Friday, September 30, 2011

Monday, September 26, 2011

Mystery Monday...What was Elvira Up To?

Elvira Borgreen Anaconda Standard May 27 1914 Anaconda MT
27 May 1914, 19 year old Elvira Borgreen goes missing from her home in Great Falls MT. A clue suggests she may be in  Spokane WA.
To date, I've found no follow up articles related to this mysterious disappearance. But I do know that Elvira found her way home, somehow, because on the 1920 US census we have Elvira Borgreen living at home with her parents. And we also have a new little someone living with the family. Elinor Goldhahn, age 5 years old. On the census she is listed as the daughter of Gust and Jennie Borgreen, but the family knows that this isn't true. She was the daughter of Elvira and was born in 1915, in MT. On this same census, Elvira is listed as single. This story of Elvira's disappearance, however was news to everyone in the family and I'm determined to find the records that tell the whole story. It will take some digging, but I know the truth is out there somewhere. The reason this story got "lost" is because everyone who would have known about is now gone and the oldest living relatives weren't born when this all transpired. By the time this generation of relatives came along, Elvira was married and everything looked all neat and tidy. This should be an interesting story to follow.
1920 US Census








Mystery Monday is where you can post about mystery ancestors or mystery records – anything in your genealogy and family history research which is currently unsolved. This is a great way to get your fellow genealogy bloggers to lend their eyes to what you’ve found so far and possibly help solve the mystery.




update: 3 Oct 2011

The SSDI lists a birth date for Eleanor at 22 May 1914. It would seem that Elvira was in the family way and delivered little Eleanor while missing. I will be ordering the birth certificate to verify.


update: 13 Oct 2011


Developing a timeline.
Eleanor's born on 22 May 1914...SSDI
Elvira married Fred Goldhahn on 23 Jun 1914 in Geraldine MT....marriage record at familysearch..org
Elvira and Fred divorced before the 1920 census...1920 US Federal census
Elvira remarried (John Whiting) after the 1920 census...Gust Borgreen probate 

Friday, September 23, 2011

Friday Funny....why didn't I think to spell it like that?1910 Census

1910 US Census
click to enlarge
So misspellings in the census is just a given, right? I thought I'd seen every possible spelling of the surname Borgreen.That is, until I found this one. Banyteea. I had to laugh at the thought, but then I noticed the misspellings of most of the family's first names. Gus became Gee. Ebba became Adda. Levi became Louis and Carl became Rarl.
I like to think that this poor indexer was on his/her 1000 entry of the day, or drunk. Yeah, drunk. That sounds likely.

FRIDAY FUNNY
If you have your own genealogy or family history related blog, you can participate in Friday Funny. What is it? Friday Funny is a daily blogging prompt used by many genealogy bloggers to help them post content on their sites. have you come across something genealogy-related that makes you laugh or smile? Post images, stories, quotes and more during Friday Funny. 

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Workday Wednesday...Joseph Marxer and Crew Make Hay.



Has No Crop Faliures
Meisenbach, Mont. Nov. 11, 1901.
Left Minnesota in 1890 for Great Falls. In 1893 settled on 160 acres, homestead, and afterwards bought 80 acres more. Had 1,250 bushels of wheat off 40 acres; 19 acres of oats, 900 bushels; 4 acres of rye, 112 1/2 bushels; 300 sacks of potatoes off 3 acres-about 1 1/2 bushel to a sack. Have 42 head of cattle, 11 horses, 5 hogs and 100 chickens. Seeded 10 acres to timothy [hay] last spring and intend to seed 10 acres more. Fair farm buildings. Crops are good enough for me without irrigation and have never had a crop failure. Sell my grain to the Royal Mill at Great Falls at good prices. Farming pays in Cascade county, and I am satisfied with the climate, crops, and people. 
Yours truly,
Joseph Marxer


taken from the "Great Northern Bulletin" and published in the Great Falls Tribune, Sunday, February 23, 1902


type written copy found among the papers of the Edward Marxer estate.


Joseph Marxer's Land Patent






















Workday Wednesday – a way to document your ancestors’ occupations (they weren’t all farmers), transcripts of SS-5s, photos and stories of ancestors at work, announcements of retirements, etc. This prompt has been suggested by Denise Spurlock of the Denise’s Life in the Past Laneand Reflecting on Genealogy blogs.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Friday Funny



A new blog prompt at Geneabloggers

"To participate in Friday Funny, post anything genealogy related that makes you smile or laugh. It could be anything from funny epitaphs, census entries, photographs or family stories. Let's start the weekend with a smile and a laugh."

We're starting a new prompt called Friday Funny. You won't see the prompt on Geneabloggers for a couple of weeks, but post now so we'll have some content when Thomas McEntee announces it for the whole blog community.
You can see some examples at Friday Funny
Let us know if you've posted a Funny by commenting here.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Join us for Friday Funny....

A new blog prompt at Geneabloggers

"To participate in Friday Funny, post anything genealogy related that makes you smile or laugh. It could be anything from funny epitaphs, census entries, photographs or family stories. Let's start the weekend with a smile and a laugh."

We're starting a new prompt called Friday Funny. You won't see the prompt on Geneabloggers for a couple of weeks, but post now so we'll have some content when Thomas McEntee announces it for the whole blog community.
You can see some examples at Friday Funny

Friday, September 9, 2011

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Workday Wednesday...Meet Carl Borgreen, Safety Engineer at the Anaconda Company


Carl Borgreen (right) inside the smoke stack
at the Anaconda Company smelter
Great Falls MT circa 1956
The Anaconda Company
Great Falls MT
click to enlarge


























































Workday Wednesday – a way to document your ancestors’ occupations (they weren’t all farmers), transcripts of SS-5s, photos and stories of ancestors at work, announcements of retirements, etc. This prompt has been suggested by Denise Spurlock of the Denise’s Life in the Past Laneand Reflecting on Genealogy blogs.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Talented Tuesday...My son's last song


Alex, 2010
Miss You.
I'm really gonna miss you
Now I'm driving away
I hope that when I hold you
It'll be okay
On my way out of state
I'm counting the cars
Hoping to get my wish for you
Out of the stars
I hope you're having fun
And I hope you're laughing loud
No matter where you are
I can see hearts in the clouds
When you say 'hi'
I say 'hey cutie pie!'
My heart jumps in circles
Cuz I don't wanna say good-bye
When I hug you
It means I love you
When I leave
I'm gonna miss you
So hug me now
While you still can
And please don't stop
Till I'm an old, old man.

My son passed away in August 2011 and this is the last song he wrote and recorded. By clicking the link in the song title you can hear his last recording. We're blessed that he left notebooks full of song lyrics and several recordings of his music.



Talented Tuesday – Got ancestors who had a special talent? Be it musical, comical, or any manner of skill, post at your genealogy blog through words and pictures.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Thursday, September 1, 2011