Mystery Monday... The Plot Thickens

A few weeks ago I posted a family mystery titled What Was Elvira Up To? Since that time I've dug deeper and found some very interesting items. 


Timeline:
*Eleanor's born on 22 May 1914, in MT...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 married Walter Lofstedt on 20 May 1920...marriage record at familysearch.org.
*Walter was also reportedly married to Elvira's sister, Ruth. There are three children with the Lofstedt surname. A girl was born in 1915 and twin boys in 1917. Ruth died in 1919....family interview, census records.
*In 1930 the twin boys are living as 14 year old boarders in CA. The girls is living with Ruth and Elvira's parents in MT.....1930 federal census
*Elvira married John Whiting ...Gust Borgreen probate 
I still have no idea where Elvira ran off to when she went missing, but she obviously had a baby while away. 
This is all news to the remaining family members, who were all either too young to remember or weren't born when this all transpired. Next step is to track down Eleanor's death certificate and try to determine exact place of birth. Then order the birth certificate to try to determine paternity. I have Eleanor's marriage record, which shows Walter Lofstedt as her father. But, she may have just used his name when he and Elvira married. This is about as mucky a mess as I've found in my family research. I'm determined to sort it out as best I can with the records available.

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 

Mystery Monday....Who Have We Here?

Liverpool Man circa 1925

Liverpool Woman circa 1925

Burrell & Hardman photography

unknown man, photo date unknown

photo taken in Dublin date unknown

These photographs were found in the ceder chest of my grandma, Ellen "Nell" Johnstone Borgreen. She had no recollection of who these people might be. The two Burrell and Hardman portraits, which I've affectionately dubbed Liverpool Man and Woman, might be identifiable and I've made efforts to contact the curators of their collection. I'm just waiting to hear back. The two older framed portaraits are much more a mystery to me. The woman's portrait says "Ellen" on the back. I don't think the name "Ellen" refers to Grandma though. Grandma's godmother's name was Ellen, according to her baptismal certificate. I'm hoping and wondering if this might be the godmother, Ellen Coleman, who I suspect was the sister of Grandma's mother, Mary Alice Coleman Johnstone. The man has a familiar family resemblance. When I first saw this portrait I thought he looked like one of Grandma's brothers. Grandma's godfather's name was Thomas Coleman. I've long suspected that he might be Mary Alice's brother. But I have no proof. The fact that these portraits were found together, similarly framed and the same size would lead me to think they might be related, somehow. Such a mystery. So much fun to try to figure out. 

Mystery Monday.....I've found you Andrew!

1900 Federal Census

Today just confirms further why it's so important to search the collateral lines. I've been searching for my great great grandfather Andrew Marxer. I knew he came to the US in the 1880's and that he stayed in MN while his son Joseph, my great grandfather came to MT. I knew there were at least two of Andrew's children with him in MN. What I didn't know is who he lived with in his later years. Through family information and a compiled county history I tracked down his son-in-law, Frank Nascher. Frank married Andrew's daughter Maria "Mary" and I found Andrew living with them until at least 1900. But I had to search for Frank Nascher to get any result. Andrew just wasn't showing up on the indexes. Evidence points to a 1909 death date for Andrew, so now I'll be searching St. Paul city directories for even more information. I've also located a MN death entry for an Andreas Marxer in the FHL catalog. I'll be ordering that film to make sure that it's really great great grandpa Andrew and to glean any more information I can find there.