Research the Collateral Lines

Collateral Ancestor

Definition: An ancestor not in the direct line of ascent, but of the same ancestral family.

I've been having a bit of trouble with my maternal great grandmother, Johanna "Jennie" (Felt) Borgreen.

I can't seem to find her parents' names. I ordered her death certificate and came up empty. As I was searching the 1900 census, I found Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Borgreen living in Belt MT with their small children. I scanned up and down the page and was very surprised to find a listing for Andrew Felt and family living right next door to them. I noticed that some of Andrew's children had been born in WY. I knew that Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Borgreen had lived in Rock Springs WY and the census showed that a few of their children had been born there. I also noticed that Andrew immigrated to the US, from Sweden, one year before Great Grandma. It became almost obvious to me that they may be related and their close age made me think that perhaps they were siblings. I thought that maybe Andrew would have some of the answers I was not able to get from Great Grandma. So I began to track Andrew and family through time. Below is a timeline for Andrew and his family and my sad version of source citations. I have all sources clearly sited in my records but I'll spare you the details here. 

I have yet to find evidence of Andrew's death. I do know that he was living in 1920, so can narrow my search a bit with that information. My goal is to find the place of death and order his death certificate. Hopefully there will be something of use there. I'll also do some city directory searches and newspaper research. I found a land patent for Andrew and maybe that will help me track him a bit farther. Heritage quest, which I use for census research, doesn't have the 1930 census up yet. I know that Ancestry.com does but am not ready to subscribe again, just yet. Maybe after the holiday bills are paid, I'll renew my subscription for a couple of months. I'd like to see if any of the Felts are listed on the 1930 census. But I can wait a little bit for that.

Timeline for Andrew Felt

1874 Andrew Felt born in Sweden¹

Married: ¹

1887 Son Axel born in Sweden¹

1889 Married in Sweden to Celia ¹   Selma (Paulson) ⁶ⁱ  Thelma (Paulson) ⁶ⁱⁱ

1890 Immigrated to US¹

1889¹ (1890) ⁶ⁱ  Son Victor born in Rock Springs⁶ⁱⁱ WY¹      

1893 Son Elmer born in WY¹

1895 Daughter Agnes born in WY¹

1899 Son Andrew born in MT¹

1900 Family is living next door to Gust and Jennie Borgreen in Belt MT¹

1902 Daughter Mary was born in Cascade County MT²

1907 Andrew received a land patent in Cascade County⁴

1910 Family is living in Cascade County MT²

1910 Andrew and Victor are working in a coal mine²

1910 Census lists Axel as a cripple²

1911: 26 Jan 1911 Victor married Maggie Defoe (sic) in Belt MT⁶ⁱ

1913 Victor and Maggie are living in Wisconsin³

1913: Son, Charles, born to Victor and Maggie.³

1915 Victor and Maggie are living in Wisconsin³

1915: Daughter, Selma, born to Victor and Maggie.³

1918: 23 Nov 1918 Axle died ^& buried at Pleasant View Cemetery Belt MT⁵

^{Between 1920 and 1925 Victor divorced Maggie3, 6ii}

1920 Andrew Felt family living in Cascade County MT³

1920 Living at home Andrew, Selma, Elmer, Mary³

1920 Andrew is a farmer³

1920 Elmer is a farm laborer³

1920 Victor is living in Anoka County, Minnesota with wife

         Maggie and her parents³

1925: 17 Dec 1925 Victor married Elizabeth Bann in Great Falls MT⁶ⁱⁱ

1957: 4 Feb 1957 Victor died and is buried at Manchester Cemetery⁵

¹1900 Census

²1910 Census

³1920 Census

⁴Land Patent

⁵ cemetery listing

⁶ⁱMontana marriage index ref# 4716

⁶ⁱⁱMontana marriage index ref# cn12609

Alternate surname spellings:

Felt¹

Felts²

Feldt³

"Amanuensis Monday" Distracted Research isn't always bad

While searching for a land patent for my great grandfather I was led hither and yon around the internet to no avail. When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but an index listing for the marriage of said Great grandpa and his bride in 1891! I had looked for this record several times in the past and always came up empty. But here it was, out of the blue.

It's important to note that both the groom's surname and the bride's entire name are misspelled, but I've learned to expect that. Previously I had only the year of marriage and now I have the exact date and place. I've ordered a copy of the marriage certificate for my files.

The land patent search continues but I count this as a very good research day, indeed.

Transcript from index
Details for Marriage #1523783
Groom Last Name: Borgrun
Groom First Name: Gust (27)
Groom Residence: Rock Springs
Bride Last Name: Felts
Bride First Name: Johana (23)
Bride Residence: Rock Springs
Place: Rock Springs
Date: 5 Dec. 1891
County of Record: Sweetwater
State: Wyoming
Volume B2
Page: 61


WYGenWeb Project

UPDATE 22 Dec 2010

Found this little darling in my email today!
Thanks to volunteer Wanda Wade,
at the WY State Archives, for her speedy
attention to my little query.
I could not have received a better Christmas present
from Jolly Old St. Nick, himself.

My Favorite Spot

This is my spot at the local public library. I spend as much time there as possible looking at microfilm and utilizing all the other resources available to me in the Heritage Room. I order my microfilm from the interlibrary loan program and wait, like a kid at Christmas, for the email to come to my inbox. "Your item is ready for pick up". Then I rush down to the library at the first opportunity and while away the hours searching and researching to my heart's content.

Today I spent a few hours looking through the Great Falls Tribune from June 1932. I was actually looking for a death notice for my maternal great-great grandma, but came up empty on that. Instead and unexpectedly, I found a notice that my paternal great grandpa had been released from the hospital on 15 June 1932. I have his death certificate that states 3 Sep. 1932 as his date of death. He had cancer. I hadn't expected to find him in the paper but was happy that I was able to walk away with something of interest to add to my files.

I've ordered more film from the State Library for the death dates of each of my great grandparents. Now I just wait for my notice to come. Merry Christmas to me.

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.

Newspaper Research

I've fallen in love with the digital microfilm readers at the Missoula Public Library. I'm practicing my newpaper research by looking up the birth and death notices of an early Missoula family. For the past three years I've been researching the life and times of Sarah Elizabeth Countryman Woody. She was the wife of Missoula's first Mayor, Mr. Frank H. Woody and she was a force in her own right. I present her story at various events in Missoula and continue to pick away at my research of her life. Looking through old Missoulians Newspapers has been so fun and informative. I recently discovered that one roll of film from the library collection is missing. I ordered a copy of that roll from the State Library in Helena and was able to continue my research. With this newfound knowledge at hand, I'll be ordering, on interlibrary loan, films of the Great Falls tribune. Hopefully, I'll be able to track down some family related stories and information.
The society pages, in the old days, were full of the comings and goings and daily happenings of the community members. It's amazing what you can learn about people by scanning the old papers.
I found an amazing account of the bridal shower, wedding ceremony and reception of one of the Woody girls, right down to the decorations and music selections. Also one death notice gave a detailed account of the funeral service. These are the types of things that give life to our research. I wonder if Santa would bring me my own digital microfilm reader for Christmas.

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

Vital Records

BMD....Birth, Marriage, Death. Records created at the time of the event by an eyewitness to the event. Finally! A primary source. Still not perfect. Still open to someone else's interpretation and still an opportunity for error. My own child, born in 1987, has a corrected copy of her original birth certificate. I filled out the form very carefully, sent it in and received the certified birth certificate with her middle name spelled wrong. I filled out a correction form and sent it in and received back, the very same birth certificate with the wrong spelling crossed out and the correct spelling written in on top! Whatever.

The vital records are what we need to finally verify all those dates and places and relationships that we've heard about through family stories, census records and compiled histories. Usually you can order these records from the courthouse in the county where the event occured. There is a fee, but if you just need a photocopy for research purposes, that fee is small. Just this week, I sent off for the death certificates of my four maternal great grandparents. Each copy was only .50 and I sent a SASE with two stamps, just to be on the safe side. Pretty cheap, in my book. I'm like a kid at Christmas, waiting for them to come back.

To find out where to send for the records, you have to know the county where the event occured. In my case that was pretty easy to figure out. Since I'm conducting my research backward; starting with the death of the individuals, I used several different search techniques online to find where they were buried. The easiest thing to try is to type in the person's name and the word cemetery. ie John August Borgreen Cemetery. Hit enter and see what pops up. When I did this, I got several relatives at once. I clicked on that site and continued entering more names to see who else I could find. I found all the great grandparents buried in two cemeteries in the same county. My lucky day! After you find where they are buried, go to the website for that county and download the forms you'll need to fill out and send in for the records. Don't send too many forms at once. Make it easy on the clerk. If you overload them, they might just put your request in the circular file (trash).

One more site to check is Find a Grave . This is a wonderful site created by volunteers. I found photos of several graves of my ancestors on this site. You won't find everyone in your family, but you will probably find someone and that's better than no one.

If you know what cemetery your ancestor is buried in, you can contact the sexton or caretaker (providing there is one) and request the burial records from them. This is a good way to find other relatives who are buried nearby.

This post mainly focuses on death and burial records, because that's were I am in my reseach. The process is pretty much the same for finding marriage and birth records, but beware, birth and death records were not required until the very latter part of the 19th century or early part of the 20th century. In that case we may need to use church records, and that's a whole other ball of wax. Because marriage records are a legal document, they are more readily available and began much earlier. More on that later.