Our ancestors were far from being the first European settlers in the United States. The first ancestor in my tree who came to the US was John Linn and his wife Brita Maja Eriksdotter in 1849. As we know, they settled in what was to become Webster County, Iowa. Next, in 1850, were my direct-line Olofsons. Olof Olsson and wife Kerstin Larsdotter, along with their 5 living children including my 2nd great grandfather Olof Olofson, came to Wisconsin in 1850.
We are not going to find Revolutionary War soldiers, become members of the Mayflower Society, or trace anyone to the early days where the East Coast was developed by European settlers, unless you have someone in another line of your family ancestry.
When I have read about those early settlements, the stories and the drawings show a very difficult life. But our ancestors, John Linn and Olof Olsson, found very primitive land in both Iowa and Wisconsin.
The link to the map of Iowa below from 1845, shows that only the Eastern third of the state had been settled at all. Where John, Gustus, and Peter Linn went up the Des Moines River or across from the Mississippi was unknown and unsettled territory.
Much of Wisconsin had been platted, especially those areas around Lake Michigan where settlements began. The map below shows what the Olssons would have found in 1850.
The total population for Iowa in the 1850 US Federal Census was 192,214. Iowa had become a state on December 28, 1846. See the following for details on ethnicities, county populations, churches, schools, and more in 1850.
The total population for Wisconsin in the 1850 US Federal Census was 305,301. Wisconsin had become a state on May 29, 1848. See the following for details on ethnicities, county populations, slave population, churches, schools, and more in 1850.
Much of the above is very interesting reading to see more about what our ancestors found when they made the long trip from Sweden to Iowa. Hope you enjoy reading this.
No comments:
Post a Comment