P.J. Swenson
October 27, 2023 No Comments
My great-grandmother Clara wrote in her journal about her uncle 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗻 who lived in Carver, Minnesota. The first image is an old photograph she had of him seated next to my great-great-grandfather dated “March 20, 1904.” On the back is written “Carl Göran Swenson and his brother John Swenson of Carver.” She called him […]
Daniel Boone
October 26, 2023 No Comments
My fifth great-granduncle married the grand-niece of legendary frontiersman 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗻𝗲 on October 4, 1810. A decade later, Boone sat for his first ever portrait at the age of 85. He had to be steadied by a friend while famed American portraitist Chester Harding painted him in June 1820. The original oil sketch on canvas […]
Carl Göran Svensson
October 25, 2023 No Comments
This is a portrait of my great-great-grandfather 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹 𝗚𝗼̈𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻. He was born to Sara Greta Jönsdotter and Sven Persson on December 18, 1831 in Högstad, Mjölby, Östergötland, Sweden. He immigrated to America in 1883. He was an expert carpenter, cabinetmaker, and furniture maker. His son Carl Erick, known by his nickname “Charlie,” was a […]
Lubbert Lubbertsen van Westervelt
October 23, 2023 No Comments
Never knew until recently that I have a sixth great-grandparent of Dutch descent. The problem with the ethnicity estimate from Ancestry is they group Netherlands under 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 & 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦. Yet even if Netherlands was separated from the 5% 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 & 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦 in my admixture, it might only be half a percent anyway. Nevertheless, […]
Ethnicity Estimate #2
October 22, 2023 No Comments
The new Ancestry DNA updates went live. Users who log into Ancestry DNA will see the message: “Your updated ethnicity estimate is here!” With the latest update, “you may see changes in your results and a more precise estimate” than before. Clicking on DNA story will show stories about your ancestors. You can also download […]
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.