Claire, Eau Clair Co., Wisconsin with her husband and family. Sofia lived in Montana and Rena lived in Washington State - both with their respective husbands and families, so it's unlikely they were present for this celebration. We have a few other photos from this day, and neither Rena nor Sofia appear in them. The photos were probably sent to the daughters to share with them the celebration.
------------------
We've had some interesting conversations at my home regarding this photo:

"Norm, do you realize you're your own 5th cousin to yourself, and to your siblings? And our kids are 6th cousins to themselves and each other. You and the kids aren't just father and children, you're 5th cousins, once removed!"

"Look at the size of Peder's hands! Holy cow!"

"Wonder what the dog's name was?"

Wordless Wednesday: Peder and Regina LERFALD's 50th Anniversary

Source: 50th Anniversary of Peter and Regina Lerfald. Photograph. 7 June 1931. Original in the possession of Troy Midkiff [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Vancouver, Washington. 2008.

Postcard from Sophie ALMLIE to Randi LERFALD, 2 Aug 1908

Here is the third and last of the 1908 postcards I found I had scanned out of date order.

(front)


(back)

Source: The Westaby-Lerfald Postcard Collection. Privately held by Troy Midkiff, Vancouver, Washington.

I've been puzzled by this postcard ever since I read it. Dated 2 August 1908 from Baltic, Minnehaha Co., South Dakota, it is written by Sophie ALMLIE to her cousin Miss Randi LERFALD of Baldwin, St. Croix Co., Wisconsin, care of "S. LOKKE." It appears to have been postmarked 3 August 1908, but Rena has written "Aug 8," probably misreading the 3. Originally, the postcard was addressed to Woodville, also in St. Croix County, but as you can see, the city name was crossed out and Baldwin written instead. In fact, it appears that "Baldwin" and "c/o S. Lokke" were written by a different person than Sophie, as if it had been mailed to Woodville and someone there (the postmaster, a relative?) had readdressed it. The card reads:

Dear cousin,

Its a long time since I sent you a picture but I havent herd any about it so you must write tell me. we are all well from,

Sophie Almlie

I simply have no idea who Sophie nor Randi are, nor why Rena had this postcard in her possession. Rena did not have any siblings named Randi, and I cannot find any of her cousins with that name, although it is entirely possible, since the information on her family tree is incomplete enough that I could be missing many relatives. Rena did have an older sister named Sophia, but she married an Alpha LINE, so ALMLIE was not her last name. I can't find any cousins with the name Sophie or Sophia, either, and no one with the last name LOKKE. You'll notice the English grammar and punctuation aren't very good, so it's possible that Sophie was a native speaker of Norwegian. I'll have to do some digging in the census records to see if I can uncover some answers, and perhaps future postcards will reveal more clues to help me solve this little mystery! The next group featured will be from the year 1909.

Postcard from John LERFALD to Rena LERFALD, 1 Apr 1908

Here is the second of the 1908 postcards I found I had scanned out of date order.

(front)


(back)

Source: The Westaby-Lerfald Postcard Collection. Privately held by Troy Midkiff, Vancouver, Washington.

This postcard appears to be from Rena's older brother, John LERFALD. There is obviously no message, so I am wondering if the purpose of this card was to show Rena where he lived, worked, or attended school in Valley City, Barnes County, North Dakota. John would have been 23, almost 24, at this time, so it is doubtful to me that he was attending school here, although not impossible. I haven't researched enough of his life to really know; I do know from family oral and written history that he never married, and died at the age of 82 in 1966, probably in Wisconsin, outliving his younger sister Rena by five months.

I am planning on sending a copy of the postcard front to the Penny Postcard site.

Postcard from Unknown Sender to R. LERFALD, 17 Mar 1908

Recently, my father-in-law loaned us a pile of postcards that had belonged to his maternal grandparents, George Rice WESTABY, III and Rena LERFALD. Actually, the majority of them belonged to Rena. I hope my readers will forgive me, but I have found several scanned postcards out of date order! Here is one of them:

(front)


(front)

You can see that this postcard is postmarked from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The date was very difficult to make out for certain, because the card is embossed, causing the ink to not adhere to the back of the card very well. I believe the date is 17 March 1908, although it could be any date between the 10th and 19th of March. I don't know who lived in or near Minneapolis, but I wonder if it was one of Rena's older siblings. The handwriting does not match her sister Anna's or her brother John's. I'll check later to see if it matches any other family member's. Too bad that Rena didn't mark this postcard with the sender's name later, but perhaps she didn't remember who it was!

Source: The Westaby-Lerfald Postcard Collection. Privately held by Troy Midkiff, Vancouver, Washington.

Postcard from Unsigned Sender to Rena LERFALD, 9 Dec 1908

Recently, my father-in-law loaned us a pile of postcards that had belonged to his maternal grandparents, George Rice WESTABY, III and Rena LERFALD. Actually, the majority belonged to Rena. Here is the next one in the collection:

(front)
"468. Making Up."


(back)

This card was postmarked 9 Dec 1908, 8 PM, from Baldwin, Wisconsin, and appears to have been written by Rena's sister, Anna, to her. Apparently at a later date, Rena wrote over the message with an ink pen so that it could be read easier:

"Hello Rena--how are you. I got over Sunday fine. How is your foot? Olaf is kind of spunkey. He could not get over Saterday [sic] night, he said. bye Bye"

I'm not sure who Olaf was. Could it have been their brother Ole? Perhaps he was a friend, cousin, or a suitor of Anna's. I'm also uncertain as to the message on the front of the postcard: had the sisters quarreled? Or was this merely a convenient card on hand that was sent with no thought of the text?

Source: The Westaby-Lerfald Postcard Collection. Privately held by Troy Midkiff, Vancouver, Washington.

Postcard from A.L. to Rena LERFALD, 15 Sep 1908

Recently, my father-in-law loaned us a pile of postcards that had belonged to his maternal grandparents, George Rice WESTABY, III and Rena LERFALD. Here is the next one in the collection:

(front)


(back)

This postcard is dated 15 Sep 1908, despite the handwritten dates of 25 Sep 1908 on the front and back of the card, which appear to have been written much later by Rena. The postmark is from Baldwin, Wisconsin, also in St. Croix County, a little more than four miles west of Woodville. It is addressed to Miss Rena Lerfald, Woodville, Wis. R. R. 2,:

"Fisher's don't want any hired girl now she says. She has one and they manage the work. I don't know of any place for you here. Got here safe last night. A.L."

A.L. is probably Rena's sister Anna Lerfald. It appears that Anna has inquired about job openings in Baldwin for Rena, without success.

Source: The Westaby-Lerfald Postcard Collection. Privately held by Troy Midkiff, Vancouver, Washington.

Postcard from Mrs. HERMANSON to Rena LERFALD, 1908

Recently, my father-in-law loaned us a pile of postcards that had belonged to his maternal grandparents, George Rice WESTABY, III and Rena LERFALD (click on the links to read more about their lives and see photos). Actually, the majority were received by Rena, and provide insight into her life as a young woman. I have begun to scan them, and will feature them here on my blog.

(front)


(back)

This postcard is not postmarked nor was it dated at the time it was sent. It appears to have been used as a calling card by Mrs. Hermanson, whoever she was (friend, neighbor, possible employer? Looking at the 1910 U.S. Federal Census brought up several possibilities.). At a much later date, it appears that Rena wrote 1908 on the back of the card--the ink and her style of writing here matches notations she made on other postcards in the collection.

Rena would have been 18 years old on September 25th of this year. She lived in Woodville, St. Croix Co., Wisconsin with her parents, Peter Johnsen LERFALD and Regina LERFALD, immigrants from Norway who were first cousins to each other. Rena was the youngest surviving child of five siblings: Sofia, b. 1882; John, b. 1884; Anna, b. 1886; and Ole, b. 1888. An infant girl, Nannie, did not survive. At this time in Rena's life, she and her sister Anna were looking for work as hired girls or maids. There were a lot of postcards sent to Rena by Anna; I don't believe I have any written by Rena to Anna (I haven't gone through this collection extensively, yet, to be sure).

Source: The Westaby-Lerfald Postcard Collection. Privately held by Troy Midkiff, Vancouver, Washington.

Merry Christmas to Me!

I got up early this morning, just playing around on my family tree databases and various websites, waiting for the family to wake up so we could open gifts. Santa brought me two gifts this morning.

One was an obituary of one of my Grandfather Robbins' cousins who passed away in September. (Yes, I realize that this is sad, and shouldn't be cause for celebration. However, I did get some names of family members that I did not have before.)

The other I'm very happy about: I found my husband's paternal grandmother, Helen Mary WESTABY, and her parents, George Rice WESTABY, II and Rena LERFALD, along with George's brother Guy, in the 1920 U.S. Federal Census! I've been looking for them for years! Helen's obituary stated the family moved from the Rosebud or Dawson County area in Montana to Yakima County, Washington in 1920, so I figured they got missed during the move. Two years ago, my father-in-law told me about some trouble his grandfather George had with the law, and I figured there was a strong possibility that the family deliberately avoided the enumerator that census year. However, I recently re-examined some family mementos that documented George and Helen's residences in Forsyth, Rosebud County in 1922, which gave me cause to look once again at the 1920 census in Montana.

I have looked for this family both on microfilm and online. I used the microfilmed Soundex of the 1920 census to attempt to find the family in all the western states, particularly Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, and Wyoming. I used a variety of spellings, too, such as Westaby, Westby, Westerby, etc. I repeated many of these searches online as well.

Today, I thought I would try again online. The search that had a successful result was a search for "George," born 1890 +/- 2 years, living in Montana. And here is the family, listed as Westerby, living on Prospect Street in Forsyth, Rosebud County. Why they didn't show up in all my previous searches, I'll never know!

Image: Westaby, George Rice III household, Household 206, Dwelling 251, E. D. 123, page 11 A, Forsyth, Rosebud County, Montana, 1920 U.S. Federal Census. Image 21 of 38 viewed 25 Dec 2007 at Ancestry.com, (http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/list.aspx?dbid=6061&path=).

Peder Johnsen LERFALD death

Cynthia from Random Acts has done a lookup for me in the St. Croix County, Wisconsin death records and abstracted the following information on my husband's great-great-grandfather:

Volume 18 Page 323

Peter Lerfald

Married

Born April 25, 1855 in Norway

Died August 16, 1936

81 years, 3 months, 27 days

Farmer

Father: John Lerfald (born in Norway)

Mother: Unknown (born in Norway)

Informant: John Lerfald, Woodville

Buried August 20, 1936 at Woodville Cemetery

[The reason for death was hard to read:] Carcinoma Maxlom [?] right eye. Sinus with catgasive involvement of face, nose and palate. [I am only writing what it looked like. Could it have been brain or mouth cancer?]

No autopsy.

Microscope confirmed diagnosis

Dr. saw him from November 1935 - August 16, 1936. Onset was in 1935.

She was able to tell me where and how to order this record (Registrar of Deeds) and the cost ($7). Cynthia's also looking into why the Woodville newspapers are non-existent for the 10 or 12-year time period that includes 1936 (no obituaries available). She believes it was due to a fire.

Volunteers are wonderful people!

Grave photos of Peder and Regina LERFALD and sons

Anne S. Anderson and her husband (Find A Grave photo volunteers) kindly gave of their time to locate and photograph the graves of my husband's great-great-grandparents, Peder and Regina LERFALD. Our records indicated that the LERFALDs were buried in Lone Pine Cemetery, Woodville, St. Croix County, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson went to three cemeteries in Woodville, ending up at Zion Lutheran. They found not only Peder and Regina's shared headstone, but the headstones for two of their sons, John and Ole (named respectively for Peder's and Regina's fathers).

It's not clear at this point if Zion Lutheran and Lone Pine are two names for the same cemetery, but it appears to be so. I have to do some more checking, perhaps with the St. Croix Valley Genealogical Society or the St. Croix County Historical Society. The good news is that since I know they are buried at Zion Lutheran Cemetery, I am assuming that they may have been parishioners of Zion Lutheran Church. Perhaps I can find some church records that can help me "humanize" this family...so that they are less names, dates, and locations, and more people with needs, wishes, failings and strengths. I found a lot of helpful information at the St. Croix County USGenWeb site, including a history of Woodville. Seems this area was part of the "Big Woods" of Wisconsin, made famous by Laura Ingalls Wilder's first book, Little House in the Big Woods.

Above is a photo of Peder and Regina on their 50th anniversary in 1931, probably in Woodville. Look at the size of Peder's hands!

Peder Johnsen LEFALD and Regina Olasdotter LERFALD were first cousins, although not on both their fathers' sides, as it would seem by their common surname. Peder's father, John Nilssen LERFALD, and Regina's mother, Ane Nilssdotter LERFALDHOLMEN, were siblings, children of Nils Pedersen LERFALDTRØEN and Randi Olasdotter LERFALDHOLMEN. The variations of the LERFALD surname indicate the various farms in the Lerfald area of Norway (east of Trondheim) where the family members last worked before immigration. In other words, LERFALD and its variations, are place names which became surnames. It's been very difficult finding the LERFALDs in U.S. records after they immigrated (between 1866 [Peder and parents] and 1874 [Regina and mother]), and they tended to use patronyms. Trying to find JOHNSENs (Peder) and OLSENS (Regina - masculine version of Olasdotter) or their parents' patronyms of NELSON (for Nilssen and Nilssdotter) and PEDERSEN/PETERSON in Minnesota and Wisconsin in the late 1800s - early 1900s, is a challenge, to say the least!

Research Log - Obit for Regina LERFALD

Heard back from Dave, a RAOGK volunteer for Eau Claire Co., Wisconsin. He could not find an obit for Regina LERFALD, but did find a death record and sent me a transcription in an Excel file:

	A	B
1		Wisconsin Death Record
2		(not official or legal, for genealogy purposes only)
3
4	Name	Regina Lerfold
5	Maiden Name
6	Sex, Race, Status	F, W, widow
7	Date & Place of Birth	April 2, 1860 Norway
8	Date & Place of Death	Dec 23, 1943 Eau Claire, WI
9	Address	Woodville, WI
10	Age & Occupation	Age 83 yrs, 8 mns, 20 dys
11	Spouse	Peter Lerfold
12	SS#
13	Informant & address	Mrs. Anna Nelson, Eau Claire, WI
14	Parents & Birthplace	unknown - NORWAY
15	Cause of Death	unknown chronic disease, 4-6 months duration
16	Hospital or Doctor	Sacred Heart Hospital, J. W. Lowe, MD
17	Burial	Woodville, WI
18	Funeral Director	Lenmark & Sons, Eau Claire, WI
19	Source	Eau Claire County Death, Vol 40 Page 529
20	.
21	Miscellaneous	Had been in USA for 75 years
22	.

Regina was Norm's great-great-grandmother, and she married her first cousin, Peder Johnsen LERFALD. Family records indicate she came to the U.S. in 1874, not 1868, as her death record infers. Peder immigrated in 1866, according to family records. I have not been able to find them in Ancestry's Immigration Collection. But Norwegian names can be complicated. They may have used a different last name, depending on the last farm their fathers worked before immigration. Or they may have used patronyms. Johnsen and Olasen/Olsen would be Peder and Regina's respective patronyms, and both are extremely common names.

The Anna Nelson referred to in the death record was their middle daughter. Norm's great-grandmother, Rena, was their youngest daughter and youngest surviving child. It appears that Anna cared for her mother after Peder's death.

My next plan is to have an obit search in the Woodville papers.

Research Log - Obits for Norm's Ancestors

Requested obituaries though various RAOGK volunteers for Norm's ancestors:

Peder Johnsen LERFALD
Regina LERFALD
Clark Pleasant R. TOLLIVER
Senna COLLINS
Emma Alice LYTON
John Franklin MARTIN
George Rice WESTABY, II
Reuben Wohlford SNOOK
Elizabeth NEARHOOD (step-ancestor, second wife of Reuben Wohlford SNOOK)
Angelia Rebecca LUKE.