52 Weeks of Online American Digital Archives and Databases: Minnesota

This is the 24th post in a weekly series of Online American Digital Archives and Databases found for free at state, county, municipal, college and university history, library, and archive websites, as well as public and private library and museum sites, and historical and genealogical society sites.

3DFlags.com

Minnesota Digital Library - http://www.mndigital.org/collections/ - this is a collaborative effort with a mega-search engine for digital collections available from Minnesota universities, libraries, historical societies and museums

Minnesota Historical Society - http://www.mnhs.org/index.htm - What's not to like? It's hard to find a page on this site that doesn't have some amazing information about your Minnesota ancestors. I recommend using the following tabs at the top of the page to start out your searches: Family History, People, Places, and Collections. Included in these are birth and death certificate indexes, state censuses indexes for 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, and 1905, online maps, newspaper collections, veterans graves indexes, Minnesota History index, Governors of Minnesota, Christie Civil War Letters, Chinese-Americans, Building and House History, Author Biographies, Minnesota Photographers directory and much, much more!

Minnesota Official Marriage System - http://www.mncounty.com/Modules/Certificates/Marriage/Default.aspx - county marriage indexes (dates vary - click here to find the dates for your county of interest)

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CLIC Digital Collections - http://content.clic.edu/ - a non-profit federation of the libraries of eight private colleges and universities in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota...The collections you find here are widely varied and continually growing, and include audio, visual, and textual resources." Includes Augsburg College, Bethel University, St. Catherine University, Concordia University, Hamline University, Macalester College, Northwestern College, and the University of St. Thomas.

College of Saint Benedict - Saint John's University Digital Archives - http://www.csbsju.edu/CSB-Archives/DigitalArchives.htm - books, lists, maps, photos, non-book publications, visual resources. Also check out Vivarium at http://www.hmml.org/vivarium/, the online digital collections.

Concordia College Archives Online Databases - http://www4.cord.edu/library/Archives/databases/index.htm - The Concordian (1920 - 2006)

Gustavus Adolphus College - College and Lutheran Church Archives - http://gustavus.edu/library/archives/ - while there is not much data on this site (includes WWI posters and the Gustavian Weekly, 1979-2005), it is a necessary stop if you had Lutheran ancestors because of the finding aids, biographical index, and a microfilm index of church records.

Minnesota State University Mankato - University Archives and Southern Minnesota Historical Center - http://lib.mnsu.edu/archives/ - of main interest are the digital collections (MSU photo collection) and the obituary index

Minnesota State University Moorhead - Livingston Lord Library Northwest Minnesota Historical Center - http://www.mnstate.edu/archives/NorthwestMN/ - along with Minnesota and Red River Valley history, this site provides exhibits and online guides to their many collections

St. Catherine University Digital Collections - http://images.stkate.edu/ - drawings, writings, fine art and photograph collections; also links to digital scans of their publications: The Catherine Wheel, Pot Pourri, The Magret, and Ariston.

St. Cloud State University - University Archives and Special Collections - Digital Exhibits and Historical Compilations - http://lrts.stcloudstate.edu/library/special/archives/exhibits.asp - timeline, history, college newspaper, yearbooks, slideshows, interviews

University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center - http://www.ihrc.umn.edu/ - immigrant letters, biographies, and more

University of Minnesota Libraries - University Archives - http://special.lib.umn.edu/uarch/ -  images, text materials, university Bulletin

University of Minnesota Kautz Family YMCA Archives - http://special.lib.umn.edu/ymca/ - finding aids, photo archives

University of Minnesota University Libraries - Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives - http://special.lib.umn.edu/umja/col/ - photos, oral histories, institutional holdings of congreations and synagogues, organizational, regional, and personal holdings, Jewish Historical Socity of the Upper Midwest database

University of St. Thomas Libraries Digital Collections - http://www.stthomas.edu/libraries/collections/digital/default.html - historic publications (student newspapers, course catalogs), photos, papers, stained glass collection, temperance tracts, Native American language materials, and holy cards

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Anoka County Historical Society - http://www.ac-hs.org/ - cemetery index, newsletters 

Bloomington Historical Society - http://www.bloomingtonhistoricalsociety.org/ - photos, history, oral histories

Brooklyn Historical Society - http://www.thebrooklyns.com/main.html - photos, history, township landowner maps

Champlin Historical Society - http://www.champlinhs.org/index.html - history, interactive map

City of Hibbing Cemetery Database - http://www.hibbing.mn.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={6B0C0D02-6ADE-4828-9FD6-2EDF99F8189B}&DE={D188BFD4-7F20-4B7C-8021-912CEE6FE428}

Clay County Historical Society Genealogy/Research - http://www.info.co.clay.mn.us/History/research_genealogy.htm - digitized History of Clay and Norman Counties, 1905 personal property tax list, city directories, plat books, atlases, ownership map, and resident lists

Clay County Recorder Death Record Index, 1872-1980 - http://www.co.clay.mn.us/Depts/Recorder/WEBxtend/CCDthInd.htm

Dakota County Historical Society Online Data - http://www.dakotahistory.org/research/online.asp - artifact database, church and cemetery records, census name search, Civil War newspaper items, mortality census, obits, city directory, Native American census, marriages, WWII newspaper items

Dakota County Library Newspaper Index - http://comres.dakota.lib.mn.us/ipac20/ipac.jsp?menu=search&submenu=news

Duluth Public Library Obituary Index - http://dlibrary.cpinternet.com/scripts/runisa.dll?dlibrary:pgobitsearch

Hennepin County Library Special Collections - http://www.hclib.org/pub/search/specialcollections/ - from this page, you can access the Minneapolis Collection (covers all aspects of the city’s history and includes books, photographs, high school yearbooks, archival and manuscript collections, periodicals, maps, and thousands of files of newspaper clippings - not all online) as well as Digital Resources (photos, oral history interviews, WWII Posters, the Seth Eastman Sketchbook) and a list of local historical societies

History Center of Olmsted County - http://www.olmstedhistory.com/library_resources/online_index.html - the Biographical, newspaper or subject index database searches the following: biographical index, cemetery records, county histories, funeral home records, guardianship records, maps, military resources, newspapers, obituaries, probate records, school annuals, town histories, births, marriages, and deaths, and wedding scrapbooks

History Museum of East Otter Tail County - http://www.historymuseumeot.com/search.html - databases include newspapers, history books, births and deaths, and historical photos

Hopkins Historical Society - http://www.hopkinsmnhistoricalsociety.org/ - photos and a transcription of an 1872 local farmer's diary.

Iron Range Research Center - http://ironrange.cdmhost.com/index.php - photos, historic manuscripts, government documents (records finding aids for townships, cities, and villages in the Iron Range!), cemetery index (with tombstone photos!), and oral history transcripts

Joint Archives of the Great Northern Railway Historical Society (GNRHS) and Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association (NPRHA) - http://www.gn-npjointarchive.org/default.aspx - digital archives of station plats (all along the railroad, not just in Minnesota!), structure drawings, bridges, depots, photos, drawings, charts, and maps, rosters, and more! A must-visit site if you have railroad employee ancestors!

Minnetonka Historical Society - http://www.minnetonka-history.org/ - history and photo archive

Norwegian-American Historical Association Archives - http://www.naha.stolaf.edu/archives/index.htm - digitized issues of Norwegian-American Studies, a list of Norwegian-American newspapers published in the U.S., images, maps, and the Hovland Index (used to identify Bydebøker in the Rolvaag Library)

Owatonna Public Library Dalby Database - http://www.dalbydata.com/user.php?action=cemsearch - search for records for cemeteries, Civil War, censuses, city directories, births, marriages, newspaper articles, people in books, churches, obits, and more

Pennington County Historical Society - http://pvillage.org/ - digitized county histories, city and telephone directories, photos, maps, cemetery records and obituaries, landowner records, yearbooks, historical documents, society newsletters, and postcards

Rice County Historical Society Oral Histories - http://www.rchistory.org/oralhistories - on video

Sibley County Historical Society Grave Finder - http://www.genealogy.history.sibley.mn.us/graves.php3

Scott County Historical Society - http://www.scottcountyhistory.org - surname index (obits, marriages, deaths, and significant events - over 30,000 records!), photo and object database, historic sites, county history and more

Wayzata Historical Society - http://www.wayzatahistoricalsociety.org/ - check out the timeline under the Photos tab! What a great educational resource! There are historical and "mystery" photos, an architectural survey, and newsletters.

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Check out my Minnesota Online Historical Directories and my Minnesota Online Historical Newspapers pages.

FamilySearch Collection Update: New Records Added Online for Czech Republic, Mexico, and U.S.

Received May 11 from FamilySearch.org:

Eight new searchable collections were updated or added this week at FamilySearch.org—millions of new free images and records.

This week the complete name indexes for the states of Alabama, Colorado, and Illinois were published online at FamilySearch’s Record Search pilot (FamilySearch.org, click Search Records, and then click Record Search pilot) or Beta.FamilySearch.org.

The Delaware state birth records, 1875 Minnesota State Census, and Illinois, Cook County birth records were also added.

Also released was a digital image collection of church records from Litomerice, Czech Republic—60,000 images! Consumers will see these types of collections more and more online as FamilySearch digitizes microfilms in its Granite Mountain Records Vault. Instead of a microfilm reader in a local family history center, patrons use FamilySearch’s image viewer online to search these high quality digital collections—and they are accessible 24/7.

See the chart below for the complete list of all the newly added or improved collections.

None of this would be possible without the great contributions of many online FamilySearch volunteers. These individuals donate the time and effort needed to make these collections freely available to FamilySearch patrons. If you would like to help by donating a few minutes here and there online with projects of personal interest, become a FamilySearch community volunteer at FamilySearchIndexing.org. Many hands produce great work. Thank you for your support!

Collection Name	Indexed Records	Digital Images	Comments
Czech Republic, Litomerice State Regional Archive Church Records 1552-1905, pt. 03 - WP		60573	Browsable images only
Mexico Census 1930 Index, Yucatan	378550	1061300
U.S Delaware State Birth Records 1861-1922 - FSI	121234	93600
U.S Illinois, Cook County Birth Registers 1873-1908	1240000	33245
U.S 1875 Minnesota State Census	475000	13600	Must be registered to see images.
US Federal Census, 1910, Alabama	1870520	46763
US Federal Census, 1910, Colorado	767680	19192
US Federal Census, 1910, Illinois	5024520	125613

About FamilySearch
FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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.
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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?"

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.

CRAPSEY Photos...and a Rollerskating Bear

A week and a half ago, I posted some transcribed news clippings about my ROBBINS ancestors and their extended family who lived in Southbrook Township, Cottonwood County, Minnesota from the mid-1870s to the early 1880s. These were sent to me by Mike Kirchmeier of Windom, Minnesota, who is working on a genealogical project of Southbrook Township citizens. He also sent me some photographs, as well as some genealogical information on these family members. I was very excited to get all of this. These have helped to "flesh out" some of the people in my family tree who were little more than names, dates, and locations to me.

First a little background: one of my paternal 4th-great-grandmothers was Lura Ann JACKSON (1826 - bef. 1900), whose earliest residences I've found have been in Potter County, Pennsylvania. She first married my ancestor, Nelson H. PECK (c. 1819 - 1849), and they had one child, my 3rd-great-grandmother, Viola Gertrude PECK (1848 - 1918). After Nelson died, Lura Ann married a widower, the Rev. John CRAPSEY (1816 - 1903), who had one child, Angelo M. CRAPSEY (1842 - 1864), by his previous wife. The family moved to neighboring McKean County, Pennsylvania, to land adjoining that of the ROBBINS family in Liberty Township. Angelo's best friend was Charles H. ROBBINS, and the two signed up together after Fort Sumter was fired upon, and served in Company I of the First Pennsylvania Rifles (a.k.a. the Bucktails). Angelo was captured during a battle and spent some time in Libby Prison, the infamous Confederate prisoner-of-war prison in Richmond, Virginia. Although released later, he was there long enough to lose his mind, and tragically committed suicide after several unsuccessful attempts, at the home of a family friend, Laroy LYMAN, in Roulette, Potter County, Pennsylvania.

Charles and Viola were wed at the war's end, married by her step-father, the Reverend CRAPSEY (see the photograph likely taken at that time, here). First, the ROBBINSes accompanied Charles' parents to Oceana County, in Western Michigan, but later removed to Cottonwood County, Minnesota, where Viola's mother, step-father and half-siblings were living. Angelo and his friend Laroy had purchased some land in Minnesota before his death, and that may have been what prompted the CRAPSEYs to move to that state. Charles and Viola lived about eight or nine years in Cottonwood County, on land neighboring her parents and also some of her adult half-siblings. By 1884, the ROBBINS had returned to the Oceana-Newaygo County area in Western Michgian. They named one of their sons Angelo, after their friend/step-brother. He is Angelo Merrick ROBBINS, Sr., the father who is mentioned in the "Polar Bear posts" I have been writing.

Viola's younger half-siblings (John CRAPSEY and Lura Ann JACKSON's children) were:

• *Alice (CRAPSEY) HANDY McBAIN (1855 - 1905)
• *William "Willie" Merrick CRAPSEY (1858 - 1946)
• *Harriet "Hattie" or "Suky" (CRAPSEY) HARDY (b. 1860)
  
• *George Bayard CRAPSEY (b. 1863)

Below is a photo of Willie in 1940:

SOURCE: Crapsey, William "Willie" Merrick. Photograph. 1940. Digital image. Privately held by Michael Kirchmeier, Windom, Minnesota, 2007.

Here is a photo of George and his wife Carrie [--?--]. She's the one in the skirt!

SOURCE: Crapsey, George Bayard with wife Carrie [--?--] and trained bear. Undated photograph. Digital image. Privately held by Michael Kirchmeier, Windom, Minnesota, 2007.

Mike tells me that George found this bear as a cub while living in Wisconsin. He trained the bear and used to travel all over the country--possibly the world--to feature him in shows. Now isn't this some fun information to add to my family history? Seems like the Robbins family and bears are destined to go together...first the rollerskating bear with my Great-great-great-grandma Robbins' half brother; then my Great-grandfather Robbins' experiences as a Polar Bear in Russia; and, oh yes! the bear that kept raiding my parents' Alaskan farm back in 1975...but that's another story...maybe even another blog altogether.

The Robbins Family in the Windom [Minnesota] Reporter

Late last week I received an e-mail from Mike Kirchmeier of Windom, Minnesota. He has been working on a genealogical project on Southbrook Township of Cottonwood County of that state, and we've corresponded in the past about my Robbins family who lived there in the 1870s and 1880s for a brief time. Mike found mention of the family in the Windom Reporter, and e-mailed the transcription to me.

The "players" are my 3rd-great-grandfather, Charles H. ROBBINS; his wife's step-father, John CRAPSEY; his wife's half-sister's husband, Charles HANDY; and the husband of another half-sister of his wife, John HARDY.

Excerpts from the Windom Reporter of Windom, Minnesota:

March 19, 1874
Supervisors, Ole Rued, chm, John Kane, Chas. Robbins; Clerk, Chas. Vickers; Treasurer, M. McDevit; Assessor, Wm. Snure; Justices of the Peace, John Crapsey, John Vanbuskirk; Constables, Wm Secrest, Roswell Densmore.


October 1, 1874
Chas Robbins was the Southbrook representative to the County Republican Convention.


November 12, 1874
We under stand from Mr. Robbins that there was a pleasant party at the house of Mr. Lindquist, in the Talcott lake settlement.


January 14, 1875
County Commissioner Meeting - January 5, 1875

Charles Robbins, 40 miles travel making election returns town of Southbrook, $4 allowed.


October 1875
Representatives to the Republican Convention for Cottonwood, Jackson, Murray, Pipestone, Rock, and Jackson Counties included Chas. Robbins and F. H. Moon [both of Southbrook].


November 1875
Election returns of Southbrook:

Republican Ticket, 7; Democratic Ticket, 8.


January 6, 1876
Chas. Robbins of Southbrook called last week [at the reporter's office].


July 6, 1876
John Benson and Chas. Robbins of Southbrook called last week [at the reporter's office].


July 24, 1876
Chas Robbins, Southbrook, was over in Martin County looking to take a job breaking, but couldn’t find the man who wanted it done.


August 31, 1876
We last week mentioned the loss of Charles Handy's barn by lightning. Charles Robbins writes us: The barn of Chas. Handy was destroyed by lightning with all of its contents including two horses belonging to D. Hand(y), thirty bushel of shelled wheat, twenty tons of hay, harness etc. The loss was a severe one.


April 12, 1877
Charles Robbins of Southbrook will work this summer for Ross Nichols.


December 13, 1877
Charley Robbins has ploughed nearly 100 acres with ox team.


January 17, 1878
New Years - a social party at Chas Robbins. Had a good time and picnic supper.


August 25, 1878
The farmers have commenced threshing. Chas. Robbins and J. Crapsey’s wheat averaged 14 bushels per acre. Some of it has been ground and makes good bread.


May 22, 1879
Messrs. Robbins and Hardy will furnish farmers with a thrasher this season.


February 5, 1880
Dundee. Charlie Robbins recently had the misfortune to crush his hand in J. T. Smith’s hay press.


February 12, 1880
Charles Robbins of Southbrook, Cottonwood County, while working at Hersey, [Township, Nobles County] on the hay press, belonging to Mr. J.T. Smith, at this place, had his hand badly crushed, a few days ago. Dr. Force, of this place, was telegraphed for, but the freight train coming along about that time Mr. Robbins, in company with Jack Woolstencroft, and Eli McLaughlin, came to Heron Lake where they met, at the train, Dr. Force who took charge in the case. After carefully dressing the hand, stopping the flow of blood and removing the lacerated flesh and tendons. Mr. Robbins was removed to the residence of R. A. Nichols. --We are glad to learn from his attending physician that he is doing well, with prospect of saving the whole hand.


March 4, 1880
Charlie Robbins went home to Cottonwood County. He has been at the house of R. A. Nichols for 5 weeks.


April 29. 1880
Charlie Robbins, of Southbrook, was in town Tuesday.


July 7, 1880
Charles Robbins, Preemption Declaratory Statement No. 16836 for the E½, SE1/4, section 30,T.105, R.38W. made final proof in support of his claim. Witnesses to his continuous residence and cultivation of said land were listed as John Crapsey, Ole Rued, George Knott, and Peter Olson, all of Southbrook.


September 9, 1880
Messrs Robbins and Snure, two representative men from Southbrook, called Saturday together with J. H. Weldon of Highwater.

I knew Charles had smashed his hand in a thresher, because it was mentioned in an interview conducted near his death; and also appeared in some census information. It was interesting to get the details of the accident via this newspaper account.

The Nichols name leaped out at me, because Charles' brother, Benjamin Leander "Lee" ROBBINS, had a son-in-law named Benjamin J. NICHOLS. I'm wondering if there's a connection

Mike also sent me some photographs of the half-brothers of Viola (PECK) ROBBINS, my 3rd-great-grandmother, which I'll be posting later. He was able to give me some names and dates I was missing, and some sources, so I'll be able to look up the records myself and add them to the family tree. Very exciting, this!

A WWII Letter from My Grandfather

A couple things I've read lately reminded me that I had a special keepsake: a letter my paternal grandfather wrote his parents during World War II: Becky has been transcribing her letters from boot camp to home; and a reader of Family Tree Magazine recently wrote in response to their February 2007 article "Preserving Memories" that envelopes of letters should be saved, as they often contain vital information to complete what's in the letter.

The letter I have was saved because it mentioned that my grandfather, Robert Lewis Robbins, had frozen his fingers during the service. I'm sure it was used toward obtaining some sort of disability pension from the military. He and his brother, Bill, Jr., signed up together and served in the 1452nd Army Air Force, Air Transport Command. Bob worked as a flight mechanic and achieved the rank of sergeant before he was discharged.

So that you understand some of the people mentioned in the letter: Bob, my grandfather, was married to my grandmother, Jeanne, and they had two children at the time of this letter: two-year-old Louise and 6-month-old Bryan (my dad). My grandfather was the oldest of five siblings; the rest of the family included Bill, Jr., Shirley (not mentioned), Jack, and Joyce. My grandmother, aunt and father were living in Edmonton, Alberta to be near where my grandfather was stationed. Great-uncle Bill was also married to Josephine, a Edmontonian, although she's not mentioned here. The letter was written to Bob's parents, William Bryan ROBBINS, Sr. and Marie LEWIS.

The letter is written in cursive pencil on United States Army Air Forces stationery with a matching envelope. It's addressed from:

Sgt R Robbins 16086708
Sq F, 1452 AAF Base Unit
AIRO 462 c/o P.M. Minn, Minn.

and is addressed to:

Mr & Mrs Wm B Robbins
Coopersville
Michigan

Instead of a stamp, Bob has written "Free" and the faded postmark says "U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE, DEC 23 1944 402"

A note has been scrawled across the front in ink:

Save
Record of Bob freezing
finger en route on flight

Dec 14/44

Dear folks

Am now over the headwaters of the Mississippi in northern Minn. or Dakota heading south. We are going to some place in Ill. to a hospital with a patient we picked up in the Artic [sic] early this morning. I frosted my two thumbs and a couple of fingers last night when we had some mechanical trouble I had to correct in sub-zero temps in a forty mile an hour wind. Just like Michigan. I should be back to our base by this time tomorrow. I can't get back too quick to suit me this time though because Jeanne took Bryan to the hospital with a bad cold day before yesterday. He wasn't very bad but they have so much better facolities [sic] there than we have in one room and they seemed very willing to keep him there for a couple of days. He's such a tiny guy that we hated to have him in someone else's care but as he would be better off we think it's best, at least for a couple of days.

Sure glad to hear Jack is in the Navy. I'm sure he'll get along OK. We'll drop him a line as soon as possible congratulating him. And I do bet it's a relief for you folks. I suppose Bill will be leaving soon, two weeks is all too short to be at home only once a year. We'll soon be coming into Minneapolis now so will finish this later

01:00 o'clock
Dec 23/44

Was just going thru my bag and found this letter that I'd never finished. Bryan is well and home now, he was in the hospital just one week. Am now on my way back to base from a trip to Montana. Which reminds me that I was down here just before or on Christmas day last year too. Jeanne and I have a little tree and we look forward to having a very merry Xmas for our little family. We have all kinds of presents for Louise and Bryan. Say sure thought that turtle that Joyce made was cute and it's a very practical little pillow too. I bet Bryan will spend hours on it. Last week I made Bryan a pottie chair out of an orange crate and I'm just as proud of the design & workmanship as can be. I've been getting to see quite a bit of the family in spite of all my traveling lately. I wish we could all be together for this Christmas, but in our family we're together in mind if not in body so I sincerly [sic] wish each of you still there at home a most merry Christmas and may God bless you all, every one.

Bob

P.S. Bill is back, going strong. he has a new job now no more flying for him, too much rank. Incidentaly [sic] that was Moline, Ill & Davenport Iowa that I was at. Just had a short layover though, and I slept all of those few hours

Some Civil War Soldiers Buried in Spokane, Washington

As I mentioned before, I photographed a few Civil War veterans' graves in Greenwood Memorial Terrace here in Spokane on Sunday. Here's a list of the veterans, with links to their memorial pages and grave photos on Find A Grave:

C. R. Bardwell - Company C, 6th Minnesota Infantry

His wife, Mary E. Bardwell.

Eugene S. P. Bolton - Company A, 1st Vermont Heavy Artillery

F. W. Fiske - Company C, 8th Minnesota Infantry

Martin Holston - Company B, 1st Illinois Cavalry - UPDATE 23 Sep 2007: Read his biography here.

Pvt. Albert B. Hurd - Company H, 6th Minnesota Infantry (He already had a memorial page and photo, unbeknownst to me, but I added the photo I took.)

Hiram O. Johnson - Company H, 9th Indiana Infantry

Pvt. Joseph Litterneau - Company F, 12th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry

William W. Mason - 39th Massachusetts Infantry

John W. Proctor - "U. S. Soldier"

Corp. Christian Sanders - Company F, 6th Wisconsin Infantry

His probable wife, Elizabeth Sanders.

Sgt. Walter Scott - Company K, U.S. Colored Troops Infantry (I'd love to find out more of his story! African-Americans have always been a definite minority in this community, especially at the time this man would have lived here.) - UPDATE: Craig Manson, at GeneaBlogie, has created a "brief study" of Sgt. Walter Scott's life here.

John C. Squires - Company I, 2nd New York Heavy Artillery

Henry S. Walker - Company L, 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry

James B. Warren - Company D, 18th Missouri Infantry

Musician Charles F. Wightman - Company C, 26th Illinois Infantry

I used the Sons of Union Veterans National Graves Registration Database to try to find more detailed information on these men. There wasn't much, but I did get some full names where I only found initials, a couple of dates (most of the stones did not list birth/death dates), and some explanations for some of the abbreviations.

These are but a handful of the 393 known Civil War veterans buried in this cemetery and the 803 total buried in this county. I want to know more about these men, and perhaps this summer I can do some research on them, or find their obituaries in the microfilmed newspapers in the downtown library.

Connecting with Cousins on Memorial Day

Three years ago, my husband, children and I traveled across the state of Washington to spend Memorial Day weekend with my in-laws in Vancouver, Washington, which lies just across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon. I always enjoy this cross-state visit, as the longest leg of it--driving along the Columbia River on the Oregon side--follows both the Lewis and Clark trail and the Oregon Trail. I enjoy imaging the explorers and pioneers traveling the same route, and seeing Mt. Hood towering in the distance.

While in Vancouver, we went with Norm's parents and sister to Park Hill Cemetery in Vancouver, to visit and photograph the MIDKIFF, TOLLIVER, DAVES (step-ancestor), LUKE, and CHAPLIN graves. The following year, 2005, we made the same trip, and I insisted that we were going to travel down to the Willamette Valley to visit and photograph the grave of one of Norm's great-great-grandmothers, Rebecca Catherine (SNOOK) WESTABY, buried in Salem, as well as the graves of my great-great-grandparents, Charles Frisbe STRONG and his wife, Mary Lucy WRIGHT. Charles and Mary are two of only four of my ancestors buried west of the Mississippi River, and the other two are nowhere near my home! My paternal grandfather, Robert Lewis ROBBINS is buried at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas, and a 4th-great-grandmother, Lura Ann (JACKSON) PECK CRAPSEY, is apparently buried in St. Paul, Minnesota. So to actually be able to be within a few hours of an ancestor's grave is a big deal to me, and I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity.

When we arrived at Belle Passi Cemetery in Woodburn, Marion Co., Oregon, where Charles and Mary are buried, we found that the graves had already been cleaned and decorated. They were surrounded by other graves, obviously of the family of their daughter, Ethel Melissa (STRONG) HASTIE, who is buried there along with her husband, the Rev. Ezbon Roy HASTIE. I remember visiting the widowed Aunt Ethel in 1979, when we first moved to Washington State, and remembered meeting her son.

We were rather rushed on that visit, and so I didn't have time to try to find out how to contact the family. But on the way home, I had a couple of ideas that could work for you to help you connect with cousins on Memorial Day. Obviously, I could have looked up the Hastie family in the phone book in Woodburn, or on Dex Knows when I got home. But what if you are looking for descendants of an ancestor, yet you don't know your cousins' surnames?

First off, you need to know where your ancestor is buried. If their grave is in your hometown or nearby, you're in luck. If you are like myself and live far from your ancestral cemeteries, it's important to obtain death certificates and/or obituaries of your ancestors to determine their final resting places. I use Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness quite frequently to get obituaries of ancestors. They're easier and less expensive to access than death certificates. Once I have the name of a cemetery in hand, I use Find A Grave, Interment.net, Dex Knows, or Cemetery Junction to find an address and telephone number (check out Cyndi's List of Cemeteries as well).

My next step is to cold call the cemetery office during local business hours. I have had so much luck with this! You would be amazed at how helpful cemetery employees are! From phone interviews I have discovered the names of other ancestors and relatives buried in the same cemetery, the names of the funeral homes that provided services (I'll post more about this in the future), the names and addresses of the lot owners (which may be obsolete, but may provide relatives' names). I always try to obtain the lot number of the grave(s) I am interested in, and sometimes the employee will mail me a cemetery map. I ask the cemetery employee if it's okay to send them an info packet that they could place on my ancestor's grave (see following paragraph). In fact, I have been so successful in this type of research, that I've created a form that I use to help me remember all the questions I want to ask when I call.

The fourth step is to write a letter explaining that I am a descendant of the ancestor buried in that cemetery, and that I am doing genealogical research on the family. I leave contact information: a phone number, mailing address and e-mail address. This letter is folded and sealed in a zip-lock bag and then placed in an envelope which is addressed either to the cemetery office or to a volunteer in the area that I've contacted through the local genealogical society or Random Acts. The cemetery employee or the volunteer can then place the info packet (my letter in a zip-lock bag) on the grave, hopefully weighted with a small rock or wedged into a crevice of the headstone, so it won't blow away. If this is done about a week before Memorial Day weekend, there's a chance that I could connect with another descendant of that ancestor who has come to the cemetery to clean and decorate the grave! If the cemetery doesn't allow an info packet left on the grave itself, ask if your letter could be placed in your ancestor's file at the office.

So what's the purpose of this? To hopefully connect with other relatives of a common ancestor and exchange information...photos, documents, stories, etc. It's likely that the two of you have missing information that the other may be seeking. Perhaps you'll break down a brick wall! Memorial Day weekend is only two weeks away, so I hope you'll take advantage of this tip. Good luck to you!

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!