Laura Ingalls Wilder
November 12, 2023 No Comments
Laura Ingalls Wilder was a remarkable storyteller. She started writing 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘦 after publishing her first book at the age of 65. Her cousin William Harrison Ingalls was a close friend of my 3rd great-grandfather Rev. William Maynard. In 1891, Rev. Maynard moved to Todd county, Minnesota. He purchased 80 acres in […]
Nels and Anna Anderson’s Farm
November 10, 2023 No Comments
The first image is a photograph, from my great-grandmother’s photo album, taken in 1926 at Nels and Anna Anderson’s farm, located in section 14 of Bertha township, one mile southeast of Bertha, Minnesota. My great-grandaunt Anna (fourth from the left) was the second of five children, born to Carl and Mathilda Swenson on April 29, […]
Benjamin Maynard, Civil War Veteran
November 4, 2023 No Comments
My Dad and I visited 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 where more than twenty cousins from my paternal grandmother’s side are buried. There was a directory and map at the entrance which made it easy for us to find their graves. 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱 was a Civil War veteran who fought for the North. He enlisted in the Union […]
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 […]
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 […]