Preparing for SLIG 2020: Part 2

SLIG 2020! ¹

As I started planning my preparations as a learner in the Early US Church Records course at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) next January, I took a step back and started thinking about what kinds of records I might already be familiar with.

I quickly realized my knowledge of religious record types is very limited. I am somewhat familiar with the Norwegian Lutheran church records from the early settlements in the states of Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and Iowa. I have found hundreds of baptismal, confirmation, marriage and death records from churches in those areas.

Two sources have been especially helpful for me in finding the churches where my Norwegian Lutheran ancestors may have attended.

Map of church congregation growth in Brookings Co., South Dakota ²

The first source is a two-volume set called, "Norske Lutherske Menigheter i Amerika, 1843-1916."3 It is a listing of Norwegian Lutheran churches by state and county. It is in Norwegian but it is possible to glean a lot of information from it. For example, there is often a map drawing showing when churches split it two, perhaps due to size and location, and when they merged, for probably the same reasons.

Lake Sinai, Brookings Co, SD ⁴

Frequently, the description of each church includes the pastors and dates they served, the building date, any rebuilds due to fire or other destruction, founding members, and a photo of the church. The entry for the Lake Sinai church at right includes the founding members, among them is my great-grandfather, Ole Eken.

The two volumes are available as free digital downloads.  I found Volume 1 at Archive.org and Volume 2 at Google Books.

The second source is a book of Norwegian Lutheran ministers, "Norsk Lutherske Prester i Amerika, 1843-1915."5 If you know the minister's name, perhaps from a marriage license or signed certificate, you could look him up in this book to see where he might have served. It was quite common for a minister to have served in several churches at once which can complicate look-ups. But often, the same record book was used for all churches served and the church name was indicated in each record or record-set.

Anders Nilsen Stover ⁶

This book can also be found at Google Books here.

I was lucky enough to find a photo of my great-great-grandfather's brother, Anders Nilsen Stover (listed in the index as Nilsen, Anders), who served in several churches in eastern South Dakota. The information included indicates he was born 13 Sept. 1842 to Niels Olsen and Kari Knudsen, was ordained in 1883 and served in Watertown, SD from 1883 - 1892. He died 25 Nov. 1892. His wife was Magnild Olsen.

I've learned in going through some of the early Norwegian Lutheran Church records that in addition to baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and deaths, the church sometimes took a "census" of church members. If you can find one with your ancestors, you are really in luck. I found two with my great-great-grandfather's family, Knud Nilsen Stover and his wife, Guri Kristoffersdottir.

The information included in the "census" can contain birth and baptism dates and locations, confirmation date, date the family transferred to another church,  and even the maiden name of the wife. The record below shows my great-great-grandfather, Knud Nilson Stover, his wife Guri Kristoffersdatter, and their children Nicolai, Kari, Kjersti, Anna, Karl, Maria, and Mina. The first column with dates is the birth date for that person, the next column is birth location: either Norway or America, the next column with dates is the baptismal dates of two of the younger children and the last column shows when they left the church to join a new church closer to home.

Church family census information for Knud Nilsen Stover7

Knowing which church your ancestors attended can be very helpful when searching for the records. Many record sets are online at Ancestry.com and can be found here. The title of the collection is "U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969."8 While it doesn't contain all Lutheran Church records, I've found hundreds of records for my extended family.  The two-volume set previously mentioned can help you find the state and county the church was in. Ancestry allows you to search the set globally for your ancestor or to browse the set by searching for the church by state and county. Once I have found the correct church, I personally prefer to browse to the church and to page through the book online rather than search globally. The records are handwritten and so the indexing isn't perfect.

You can tell I like the resources that I use for my Norwegian Lutheran ancestry. And that's why I need to learn about other resources from other religions. I have identified the religious preferences of many of my other ancestors. I've found Methodists, Baptists, Catholics, Episcopalians, Latter-Day Saints, and others. I need to find out what types of records may have been created and where I might be able to find them.

1. Facebook SLIG Attendee Group image, used with permission. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php fbid=10214455937699943&set=oa.2100166473624041&type=3&theater&ifg=1. Accessed 30 August 2019.

2. Norlie, Olaf Morgan, et al. Norske Lutherske Menigheter i Amerika, 1843-1916. Augsburg, 1918. Archive.org, https://archive.org/details/norskelutherske00tologoog/. Accessed 30 August 2019.

3. Ibid., p. 926. 

4. Ibid., p. 930.

5. Norlie, Olaf Morgan, et al. Norske Lutherske prester i Amerika, 1843-1913. Augsburg, 1915. Google Books, https://books.google.com/books?id=7VhHAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Norsk+Lutherske+Prester+i+Amerika&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi_tpbK8arkAhXBY98KHbS-Dv4Q6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=nilsen&f=false. Accessed 30 August 2019.

6. Ibid., p. 197.

7. Singsaas Lutheran Church (Lincoln, Minnesota). Church Registers, 1874 - 1923, page 79, Knut Nilsen Stover and Guri Christoffersdatter; digital images. ancestry.com: U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969: accessed 30 August 2019.

8. Ancestry.com: U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969: accessed 30 August 2019.

Day 4: Oh, no! Only One More Day! #SLIGExperience

When there are technical glitches, beta software utilities, long downloads and uploads and you're STILL excited about all the learning, then you KNOW it's a good course. I highly recommend reviewing this year's syllabus for the "GPS with DNA" course. You'll see top-notch presenters, riveting topics, and lab time to work and explore.

Syllabus

Honestly, I would check out the schedule each day and think how awesome the day was going to be. And every day WAS great. I was never disappointed, always learning and usually highly entertained. Certainly you have all heard, or seen video, about Paul Woodbury and his singing. And then there were the "endogamy" balloons. Lesson learned and we had fun at the same time!

Dr. Michael Lacapo gave three great case studies, highly infused with humor (but no singing or balloons, darn it) to help us learn how to use mtDNA, atDNA and YDNA to its fullest potential for teasing out those answers to our brick walls.

Our fearless leader, Karen Stanbary and amazing Melissa Johnson were incredible as they methodically went through the GPS and how it applied to DNA. Today we broke into groups to analyze NGSQ articles that involved DNA in the GPS. I have a hard time analyzing articles alone and being able to bounce ideas off classmates was a great learning experience, too.

Thanks to Paul Woodbury, Melissa Johnson and Kimberly Powell for assisting us during our labs. My classmates were friendly, awesome, and willing to share expertise, too. The class was large with a variety of technical skills so having all those people in the room was just awesome!

Outside of the class sessions, it was great to be able to network with others who have that same driving passion for genealogy. I was even able to meet up at have dinner with the Minnesota group again this year. Lots of fun!

While I am sad that the class is ending Friday, I more than a little excited to spend some time at the Family History Library over the next few days. And I am looking forward to seeing what's ahead for SLIG 2019!

Serendipity in Genealogy, Part II

In my previous article, Serendipity in Genealogy, Part I,  I gave the background information for the discovery of my mother-in-law's maternal family.

After discovering the Kline name in an excerpt of the Bill Holm book, "The Heart Can Be Filled Anywhere on Earth," I made the very short journey to the Minnesota Historical Society, in St. Paul, Minnesota.

I admit it, I am lucky, the Minnesota Historical Society is less than 12 miles from my home. So I used the clues from the excerpt to find her death record and then, her obituary. Her obituary indicated she was survived by a sister in Robbinsdale, Anna Hughes, and then I knew I had found the family. I almost heard that brick wall fall. With the new information, I spent the rest of the afternoon, searching the state census records and church records and building the family tree forward.

The original excerpt had explained that as a young boy, Bill Holm accompanied his parents when they visited the town of Minneota on Saturday evenings. Sara Kline was always on the sidewalk near the spot they always parked their car.  There, before he was allowed to run off with friends, his parents instructed him to greet her by "...shaking her hand, greeting her courteously in Icelandic, and, worst of all, bending down to kiss her on the cheek." His mother had short conversations with her in Icelandic, also.

So my husband's maternal grandmother was Icelandic? Why didn't my husband know that? Why didn't my mother-in-law, Anna's daughter, know that? Anna Hughes, Sara Kline's sister, died in 1971 at the age of 88. My husband would have been almost 23 years old. Surely Anna must have spoken about her Icelandic heritage the same way my grandparents spoke of their Norwegian heritage.

But when I queried my mother-in-law on our Christmas visit her response indicated otherwise.

"Was your mother's family Icelandic?" I asked.

"Well, maybe a little," she replied, after some thought.

Hmmm, my research indicated that Anna Kline Hughes' parents and older siblings arrived from Iceland three years before she was born. For whatever reason, my mother-in-law never talked about her Icelandic heritage even after I explained that her mother was 100% Icelandic. She also couldn't remember if the women with whom her mother often visited were aunts, cousins or just friends.

Apparently her mother was raised by another family after her father died. The family that raised her, the Christiansen's, may have been related but I have not yet found that family link.

After buying Bill Holm's book, "The Heart Can be Filled Anywhere on Earth," and re-reading the entire chapter that mentioned Sara Kline, I felt I needed to write to him. He had written that Sara Kline had "no family to sit in the mourner's pew." I wanted him to know that she did have family, and now, 45 years later, to thank him for singing at her funeral.

However, I was a little intimidated to write the letter as I knew he was a college professor at Southwest State University in Marshall, Minnesota which is not far from Minneota. I wrote and re-wrote that letter until I thought it was acceptable to send to someone who teaches writing at the college level. It was a painful experience - I almost felt like I was going to get a grade at the end, which I almost did.

Bill Holm replied with a postcard greeting and did acknowledge my feeble attempts at writing.

The postcard reads:

Dear Lynn, You deserve a longer reply to that magnificently written letter on Sara Kline. Darren G. is trying to dig up some more facts for you, but I am only stunned with admiration for your detective work. Come to Minneota in spring. You honor Sara with your prose!

Best, Bill


I wish that I could say I took him up on his offer and went to visit him in Minneota. I sincerely regret that I didn't although I intended to. Life got in the way and I thought I might have more time after retirement. Sadly, Bill Holm passed away in February of 2009.

Serendipity In Genealogy, Part I

There are entire books written about serendipitous discoveries made in genealogical research.  I'm not sure if "serendipity" is the proper term, perhaps it is the gentle prodding of our ancestors that push us in the right direction. Nevertheless, here is my story. First the background information:

In the early 1990's, I became a college student, somewhat late-in-life, as I was already married with three children. I attended an English class at the local community college and one of our assignments was to read the book, "Coming Home Crazy", written by a Minnesota author named Bill Holm. I had never heard of Bill Holm although he had written several books by then.

"Coming Home Crazy" was a series of essays about Bill Holm's experiences while teaching in China.The book was interesting to me, as my husband and I had visited China in the mid-1980's. Perhaps because of my own China experience, or perhaps because our assignment included journaling while reading, the book left an impression on me.

At this time, genealogy was also beginning to take hold on me. One of my daughter's 7th grade classroom assignment, in 1990, included documenting a family tree. That's when I discovered that my husband's mother knew very little about either side of her family. Or perhaps she just didn't want to share. But either way, there was no information about any of her grandparents except for the name of her paternal grandfather, Samuel Hughes.

What my mother-in-law did know was that her mother's name was Anna Kline, born in Minnesota in 1883, married in 1916 to her father, Harry Hughes.

I graduated in December of 1994 and was then able to use my "spare" time to work on genealogy. My mother-in-law's maternal family was a total brick wall. I could find no record of Anna Kline anywhere. Of course, the records weren't quite as easy to search as they are now. I knew that her mother grew up in the area of Minneota, Minnesota but was unable to find anything else.

Now for the serendipitous story.

Sometime late in November or early December in the year 2000, I was reading the Minneapolis Star Tribune Sunday paper. As is my habit, I started on the front page of the first section, and went page by page through each section. On the front page of the Entertainment section there was an excerpt of Bill Holm's latest book, "The Heart Can be Filled Anywhere on Earth."

I normally wouldn't read such a long article, but it attracted my attention because Bill Holm was the author and I remembered my college class with his book. In his new book, he wrote about his hometown, Minneota, Minnesota. At some point, the name "Sara Kline" jumped out at me.  I read the article again, this time more closely, scrutinizing the details about Sara and her story.

It was not pretty.

The fifth chapter of the book, entitled "Glad Poverty," told the story of Sara Kline, whom Bill Holm called the "bag lady of Minneota." He described her as "small, shriveled, hunched over... stringy, greasy hair... stale smell of unwashed damp rags, sweat, urine-soaked underwear, rotting food in rotted teeth, old cigarettes, the fetor that rises off a mattress that should have been thrown out decades ago.."

This was not exactly the family I was looking for. However, I couldn't ignore the fact that she lived in Minneota and her last name was Kline. So I thought about it for a while. And then I wrote down every fact in the article that I might be able to find in records.

Stay tuned for Serendipity in Genealogy, Part II.

Are Your Ancestors from Minnesota? Part 2...

As mentioned in one or more previous posts, I use the Minnesota Historical Society (MnHS) website frequently when researching my Minnesota lines. I am particularly fond of the birth and death indices, but there are many other resources that are helpful to family researchers.

One such resource is the index to the Minnesota State Census. The index is just that, an index, and does not link to the actual images. Those images can be ordered online from MnHS for $9 each. The actual images can also be found on Ancestry.com if you are lucky enough to have a subscription.

Ancestry.com is also available at many local libraries for patrons. If you are planning a trip to a library that has Ancesty.com, using the MnHS index online ahead of time can save you some searching time at the library and allow you to quickly access the images you need during your visit.

As explained on the MnHS site, "This index includes Minnesota State Census records from 1849, 1850, 1853, 1855, 1857, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895 and 1905."

Did you notice what I did? There are census records available for 1885 and 1895. Since the 1890 Federal Census records are all but destroyed, the state census can supply an excellent 1890 substitution for those Minnesota families.

The information returned during a state census search can vary by census year. Information returned when searching in the 1905 census, for example, includes:

Name
Age

Ethnicity
Birth place
County
City/Township
Gender
Census Year

To the upper right is an image from my great-great-grandfather's census record returned when I searched by first and last name. By his age, birth place, and residence, I can be relatively sure this is my great-great-grandfather even though there was more than one Andrew Jackson Riggs in the state at the time. I could search again, using only the last name, the county, and year of census to identify other possible family members.

I hope you enjoy using the resources available at the Minnesota Historical Society site as much as I do.

Minnesota Marriages - A Great Resource

I just had the most wonderful weekend with my
family and friends watching my son marry his lovely fiance. The ceremony was beautiful with just the right number of mishaps to make everyone less nervous. The reception was unbelievable with terrific food, gorgeous decor and wonderful touches that truly added meaning. Then there was the weather: not a cloud in the sky, temperature in the low 70's, just a trace of a breeze and peak fall colors to boot. Since the wedding was in northern Minnesota, anyone who had to drive up from the Twin Cities had the most stunning drive this season.

I managed to squeeze in just a couple of hours of genealogy research even on this busy weekend. Our "up north" cabin is equipped with DSL Internet access and wireless. Both my husband and I need to be connected to escape so it is a must-have if we are to "get away from it all." I guess that makes it just "get away from some of it." Even if we are connected to work, we are also connected to the fun stuff. So even my frozen weekends up north can be very productive.

After the ceremony I started wondering when my son's wedding would be on the Minnesota Official Marriages System (MOMS) website. This website has become a God-send for me. One of the most difficult pieces of genealogy can be to find the maiden names of women that marry into the family. The MOMS website lists marriages as far back as 1845, depending upon the county. I also found marriages from as recently as last weekend. That also depends upon the county. Of course, these records are transcribed from county records and can contain errors.

Even so, I heartily recommend visiting MOMS if you have any Minnesota residents in your tree OR if you have residents of neighboring states that lived in the bordering counties. Those tricky ancestors of ours sometimes married just across the border of a neighboring state. Once you have found the correct record, the site connects you with the proper contact info to order the certificate if you need it. I rarely order certificates but I have used the information available there in my family tree database almost 700 times.

I will recommend, as always, that you try different spellings, or searching on just the wife or husband. While the site allows limiting your search to just one county, I suggest leaving it open unless you get too many results. I've also found that it searches well on a partial name, first or last. This can really help when you are relying on transcribed records.

One last note, there is a link near the top that lists the dates available for each county. It is helpful information but not 100% accurate. Le Sueur County indicates there are no records available. Yet, the two oldest records I found were from Le Sueur County.

Thanks to the Minnesota counties who put their marriage data online!