Friday, January 2, 2015

Peter Knute Iverson and Anna Sorine Duhn

This year I plan to blog once a week about my ancestors. I will highlighting one pair of ancestors each week. To protect living relative's privacy, I will be starting with my great grandparents, and working backwards to my 4th great grandparents.

This week I'm writing about my great grandparents Peter Knute Iverson and Anna Sorensen Duhn. I am descended through:
-Their son, Kermit Julius Iverson (1910–1978), married in 1933 to Avis Rae Zeigler (1913–1988)
-Their son, Peter Kermit Iverson (1952–), married in 1980 to Peggy Marie Kline (1953–)
-Their son, Perry Kermit Iverson (1984–)


Peter Knute Iverson was born on December 29, 1878 in Rochelle, Ogle County, Illinois, the son of Knute Iverson and Karina Olsdatter Dale, both Norwegian immigrants. He lived with his parents in Ogle County until March 1895, when he moved with them to a farm near Cylinder, Palo Alto County, Iowa. They finally settled in 1900 on a farm in Lost Island Township, Palo Alto County, Iowa. They were members of the Lost Island Lutheran Church there. P.K. attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota in about 1899, and then the Sioux City College of Medicine in about 1902.

P.K. & Anna Iverson wedding photo, 1906

P.K. was married to Anna Sorine Duhn on January 22, 1906 in Graettinger, Palo Alto County, Iowa. Anna was born on January 26, 1884 in Highland Township, Palo Alto County, Iowa, the daughter of Jens Sorensen Duhn and Inger Thoresdatter Hovda, who were Danish and Norwegian immigrants, respectively. The family were members of the Lost Island Lutheran Church, and Anna was baptized and confirmed there. She graduated from high school in Flandreau, South Dakota in 1902, and came back to teach school in Lost Island Township for several years.

Anna Duhn, high school graduation, 1902

Anna's father had died in 1904, and P.K. and Anna made their home on his homestead in Highland Township, where P.K. took over farming the land. They had 8 children, all born on the farm there:

1. Constance Irene Iverson (24 Aug 1906 – 25 Apr 1954), married Leonard Ernest Pilquist on 23 May 1929.
2. Judith Katherine Iverson (30 Oct 1908 – 15 May 1909).
3. Kermit Julius Iverson (19 May 1910 – 28 Jan 1978), married Avis Rae Zeigler on 3 Sep 1933.
4. Pearl Annette Iverson (30 Dec 1912 – 13 Jul 2005), married Elmer Bernard Twait on 22 Oct 1932.
5. Agnes Louise Iverson (21 Apr 1915 – 15 Sep 2008), married Leonard Ernest Pilquist on 13 Dec 1961.
6. Ruth Gertrude Iverson (3 Oct 1917 – 18 Aug 1992), married Luverne Joseph Peterson on 22 Aug 1935.
7. Edith Marie Iverson (23 Jan 1920 – 5 Jul 2009), married John Dee Fletcher on 21 Jul 1943.
8. Esther Violetta Iverson (11 Jul 1923 – 17 Mar 2009), married Donald Hermanson on 29 May 1943.

P.K. and Anna retired from the farm in 1955 and moved to a house in Ruthven, Iowa. Later, in 1968, they moved to St. Luke's Lutheran Home in Spencer, Iowa.

P.K. & Anna, 50th wedding anniversary

P.K. & Anna, 60th wedding anniversary

P.K. died on February 16, 1971 at the Spencer Hospital in Spencer, Clay County, Iowa. Anna died a few years later on October 22, 1974 at St. Luke's Lutheran Home in Spencer. They are buried at the Lost Island Lutheran Church Cemetery in Palo Alto County, Iowa.





Thursday, December 16, 2010

Martha Ellsworth - early life and marriage

Martha Ann Ellsworth was born in about 1848 in either Wapello or Marion County, Iowa, the daughter of Simon Ellsworth and Sarah Ann Comptice. Her father was a farmer who came from Ohio, married in Indiana, then moved to Illinois, and finally to Iowa, arriving in about 1844 in Wapello County1. By 1850, the family was living on a farm about two miles east of Knoxville, Marion County, Iowa. The following image shows the location of the farm in 18752:


The following image is taken from the 1850 Census of Marion County and shows Martha living with her parents, Simon and Sarah Ann, two sisters, Mary Jane and Susan Elizabeth, and a brother, John Wesley3:


Martha's father, Simon died on August 4, 1855, when Martha was just 7 years old1. In 1856, her sister Mary Jane married James E. Whiteley, who was an Englishman and laborer on a neighboring farm, and Mary Jane moved to Wayne County, Iowa4. Martha continued to live with her mother, and is found in the 1856 Iowa State Census of Marion County with her mother and the remaining five siblings, Susan Elizabeth, John Wesley, Lydia Ellen, Charlotte Melvina, and Simon Edward5:


By 1860, Martha's sister Susan had moved to Wayne County with her oldest sister Mary Jane, and Martha is still living with her mother and four siblings in Marion County6:

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln took office, and the Civil War began. In 1862, Martha's younger sister Lydia died at the age of about 111, and her older brother John Wesley enlisted on August 6, 1862 in Company G of the Iowa 18th infantry and went off to war7. Martha's sister Susan married to William Hewitt on December 8, 18624 in Marion County. It is likely that Martha continued living at home with her mother and younger siblings Charlotte and Simon from 1862-1866. Her brother returned at the end of the war in July of 1865.

George Persons also returned from war in to Marion County in September of 1865, and on September 19, 1866, George E. Persons and Martha Ann Ellsworth were married in Marion County, Iowa4. I do not currently have the original marriage record, but I should be able to obtain it when I go to Knoxville next week (weather permitting).
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1.Aylsworth, Homer E., Arthur Aylsworth and his descendants in America, 1887.
2.Atlas of Marion County Iowa, 1875, p. 21, Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918 Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 Dec 2010); citing Library of Congress microfilm G&M 3290, Roll 84.
3.1850 U.S. Census, Marion County, Iowa, population schedule, p. 276B, dwelling 666, family 720, Simon Ellsworth family, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 Dec 2010); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 187.
4.Index to Marion County Marriages, available online at http://iagenweb.org/marion/MARRIAGES/IndexMarriageRecords305.htm, accessed 16 Dec 2010.
5.1856 Iowa Census, Marion County, Iowa, population schedule, Knoxville Township, p. 73, dwelling 670, family 503, Sarah Anne Elsworth family, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 Dec 2010); citing State Historical Society of Iowa microfilm via HeritageQuest.
6.1860 U.S. Census, Marion County, Iowa, population schedule, Knoxville Township, p. 50, dwelling 368, family 139, Sarah Ellworth family, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 Dec 2010); citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 335.
7.John W. Ellsworth, Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 Dec 2010), 2009.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

George Persons - early life and military service

George E. Persons was born on January 9, 1832 in Genesee, New York according to his death certificate1. It is unclear whether this is Genesee County, New York, or the town of Genesee in Allegany County, New York. All records of George agree that he was born sometime between 1832 and 1835 in New York. I currently have no information on his parents or siblings. He moved sometime before 1864 to Knoxville, Marion County, Iowa.

The next record found for George is his enlistment in the Civil War as a private in Company A of the 33rd Iowa Infantry Regiment on February 26, 1864 in Marion County, Iowa. On July 12, 1865 he transferred from Company A of the 33rd Iowa Infantry to Company A of the Iowa 34th Infantry. Finally, on September 26, 1865 he was mustered out at St. Louis, Missouri2

It is not certain at this time how much combat he was involved in. The Iowa 33rd took part in the ill-fated Red River Campaign and the subsequent Battle of Jenkin's Ferry on April 30, 1864, and the 33rd lost 123 men in the battle. They returned to Little Rock on May 3, 1864 and remained on garrison duty there until October 30, 1864, and at that time they escorted a supply train to Fort Smith, Arkansas marching there and back. On January 21, 1865 they marched from Little Rock to Mount Elba, Arkansas and back. They left Little Rock again on February 14, 1865 and traveled by steamboat to New Orleans, and then by rail to Navy Cove, Alabama. They then marched to Mobile, taking place in the siege of Mobile from March 27th to April 8th, 1865. They then marched from Spanish Fort to Fort Blakely and on arrival witnessed its capture by union forces. They then crossed Mobile Bay and went into Mobile to Whistler Station. From there they marched to McIntosh Bluff where they remained until June 1, 1865, when they traveled on the ocean steamer "Continental" to Brazos Santiago, Texas and then to the town of Bagdad. At this point George would have received his transfer orders to the Iowa 34th, marching to Galveston, Texas, and then to Houston and finally being mustered out3.

I have sent away for George's pension application and military service record, which should give more personal details about George's service. More on this when they arrive.
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1.Missouri State Board of Health. death certificate 30778 (1911), George E. Persons; bureau of Vital Statistics, digital image. Missouri Digital Heritage. (http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates/ : accessed 15 Dec 2010).
2.George E. Persons, Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 Dec 2010), 2009.
3.Guy E. Logan, Roster and Record of Iowa Troops In the Rebellion, Vol. 5. Historical Sketch of the 33rd Iowa Infantry. Available at: http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/books/logan/mil702.htm : accessed 15 Dec 2010.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

New blog & an adoption mystery

I am starting this blog to serve as a kind of personal research log for my genealogy research. I am also hoping that in posting the research I am working on, I will be able to update family members on my research progress, make new contacts researching the same families, and possibly get some tips from people more experienced than I. 

I will start with the family I am most interested in currently - D.W. & Bertha Reed, my great great grandparents. They were once my least researched family. No relatives that I knew seemed to have much of any concrete information about them. I knew David William Reed was a doctor and tent preacher, his wife's name was Bertha Melvina Snyder, and they had 6 children: Veva, Agnes, Willa Marie, D.W. Jr., Harvey, and Ava (my great grandmother). My grandfather and his sister remembered that David Reed died in the 20's, and Bertha and her children (other than Ava) moved to Phoenix, Arizona shortly after - supposedly because most of the family had tuberculosis and the hot, dry air would help the condition.

David & Bertha Reed

With that initial information, I have been able to uncover a wealth of information about this family. I may blog further about D.W. & Bertha and their family later, but I want to focus in on my current research on Bertha's parents.

Bertha's birth has been a mystery. In the 1900 Census of Mercer, Mercer County, Missouri1, Bertha is listed as being 24 years of age, born October 1875 in Ohio, her father born in Ohio, and mother with unknown birthplace. In the 1910 Census of St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri2, Bertha is listed as being 35 years of age, born in Iowa, parents both born in the U.S. In the 1920 Census of Clearfield (Grand Township), Taylor County, Iowa3, Bertha is listed as being 44 years of age, born in Iowa, parents both born in the U.S. In the 1930 Census of Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa4, she is 53 years of age, born in Kentucky, with both parents born in Kentucky. So was she born October 1875 or 1874 or 1876? Was she born in Ohio, Iowa or Kentucky? 

The 1880 Census would add more clues. In the 1880 census, she is found in Marion Township, Mercer County, Missouri5, 5 years old, with parents James and Sarah J. Snyder. She is listed as being born in Iowa with father born in Kentucky and mother born in Indiana. I thought the mystery may end there - here are her parents James and Sarah J. Snyder. But the 1925 Iowa State Census turned up even more mystery. This census lists parents names. In the 1925 Iowa State Census of Clearfield, Taylor County, Iowa6, Bertha is listed as 49 years old, born in Iowa, and her parents were George Persons born in Pennsylvania and Martha Ellsworth born in Ohio.

Were Bertha's parents James & Sarah J. Snyder or George Persons and Martha Ellsworth? A rootsweb member tree7 gives another clue, referencing James M. Snyder, it says "History of the Brown Family by Dora Brown says he and Sarah had no children. They adoped Birdie M. Snyder, daughter of George Persons. She was born 1 Oct 1874. Her mother was killed when thrown from a wagon when Birdie was an infant." James Maxcell Snyder's obituary8 confirms this, "Maxcell Snyder was born in Kentucky in 1840, and died at the home of his adopted daughter, Mrs. D.W. Reed".

My research is currently focused on George Persons and Martha Ellsworth, Bertha's birth parents. Who were they? What circumstances surrounded Martha's death? Why was Bertha given for adoption? Did the Persons family know the Snyder family? What happened to George Persons? Did Bertha know him? For now, this blog will focus on answering those questions.
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1.1900 U.S. Census, Mercer County, Missouri, population schedule, Marion Township, Enumeration District 116, p. 2A, dwelling 35, family 35, Birdie Reed, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Dec 2010); citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 874.
2.1910 U.S. Census, Buchanan County, Missouri, population schedule, Washington Township, Enumeration District 83, p. 6B, dwelling 131, family 134, Bertha M. Reed, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Dec 2010); citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 772.
3.1920 U.S. Census, Taylor County, Iowa, population schedule, Grant Township, Enumeration District 142, p. 5B, dwelling 149, family 149, Bertha Reed, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Dec 2010); citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 514.
4.1930 U.S. Census, Polk County, Iowa, population schedule, Des Moines Township, Enumeration District 79-15, p. 4A, dwelling 66, family 101, Bertha Reed, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Dec 2010); citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 674.
5.1880 U.S. Census, Mercer County, Missouri, population schedule, Marion Township, Enumeration District 221, p. 6, dwelling 52, family 52, Burdie M. Snyder, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Dec 2010); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 703.
6.1925 Iowa Census, Taylor County, Iowa, population schedule, Clearfield Town, Grant Township, p. 66, line 147, Bertha M. Reed, digital image, Ancestry.com(http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Dec 2010); citing State Historical Society of Iowa microfilm collection IA1925, roll 1959 via HeritageQuest.
7.Rootsweb member tree, (http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:556154&id=I27352144 : accessed 14 Dec 2010); citing A History of the Brown Family by Dora Brown (source not found by author).
8."Obituary - Maxcell Snyder", Clearfield Enterprise, 26 Apr 1928, digital image, NewspaperArchive.com (http://www.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 3 Apr 2010), p. 1 col. 4.