Family Photos

With just a few weeks to go before the end of my 52 ancestors in 52 weeks blog, I want to be sure that I share a few photos. Some readers may have these; others may not. But they are an important part of our family history.

Andrew and Elin Anderson Linn; married November 1, 1888

Cedar Brook Farm, home of Andrew and Elin Linn and their 3 children: Elsie (1889), Peter (1892), Frank (1895)
 photo around 1903-1906?

Aerial view of the farm Peter and Maude and their sons lived on, later the farm our family lived on. This was taken around 1950. Long walk from the house to the outhouse!

This is one of my favorite pictures of our beloved Peter and Frank Linn, brothers sitting on the front porch swing in Des Moines, 1979.

My dear grandparents, Peter Edward Linn and Maude Edith Olofson Linn.

And on the Olofson side: Olivia Rask Olofson, my great-grandmother, died in 1943. Below is the sale of her farm shortly after her death:

You can see the total price, followed by expenses and the distribution to her 3 children.

And below is a copy of Olivia's Last Will and Testament, a very simple one, leaving everything divided among her 3 children:

 At the time Olivia wrote this, she states that she is 62 years old, meaning it would have been written in 1921. Yet, the date is 1924, about 8 months after her husband's passing. It's clear that Olivia is still holding on to the belief/story that she was born in 1862, not 1859. We all know better and have the proof in her birth record and Swedish clerical surveys.

William Edward Olofson and Olivia Rask wedding photo, 1889

In a previous post, I placed a portion of the Linn and Lundblad ancestors in a chart. Following is an Olofson/Barquist tree:

The two Olof Rasks is not an error. Father and son had the same name.

I've traced our ancestors in all of these lines several more generations, but I hope this helps put many of our ancestors into a visual for you.

I'll keep looking through old family photos and post some interesting ones before the end of the year. Do you have one you'd like to share? If so, please send it and I'll make sure it's posted for others to enjoy.

Follow-up to Tornado Post

After I posted the last blog about the tornado that struck near Stratford in 1918, I wondered where, exactly, Edwin Barquist, his wife Annie, and their 4 children lived. I was able to find a 1918 Plat Map for Hamilton County, showing Marion Township where they lived.

Just northeast of Stratford in section 5, you can see E. H. Barquist, 80 acres. His farm is next to the J. O. Westrum and P. O. Westrum farms that were also hit hard by the tornado. You might also recognize a few other names on the map, F. A. Barquist with 160 acres in section 2, and Andrew G. Barquist, 120 acres, in section 12.

If we look at Stratford from the Webster County side, you can see that the Andrew Linn and Olivia Olofson farms would have likely been in the path of this tornado as well. A. F. Linn's 120 acres is in Section 22, at the bottom of the screen, and Olivia Olofson's 80 acres is in section 13, just below Stratford.

I've not found mentions in local news articles about their losses, but I can't imagine that they, or their neighbors would have been spared from this devastating tornado.