Namesake

Johanna "Jennie" (Fält) Borgreen

March 3 - Do you share a first name with one of your female ancestors? Perhaps you were named for your great-grandmother, or your name follows a particular naming pattern. If not, then list the most unique or unusual female first name you've come across in your family tree.


My name is Jennie and I was named after my Great Grandma Borgreen.  


Jennie Fält was born on 22 May 1868 in Nävlinge, Kristianstad, Sweden  . On 16 Jul 1891 she arrived the U.S. traveling directly to Rock Springs WY. Research shows an individual named Andrew Felt was already living in Rock Springs and I suspect he was her brother. She married Grandpa Gust Borgreen on 5 Dec 1891 and the mysterious A. Felt served as witness.


 Gust and Jennie reportedly homesteaded in Rock Springs, but as yet, no land patent has been found. By 1898 they had moved to Belt MT with three of their 7 children. The rest would be born in MT.


While living in Belt, they appear next door to one Andrew Felt and family on the 1900 census. Four children were born in MT bringing the grand total to 7. They moved to Great Falls by 1905 and resided there until they passed. 


Jennie passed on 14 Apr 1936 and Gust on 6 Apr 1946. 


We'll visit Jennie Felt again, as she is my brickwall ancestor. I have not been able to locate the parish in Sweden where her baptism record is kept, so have not been able to identify her parents or any siblings. She is a stubborn woman, this great grandma. But with time and persistence, I will find her.


[ETA] almost immediately after posting this, I DID locate the parish register where I found a record of the date she left for the U.S. I haven't found a baptism entry, but she may have not been baptized in the same parish. Regardless, one baby step forward and I'm very excited about that.

Oral History....or our family's version of the truth

The most important thing I've learned through this research project is don't get too attached to the details. Some things just roll off the tongue. Great Grandma Johnstone, who was born Mary Alice Coleman and came from County Cork Ireland. That must be so, right? Except her death certificate lists place of birth as Bristol England. But that might not be so either. It is her death certificate. A secondary source with information provided long after the time of her birth and by someone who was likely not present at her birth.
Perhaps the family story was really referring to her mother, Mary Coleman. Mary's death certificate says that she was born in Ireland. But the town, Carrick-on-Suir, is in County Waterford. I looked at a current map and believe that Waterford and Cork are neighbors. I need to check an historical map from that time to see if county lines have changed. Perhaps Carrick-on-Suir WAS in County Cork. Maybe there is a grain of truth to the family lore, afterall.

So who do you believe? Well, I believe no one. If/when I find her actual birth certificate or a church record of her baptismal, than I'll believe (a little bit) the information provided. In the mean time I take the clues that I find and search for the primary source. Some people might find this frustrating, but to me it's almos the most fun part of the journey. I feel like I'm channeling my inner Sam Spade here. There's one thing that is for certain. I'll never run out of things to look for.

A Couple of Bumps in the Road

Yesterday's mail contained the envelope with death certificates for Joseph and Katerine Marxer, Elina Johnson and Mary Coleman. Elina's offered nothing new except a cause of death. So her's went straight into her file and will be transcribed, scanned and saved for posterity.

Joseph and Katerine's showed true spelling of names, which is nice because I've seen every conceivable arrangement possible. That info will be updated when I transcribe and scan their certificates. BUT their's also showed a possible error or very close relationship on their mothers' side of things. One Mother is Anna Marie Scholi and the other is Anna Schali. Hmmmm, not sure what is happening here. Must look into this further.

Mary Coleman's death certificate also offers up a mystery. When I received the death cert. for Mary Alice Coleman Johnstone (her daughter) the mother's (Mary Coleman) maiden name was listed as Haveron. But when I received Mary Coleman's death cert. imagine my surprise when I read the her father was James Carberry! Her mother is [Margaret] Byrne. So where did the Haveron surname come from? I know that I have the death cert. for the right Mary Coleman because the address at time of death is the same house Grandma Nell lived in until she died. So who is Mary Haveron? Must look into this further, as well.
On a bright note, Mary Coleman's certificate did list Carrick-on-Suir Ireland as her birthplace. This is priceless info. Now I can actually cross the pond (virtually) and look for the family in Ireland!
Scans and transcripts to follow. Things are busy here this week and I just won't get to it soon.

"This Is a Pretty Park" by Dani Rhodes..age 3

We were headed home from the cabin on Labor Day 2010. As we headed through Great Falls, I decided to drive over to Mount Olivet Cemetery to see if I could find Great-great Grandma Coleman's grave. I knew that her daughter and son-in-law, Mary Alice and William H. Johnstone were buried there and figured she might be too. I had no idea where their graves where, but Mom said they were in the old section by the main road. So, I drove through. It seemed a huge task to try to find them. I figured we could spend hours looking. I scanned the headstones for the name "Johnstone". Suddenly I saw it and pulled over to take a look. But it wasn't Mary Alice and William. It was actually Uncle Steve and Auntie Bert. Nice to see them, but not what I was looking for, so after a quick hello and goodbye, I drove around again.

I decided to pull over and walk the rows. Allison and Dani got out to help.
I walked down a few stones and looked over one row and there it was. "Johnstone". Mary Alice and William Johnstone. I hardly had to look for them at all, I walked right to it. I looked on the back of the stone and there was "Coleman". and right in front, set into the grass was Mary Coleman 1857-1932. Just the proof I needed. I few days ago, I'd checked the Montana death index and found one Mary Coleman in Cascade County with a death date of 14 Jun 1932. The 1930 census showed Mary Coleman still living with her daughter and family, so I knew that she died sometime after 1930. I needed to make sure I had the right person and this stone showed me that I did. Now with this new information in hand, I'm ready to send to the Cascade County courthouse for her death certificate and hopefully learn her birth date, place of birth, parents' names and whatever other little gems I can find out. You are right, Dani. This is a very pretty park.

You've Got Mail!

On Monday, 23 Aug 2010, I ordered four death certificates from the Cascade County Clerk and Recorder. On Friday, 27 Aug 2010, I received four death certificates from the Cascade County Clerk and Recorder.
For the low, low price of .50 per copy, I now know exact death and burial dates for my four maternal great grandparents and the names of two of my great great grandparents. I also have a birth date for one great grandmother, instead of the ubiquitous "circa" [insert year here]. Granted, the death certificate serves as a secondary source for the birth date, but it's better than what I had before and really narrows down the search for a birth record. Also listed on the death record is the name of the mortuary and the cemetery, which means more records to request and pick apart. In addition to the personal information on the death record you find interesting medical history. It's good to track your medical history for patterns of disease that can be passed on from generation to generation. Word to the Johnstone progeny, better get your colonoscopy scheduled. Both William H. and Mary Alice Johnstone died of colon cancer.

Now that I have the certificates, the next step is to transcribe them and add the information I've found on them to my family group sheets. The certificates will be scanned and uploaded to Ancestry.com and the souce of the information will be cited for future reference. The fun never ends!

Johanna "Jennie" Felt Borgreen

John August Borgreen

Mary Alice Coleman Johnstone

William H. Johnstone

Let's Meet the Family (The Johnstones)

William Henry Johnstone
Born: 17 Mar 1884 in England
Married: [?] to Mary Alice Coleman
Died: 16 Oct 1933 in Great Falls MT
Buried: Mt. Olivet Cemetery
Great Falls MT

Mary Alice Coleman
Born: abt 1884 in England
Married: [?] William H. Johnstone
Died: 16 Feb 1951
Buried: Mt. Olivet Cemetery
Great Falls MT

Children: Steven, Ellen, Donald, William, Kathleen, Gertrude, James and John.

Let's Meet the Family (The Borgreens)

Johan August "Gust" Borgreen

Born: 8 Oct 1863 in Sweden

Married: 1891 to Johanna "Jennie" Felt  in WY
Died: 6 Apr 1946 in Great Falls, MT
Buried: Old Highland Cemetery,

Great Falls, MT

Johanna "Jennie" Felt
Born: abt. 1871 in Sweden
Died: 14 May 1936
in Great Falls MT
Buried: Old Highland Cemetery,
Great Falls, MT

Children: Esther, Ruth, Alvira, Ebba, Levi, Rose and Carl Borgreen .