Author: Eric J. Hokanson
James Maynard (1750-1852) of Virginia and Descendants
October 21, 2023 No Comments
I’ve been searching for this rare, out-of-print book for a long time! It contains information about 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱, my 6th great-granduncle. He served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War under Captain Jesse Franklin and Colonel Benjamin Cleveland. Finally found a copy for sale on eBay. Months ago, I had set up an alert to […]
William Riley Maynard, WWI Veteran
October 20, 2023 No Comments
These are photographs of my 1st cousin (three generations removed), 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗥𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱 (𝗮𝗸𝗮 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱). He was among the first combat aviators in American history during the earliest days of aerial warfare. He flew with the 𝟵𝟲𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗻 as a captain and was involved in many dogfights with German aces during the 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 […]
William Riley Maynard, Spanish-American War Veteran
October 19, 2023 No Comments
This is a colorized photograph of my 1st cousin (three generations removed), 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗥𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱. He was an officer in the United States Army who served during the 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵-𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝗿. The conflict originated while Cuba was in a war for independence from Spain. After violence between Cuban rebels and pro-Spanish loyalists escalated on January 12, […]
Marion Crider and Naomi “Oma” Maynard
October 18, 2023 No Comments
The first image is a portrait of my great-great-grandparents from my paternal grandmother’s side: 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 and 𝗡𝗮𝗼𝗺𝗶 “𝗢𝗺𝗮” 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱. Both were originally from Eastern Kentucky. Marion was born on June 30, 1856 while Oma was born on November 8, 1863. She belonged to the 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 of Appalachia. After the Civil War, her family […]
Ethnicity Estimate
October 17, 2023 No Comments
Finally got our DNA results back and it’s amazing how closely my results match the tree I’ve already created. I was a little surprised to see 10% Norway but I have since found a branch with more than a dozen direct ancestors on my paternal grandfather’s side who can be traced to Sweden’s Bohuslän province. […]
My Mother’s Childhood Home
October 16, 2023 No Comments
Mom’s childhood home, built in 1883, is being torn down so we stopped by to have a look before it’s completely gone. A family of eleven lived in this 3 bedroom 1 bath house on the corner of 2nd Avenue & 8th Street NE in Jamestown, North Dakota.
Caramel Rolls
October 15, 2023 No Comments
Mom and Aunt Bonnie baked homemade caramel rolls. Fresh out of the oven!
Johan Håkansson
October 14, 2023 3 Comments
My great-great-grandfather Johan Håkansson was 17 years old when he emigrated from Sweden to America in 1875. He embarked from Gothenburg on a steamship and settled as a farmer in Minnesota. I finally found the Gothenburg passenger list for my great-great-grandfather Johan Håkansson who emigrated from Virestad, Kronoberg, Småland, Sweden to America in 1875. This […]
Herman Hokanson
October 13, 2023 No Comments
This is the last known photograph of my great-grandfather, 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝗸𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗻. He was the eldest of six children born to John and Mathilda Hokanson. He was 8 years old when his father purchased more than 200 acres of land in Todd county, one mile south of Bertha, Minnesota, where the Hokanson family moved in the […]
Clara Hokanson
October 12, 2023 No Comments
The first image is a photograph of my great-grandmother 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗮. According to the words inscribed on the back, she was 20 years old when this photograph was taken in 1901. She was born to Carl Göran Svensson and Mathilda Rydberg on June 7, 1881 in Högstad, Mjölby, Östergötland, Sweden. The second image is a photograph […]