Farm Income and Expenses

I wanted to share a few pages from the accounting books that my parents kept on the farm we rented a couple of miles outside Dayton. It is, of course, the same farm where Pete and Maude Linn also lived. The records are written in pencil, so the copies may not be very clear. Still, it's an interesting look at the daily details and records that had to be kept in order to survive. The record book dates from 1947 to 1957.

1948 income from cattle, hogs, and chickens. The A. G. Barquist is the great-grandson of John Barquist. Aubrey Barquist died in 1963.

Labor hired in 1949; machine hire for grinding corn, shelling, bailing

Grain sold in 1950

Repairs and Maintenance in 1952; bolts, tractor wheels, fan belt, etc.

1953 or 1954 - Donations to Farm Bureau, Red Cross, Cancer, and Methodist Church; blacksmith and welding and gasoline expenses

I'm not sure how to preserve this book and the pencil handwriting. If anyone has a good idea, I'd love to hear it. I think that this type of record, some dated more than 70 years ago, is worth preserving for future generations.

God Jul! (Or Merry Christmas)

Just a few of the many family names that make up OUR family!

Do you have Christmas traditions in your home? In Sweden, St. Lucia Day (December 13) is celebrated. It is the story of a young girl who was martyred for her faith and comes back every year to bring food for those who are oppressed. She wears a wreath of candles to light the way so both of her hands are free to carry food to those in need.

Buffets or smorgasbord, consisting of herring (several ways), other meats, cheeses, and pickles, as well as the ever-popular lutefisk, along with a huge selection of pastries and puddings and coffee are often served on Christmas Eve. This year, I've been inspired by the posting about Bessie's recollections to make ostakaka, the Swedish cheese (osta) cake (kaka) for our Christmas celebration.

I hope that your family carries on some traditions, even if not Swedish ones, that your descendants will always remember. In our family, Christmas morning is an important time with everyone gathered for apple pancakes and lots of other foods (plus the ostakaka this year). And we take our time opening gifts, eating, opening, drinking coffee, opening, and eating some more.

My favorite pic of my siblings and me with Santa. Sorry, Randy!!

My very best wishes to all of my family members and readers of my blog this year. One more week to go this year before our 52 ancestors in 52 weeks project is done.

Babel Proclamation

Sometimes when I'm sitting at my computer pouring over hard-to-read records, or looking at books and maps in an archive or library, or when I find an old photo or visit a grave site of one of our ancestors, I wish I could have one day, one experience, with them.

What was their life really like in Sweden? How did they make the difficult decision to migrate? Why did they choose the prairies of the Midwest? How difficult was it for them to assimilate? To learn the English language and customs? To decide to be naturalized? What was important to them? Were they knowledgeable about politics? Did they vote? How did they feel about the issues of their day? The Civil War? Women's Suffrage? Temperance?

Some family historians are fortunate to have letters or diaries written by their ancestors that give a better picture of their struggles and thoughts and hopes. We have very few items that were written by our direct line. And so, we have to rely on what others wrote, soldiers who served with Gus in the Civil War, people who endured the hardship of the Atlantic crossing at the same time our ancestors did, who lived through prairie fires and tornadoes in the early days of their time in a new country, and, as we saw in last week's post, an autobiography written by a distant family member.

Recently, I learned about a proclamation that was signed by an Iowa governor, William L. Harding (1917-1921). Harding's tenure as a Republican governor was during the first World War. President Wilson had declared that "the world must be made safe for democracy" and that "millions of men and women of German birth and native sympathy live amongst us...Should there be any disloyalty it will be dealt with a firm hand of repression."

Governor Harding decided that the way to keep Iowans safe was to force immediate assimilation and loyalty and, thus, he formulated the Babel Proclamation that determined that NO foreign language could be used in any public setting. Not in churches, schools, on the telephone, or in public. Foreign newspapers were forced out of business. The proclamation was signed on May 23, 1918, just before Frank and Peter Linn entered Camp Dodge and their service in World War I.

Catholic masses could no longer be given in Latin. The town of Berlin was renamed Lincoln. In Audubon, Iowa, a German man was dragged through the town square until he agreed to buy War Bonds. Some have said that Iowa became the most intolerant state in the entire United States for all immigrants. A copy of the proclamation wording can be found here. And another article about its impact here.

Wording of the Babel Proclamation

This proclamation was clearly aimed at Germans. And, it might not seem as if the proclamation would have any impact on our ancestors, but I would argue that it did. How well did Elin Andersson Linn speak English? What about her parents and siblings? Did Olivia Rask Olofson or her sister Brita, Olof Olofson's second wife, speak English? (NOTE: In the 1910 US Federal Census, Elin is reported as speaking English; Brita, speaking Swedish; Olivia speaking English; Anna Anderson, English. These are all SELF reported and don't indicate a level of competence.). And even if they did speak and understand English, they certainly would have been more comfortable speaking Swedish and reading Swedish newspapers, going to Swedish churches. Were they fearful of being in public? What about the Swedish ME churches? Some, maybe most, of the services were conducted only in Swedish. My own Czech/Bohemian great-grandmother never spoke English. Would this have kept her isolated during this time?

Perhaps it was Veryl Olofson (I can't remember at this moment) who told me that he had learned enough Swedish to be able to work in a store in Dayton that catered to Swedish clientele. That would have been in the 1930's or even later. And so, even then, some Swedish immigrants either didn't have a command of the English language, or they preferred to conduct their business in Swedish, their native tongue.

Governor Harding took a great deal of criticism over the Babel Proclamation, but amazingly, many fraternal organizations (Czech and Scandinavian and others), newspapers, and churches ended up supporting it. The Proclamation was rescinded in December 1918, but many believe that the intolerance that built up in Iowa during the last half of 1918 carried on for years, giving rise to a Ku Klux Klan movement in the state.

I often do wonder about my own ancestors and how they viewed the issues of the day. Were any of our ancestors living in fear during the time the Babel Proclamation was in force? This is one more example of what I would talk with them about, ask them about, if I only could.

Through Bessie's Eyes

Gus and Catherine Linn had 7 children, 3 girls and 4 boys. Two of the girls died at a young age, leaving Mary Linn as the only surviving girl with 4 brothers (John, William, Andrew, and Charley).

In 1887, when Mary was 24, she married Milan Curtis. The couple lived in Dayton where Milan worked in an egg house.

Mary was good friends with Henry (aka Harry) and Elsie Meanor Kinney, who had 6 children. Sadly, Elsie died shortly after the birth of her youngest child. Harry was unable to take care of all of the children. Some were adopted by local couples and two stayed with Harry's parents. The 5th child, Bessie, at just 18 months of age, was adopted by Milan and Mary Linn Curtis who were unable to have children of their own.

Elsie Kinney Obituary

Several years ago, I corresponded with the granddaughter of Bessie and received a remarkable 36-page autobiography written by Bessie in 1976, just 3 years before her death. Today, I'd like to share a small part of it with you because Bessie writes about her early years in Dayton and describes some of her uncles and aunts, the Linns, to the reader.

I was born December 14, 1895, in Fort Dodge, Iowa. My parents were Harry and Elsie Kinney. When I was 18 months old, my mother died. There were six children in our family, and I was next to the youngest. After my mother's death, I was adopted by Milan and Mary Curtis. They lived in Dayton, Iowa. My grandfather and grandmother Kinney also lived in Dayton. Mama and Papa Curtis were old friends of my parents. My brothers and sisters were Flossie, Dorsey, Georgia, Nellie, and Percy.

I was raised as an only child and given much love....When my mother first brought me home, she sent me to meet my father. When she saw him coming, she said "go meet papa". So I toddled down the path and when I met him I said "papa". That was all it took. He was my slave from then on!

Mama Curtis had three brothers that lived on farms near Dayton. Mama's parents [Gus and Catherine Linn] had been born in Sweden, and two of her brothers married Swedish wives. [Note: That would be John and Andrew.] I used to love to go to their places. Our Uncle John had a large house and a great big barn, at least it looked so to me. Aunt Maria [John's wife] used to make Ostakaka, or Swedish pudding, that I was crazy about. When I got old enough to have a bicycle, I would ride to their place once in awhile. It was six miles from town.

The thing I remember about Uncle Bill's place [William Peter Linn] was the fried chicken, cream gravy and home made ice cream that was out of this world. They had a big refrigerator and I loved to look in there and see the big crocks of milk. Uncle Bill had five children, and Ivy, the girl, was just about my age....My folks always kept a horse and buggy so went to each of the three places quite often.

Uncle Andrew and Aunt Ellen [our Andrew and Elin Linn] lived over near Stratford. In the spring I could hardly wait for school to be out so I could go over to Uncle Andrew's. They had three children, all near my age [Elsie, Peter, and Frank], and when I went over there, their school wouldn't be out yet and I went with them. It was fun to carry my lunch in a bucket and then, when their school closed, the teacher always had me take part in the program.... Another thing I loved to do over there was to pick June berries. One day Aunt Ellen and I walked over through the field to call on one of her neighbors. We picked wild strawberries on the way.... Frank, their youngest boy, was about my age. We liked to find pretty chicken feathers. We would ... [pretend] horses and played all kinds of games.

There was a nice creek that flowed past our town and in the winter the townspeople would put in a dam so as to form an ice pond. That was before the days of the electric refrigerator, so a good many people put up their own ice. My father, being in the produce business, had two large ice houses because he used ice to ice the box cars that he shipped butter and eggs to Chicago.  

When my folks went over to Uncle Andrew's in the fall of the year, we would go to the river road. Someone had a little run-down looking store, which we called Hard Scrabble. On that road there was alot of hazel nut brush and we would gather those. 

One of the outstanding events in the summer was the Fourth of July celebration. They had a big park south of town where they had a parade and marched and gave speeches. As I remember it, someone always gave the Gettysburg Address. Dayton had a good band, so we had lots of music. 

NOTE: Milan Curtis became very ill and had 55 gallstones removed at the Mayo in Minnesota. While recuperating, he and Mary took a trip into Canada and the Western United States. Following is Bessie's recollections about their move from Iowa to Idaho.

Dad had fallen in love with Idaho, so when they came home, he sold his business, sold the house, and sold some furniture and shipped the rest to Payette, Idaho. We came out by train. [NOTE: Bessie was 15 and a junior in high school.]

The rest of her autobiography is about their time in Idaho and Oregon, with portions adopted from the granddaughter's interview of Bessie:

Bessie married twice, had 3 children. Bessie and her first husband separated when the youngest, Betty, was just about 5. Bessie sent one son to live with an Aunt in California, another son to live with Mary and Milan Curtis, and the daughter Betty to the State Home for Children. This was so that Bessie could go to business school and learn a skill to support her and her children.

Grandma Mary Curtis went to visit Betty in the State Home after she had been there several weeks. She found Betty crying in the corner and not liking how Betty was being treated insisted that Bessie remove her from there. She was only there two to three months. She then stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Curtis [Milan and Mary] until her mother finished school.

Bessie Kinney Curtis

Bessie died in 1979 of leukemia and is buried in Idaho.

Isn't this a wonderful snapshot of the late 1800's and early 1900's in the Dayton area? A peak at how loving Milan and Mary Linn Curtis were, not only with their adopted daughter Bessie, but also with their granddaughter in taking her out of the Home for Children? And a lovely look at our direct-line ancestors, John, William (Bill) and Andrew Linn, as well as a special mention about Frank Linn.

Our ancestors didn't write much that gives us clues about how they lived their lives. But what a gift, in this case, to learn about them from a life sketch written and shared by Bessie. If you have a diary, a journal, a letter, or any other document that shows something about the day-to-day lives of our ancestors, will you please share it? Scan or copy it so we can all learn and appreciate the lives our ancestors lived.

 .

Olofson Photos

I'm going to probably add a few extra posts as we wind down the year. Today, photos of my great-great grandfather, great-grandfather, grandmother, and uncle. And now we can all tell that Olof was blind, but I hadn't noticed in other photos of him.

Four generations: Olof Olofson, Maude Olofson Linn, William Edward Olofson, Stanley Linn

Olof Olofson and his son William Edward Olofson

The Other Siblings

Several of the posts this year have mentioned my grandfather Peter Linn and his brother Frank Linn, as well as my grandmother Maude Edith Olofson Linn. But there are other siblings who have had no mention this year. And today, it's time to look at Elsie Louellen Linn, Lee Verne (Vernie) Olofson, and Lilly Sophia Olofson.


Elsie Louellen Linn
Elsie was born on August 3, 1889, in Webster County, Iowa, the first born of Andrew and Elin Linn. Peter (1892) and Frank (1895) completed the family.

Several local articles from the Dayton Review and other local newspapers show Elsie to be a very social young lady, visiting with friends in different towns and hosting parties. According to later census records, Elsie had an 8th grade education. The first time I see Elsie with her future husband is in a December 12, 1907, Dayton Review article that states:

Frank and James Johnson of Paton and Elsie Linn and Francis Carlson of near Stratford, spent Sunday at S. B. Tell's. 

Were Elsie and Francis dating in 1907? It's not clear, but they were at least friends, spending a Sunday together over a year before they married.

Francis, born on November 23, 1886, was the son of a Swedish-born father and a mother from Illinois. Elsie was the daughter of a Swedish-born mother and a father from Iowa. Francis and Elsie married in Fort Dodge, on January 6, 1909 and set up farming north of Stratford. In 1911, they moved to Lake Wilson, Minnesota, then to Butterfield, Minnesota, before moving back to Webster County in 1918. In every Federal census (1910-1940), the Carlsons are renters, never owning their farm. In 1946, they retired from farming and moved to Boone where Francis worked for the Mabe Implement Company.

Four boys were born to Francis and Elsie:

• Kenneth Quinten Carlson, January 20, 1910 - September 29, 2008
• Chester Linn Carlson, July 4, 1913 - April 26, 1997
• Wayne Wendell Carlson, September 21, 1921 - October 9, 1974
• Eugene Francis Carlson, February 8, 1926 - April 16, 2008

So, four boys to Elsie. Five boys to her brother Peter. And then came Joan, the only girl, who was born to youngest sibling Frank. I'm thinking that everyone was happy to greet Joan, to finally have a girl in the family!

Elsie's husband Francis died on November 24, 1958, just ONE day after he celebrated his 72nd birthday. 

Elsie continued to live in Boone, and just a couple of months before her death, she moved to a retirement home in Boone. Elsie passed away on August 7, 1976, and is buried next to her husband in Oakwood Cemetery. 

Details about women at this time are difficult to find. Most women didn't work outside the home, have a higher education, or hold office. When I review the local articles about Elsie, I see that she was an assistant organist for her Sunday school (1905), visited her grandmother in Dayton for a few days (1905; this was Catherine Lundblad Linn), socialized with many friends and cousins.

Lee Verne (Vernie) Olofson
Vernie was the first born child to William Edward Olofson and Olivia Rask Olofson. He was born in Hardin Township on November 22, 1890. Vernie completed the 8th grade, and, on June 25, 1918, he began a one-year term of duty with the U.S. Army, serving overseas. On March 1, 1922, he was united in marriage to Thelma Shelton. They farmed near Stratford. They had 3 sons: Veryl, born in 1928 and still living; Leo Dean, born in 1929 and died in 1957; and Derrell, born in 1936.

Vernie passed away at the age of 68 on September 2, 1959 in the Veteran's Hospital in Des Moines. He and his wife are buried at Oakwood Cemetery.

Below is an article about Vernie's return from World War I. Notice what his position was. Can you imagine Uncle Vernie in the midst of a battle or in the evening camp?

Dayton Review, June 26, 1919

Lilly Sophia Olofson

Vernie was born in 1890; Lilly was born just 1 1/2 years later on May 3, 1892. At this point, it's important to remember that William Edward Olofson and Olivia Rask Olofson actually had 5 children, but two of them died in infancy. Agnes lived just 3 days, December 16-19, 1894; Edward Olof lived for 4 months, from October 12, 1899 to February 27, 1900. Maude Edith Olofson, my grandmother, was born on March 1, 1897.

Lilly had an 8th grade education. On March 1, 1911 (coincidence, or planned to be on her sister's birthday???), Lilly married a man 10-years her senior, Charles (Charlie) Lundgren. Charlie and Lilly had no children, but we see in every Federal Census that Charlie's brother David lived with them. In the 1940 Federal Census, Lilly's mother Olivia Rask Olofson, is living with them as well. 

Charlie died suddenly at the age of 74 on July 12, 1957. Lilly lived another 22 years, passing away at the age of 87 on December 14, 1979. They are buried at the Hardin Township Cemetery. A look at Aunt Lilly's funeral program shows some familiar names as her pall bearers: Ivan Linn, Veryl Olofson, Derrel Olofson, Marlyn Anderson, Kenneth Carlson, Keith Strandberg, Merlin Linn, Roland Linn.

Vernie, Maude, Lilly

Lilly and Charley

I'm thankful for the siblings Peter, Frank, and Maude had and the support they gave one another and their families. Today, a remembrance of these 3 people, important to the history of our family.

Two Deaths

Mary Barquist Olofson's older brother, Anders Barquist, stayed in Illinois when the rest of the family moved west to Iowa. And there, in Galesburg, Illinois, he married Christina Anderson on November 2, 1866.

Christina had come to this country with her family from Sweden a few years after the Barquists, settling in Illinois. She must have been very close to her parents, Elin Johansdotter Anderson and Anders Anderson because, shortly after Anders and Christina moved to Iowa, Christina's parents followed.

In the March 14, 1903, issue of the Saturday Mail out of Stanhope, we see the following death notice:

At the home of A. G. Barquist (Anders), on Thursday, March 13, Mrs. Ellen Anderson, aged 81 years, died. The deceased was the mother of Mrs. A. G. Barquist and A. H. Anderson, and the stepmother of G. P. Anderson, while two other sons reside at a distance--one in Kansas and the other in Galesburg, Illinois. Mrs. Anderson was born in Sweden and came to America in 1864, making her home in Galesburg until 1882 when she came with her family to this county. She was highly esteemed by all who knew her, and her death, which resulted from the infirmities of advanced years, will be learned with sorrow by every acquaintance. The funeral will be held at Stratford tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock. 

And from the Stratford Courier, March 14, 1903, the following:

Mrs.  Andrew Anderson died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. A. G. Barquist, Thursday morning, March 12, at 4:15 a.m. She had been confined to her bed for some time and had before her last illness been weak and sickly.

Deceased was born January 12, 1822, in Vastergotland, Sweden, and in July 1864 migrated to America, locating in Galesburg, Illinois, and in 1882 moved to Iowa. Her husband died March 28, 1893, and she had since lived with her daughter here. She left one daughter and 4 sons to mourn her death; also 19 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. 

The funeral was held from the Lutheran church Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock by Rev. Christensen of Dayton. The remains were interred in the Olson Cemetery.  

Even though her mother had been quite ill for a very long time, Christina Anderson Barquist had a very difficult time with her grief. And, within a month of her mother's death, Christina took her own life. She was just 57 years old. The news articles below give some of the details to this very sad end:

 From the April 9, 1903, Stratford Courier:

DROWNS HERSELF IN A POND.

Mrs. A.G. Barquist Suicides While Temporarily Insane.

Stratford was horror struck Tuesday to learn of the suicide of Mrs. A.G. Barquist by drowning herself in a pond containing less than two feet of water. She had lately been very despondent and subject to mental derangement and it was while in one of these spells that she committed the deed.

She got up about six o'clock to fix some bread, she said, and when her husband came down a little later, she could not be found. He at once hitched up and drove to where a son, Edwin farms, two miles east of town, but she had not been there. On his return he found her lying a short distance from the family home in a small pool of water.

A coroner's jury was impaneled and the decision rendered was "that the deceased came to her death by drowning herself." Peter Cannnon was deputized as coroner.

And a second obituary, source unknown:

Barquist

Mrs. A.G. Barquist was born in Westergötland, Sweden, September 20, 1845. In 1864 she, with her parents, came to this country. On November 6, 1866 she was married to A.G. Barquist and they resided in Galesburg until 1881 when they moved to a farm six miles east of Stratford, moving to Stratford a few years ago. She leaves a husband, four brothers, and six children to mourn her death. The children are - Emma J., Minnie, Agnes C., Arthur, Frank A. and Edwin H.

Deceased was all that the best woman is - a kind and loving wife and mother, a sympathizing friend to all, loved by everybody. The funeral will be held from the Lutheran church this afternoon at 1 o'clock by Rev. J.A. Christenson of Dayton.

Christina left a husband, Anders Barquist, who died in 1924; and 6 children, the youngest, Agnes, being just 15 years old.