Brick Wall People – Part 11 – ? Dunlop

No Known Photo

Name: ? Dunlop

Birth: unknown

Death: unknown

Marriage: unknown

Location(s): Ireland

Relation to me: Miss Dunlop was my maternal grandfather's mother's paternal grandmother, which makes her 6^th generation before me.

Alias(es): None known at this time.

Parents: unknown

Spouse(s): John Park

Children: Robert James Park

Other Family: none known

Details: Like John Park, I only recently learned that Miss Dunlop was my great-grandfather Park's mother. I am currently unaware of much else about her, though I do speculate that my great-grandmother Mary Dunlop Park might have been named for her, which would make her name Mary, but as of yet, I have no proof of this, so it is only speculation at this time.

Proof:

1)      My only true proof of Miss Dunlop's existence is her son's death record in Vancouver, BC.

2)      However, unlike her husband, I do have a secondary source for her family name. Even before finding Robert's death record, I had speculated that I would find Dunlop as a surname on one side or the other of this branch, as both my great-grandmother and her younger brother's middle names are Dunlop.

Needed:

I have absolutely no BMD info for her but I am at least sure she was alive in 1851, as that is about when her son was born. I also know she was in Ireland at the time, whether or not she was born there, as he is listed as having been born in Antrim. Beyond that, I know absolutely nothing about her. I do hope to find more records on her, but without a first name, I've almost nothing to go on, and her husband's name is nearly as useless, as John is literally the most common name in the British Isles. All I can do at this time is to keep looking and hope that I find more.

If my family or anyone out there has any more information on this family, I'd love to talk to you about them. I'd love to learn more on any of them, if at all possible.

Matrilinial Monday – Eliza Anne Jones

Name: Eliza "Bessie" Anne Howells

Called by Grandkids: Nain (Northern Welsh for grandmother)

Birth: 1885, Penrhiwceiber, Wales, UK

Death: 1980, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Spouse: Daniel Thomas Jones

Marriage: 1911, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Children: Marjorie Grace, Edwina Hannah, Merle Tydfil, Ivor Howell

Parents: Gabriel Howells and Selina Roberts

Siblings: Ellen Catherine, Howell Gabriel, Selina Jane, Gwen Mary, Hugh Cadvan, Catherine, Edward Gabriel

About: Bessie was the sixth child born to her parents, though the eldest two died in a Whooping Cough outbreak before they were out of toddlerhood. She was the first of their children to be born in Southern Wales, where they had moved after Gabriel chose to make a living as a mason. He worked for the mines building support structures, which was only mildly better than being a miner, and so he decided to move his family again when Bessie was still small, this time across to the ocean to Canada, where they settled on his brother's farm in Saskatchewan for a time. Unfortunately, the farm was simply too small to hold so many adults and children, and Gabriel had no interest in farming, having already chosen to give up the family farm back in Wales to move south, so the family moved for a third time, this time to Winnipeg, where they stayed until all the children had left home.

Bessie made a living as a hat maker, and travelled across Canada, and even down into the states, going to the Alaska Yukon Exposition in Seattle with a group. She also joined a choir in Vancouver, and it was there in Vancouver that she met the man she would marry, a fellow Welshman who had come to Canada on holiday with friends. Upon meeting Bessie, though, he chose to stay. The two married and settled in Vancouver. There they raised four children, and continued to live together in Vancouver until Daniel's death.

Bessie continued on for many years after, surrounded by her ever-growing family of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. By the time of her death, her four children had given her twelve grandchildren, including two children by marriage. And those children had given her nineteen great-grandchildren, a number that only increased after her death. All of her family remember her fondly even today, as scattered as we are throughout Canada and the US.

Bessie with her daughter, granddaughter, and two great-granddaughters, ca 1976

Brick Wall People – Part 10 – John Park

No Photo

Name: John Park

Birth: unknown

Death: unknown

Marriage: unknown

Location(s): Ireland

Relation to me: John Park was my maternal grandfather's mother's paternal grandfather, which makes him 6^th generation before me.

Alias(es): None known at this time.

Parents: unknown

Spouse(s): ? Dunlop

Children: Robert James Park

Other Family: none known

Details: John is a fairly new discovery, and I have almost no information on him, and even less on his wife. According to my great-great grandfather's entry on a Northern Irish census before the family moved to Canada, he was born in Antrim in Northern Ireland, so I could assume that that is where they lived, but as of this moment, I certainly can't assume John was ever there, because there's no way of telling where he was or even if he was alive when his son was born. So all I know is that he was Irish and has a rather Scottish/English surname.

Proof:

1)      My only current proof of John's existence is his son's death record in Vancouver, BC. At this time, all I have for him is a name, and his wife's surname, and where his son was born (from another bit of proof, but since John's not mentioned on it, I won't use it as proof for him at this time). Unfortunately, John Park is all too common a name. All I can do is hope to eventually find more about him.

Needed:

I have absolutely no BMD info for John, and only a vague notion that he was alive in 1850 or 1851, as that is about when his son was born. Irish records are far more spotty for that sort of information, especially when the family is Protestant, which mine was. At this time, all I can think of to do is keep trying when I find new sources on his son, and hope that more information will reveal itself.

If my family or anyone out there has any more information on his family, I'd love to talk to you about him. I'd love to learn more if at all possible.

Matrilinial Monday – Mary Dunlop Bordewick

Name: Mary "May" Dunlop Park

Called by Grandkids: Granny

Birth: 1891, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Death: 1982, Des Moines, Washington, USA

Spouse: Bjarne Bordewick

Marriage: 1917, Vancouver, BC, USA

Children: George & Henry

Parents: Robert James Park and Elizabeth Curran

Siblings: Jennie (unconfirmed), Helen (unconfirmed), Robert Curran, Elizabeth, Rhoda, Margaret, George, Florence

About: May Park was the fifth child of Robert and Elizabeth Park, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as all of her siblings were. Her parents had immigrated to the US shortly after their marriage in Northern Ireland (somewhere around the county of Antrim, possibly Belfast), and settled there in 1883 or so. She grew up there for the first ten years of her life, before things became too difficult for her father to continue do business as a cabinet maker, so they returned to Ireland. They lived there for five or so more years before one of their eldest children moved to Canada, and wrote back glowing letters about the country, so the family moved again, this time settling in Vancouver, BC.

In Vancouver, May met the man who became her husband, Bjarne Bordewick. He was a recent immigrant himself, having made several stops between Norway and Vancouver, and soon the couple married. Their eldest son was born a year later. They settled in Vancouver and raised two boys there before the war broke out in Europe. Both sons went to war. Only one returned. But George, their eldest, had married before heading off to the front, and they had a new grandson to console them while he was away. After his return, the Bordewick clan grew again, two daughters born to George and his wife. May doted on them all.

Unfortunately, after a move in 1950, Bjarne was struck by a car, and died, and May was left alone. Her younger sister Marge moved in with her, and the two kept house together until both grew too frail to live on their own. By this time, George's family had expanded by another son, a daughter-in-law, and two sons-in-law, not to mention May's first great-grandchild. George and his family had moved to Washington state in 1960 when he'd needed a new job, and so he moved her down to be closer to the family, and so that he could keep a closer eye on her. He got a place for her in a Masonic Home, and she lived there until her death.

Merle, May, and May's granddaughter and great-grandaughters ca 1977

Brick Wall People – Part 9 – Ole Larsen

No Known Photo

Name: Ole Larsen

Birth: my records list his birthdate as about 1812.

Death: Sometime after 1900, I believe.

Marriage: 1851 in Slots-Bjergby, Denmark.

Location(s): Slots-Bjergby, Denmark, Minnesota, USA

Relation to me: Ole Larsen was my paternal grandmother's mother's mother's father, which makes him 6^th generation before me.

Alias(es): None known at this time.

Parents: unknown

Spouse(s): Birthe Marie Schrøder

Children: Maren Sofie

Other Family: Oscar, brother; Oscar Jr and Tina, nephew and niece.

Details: Ole is a little odd, as I know a lot and at the same time very little about him. I have both his wedding record to his wife and his daughter's birth record, and know that he came here to the states about the time his daughter was born. I know that he had a farm here in Minnesota, and that he had a brother and a niece and nephew here in the states, and that their branch ended with them, at least according to my great-great uncle, Hans.

His isn't a positive story, but it's also very common for the period. Ole came here to America promising that he would send for his wife and their daughter and her children once he settled, but he never did. I'm not sure what happened to keep her from coming aside from the difficulty of a trip with three children, one of whom was quite small, but they never saw each other again. I don't know if he had any further contact via letters, either to his wife or to his daughter, but I do know that his grandson, Hans finally came to the States and met him. Or at least I believe he met him before his death, though I am uncertain when that was.

Other than that, I know nothing about him. I'd love to know more about his story, and where exactly he lived in Minnesota.

Proof:

1)      My initial proof for Lars comes from his wedding record to Birthe in 1851. It gives no parents, unfortunately.

2)      My next is from their daughter's baptism record in 1855. It doesn't prove he was in Denmark at that point, but it at least confirms he is Maren Sofie's father.

3)      The next bit of info is an interview with my great-great uncle Hans, in which he mentions him once or twice, mostly about how he went to his farm after coming to the US.

4)      And the last bit is in a few letters between my grandmother and her sister about the Hansen family, one of which specifically mentions his desertion of his wife and daughter, though it makes no mention of her other two daughters, so I'm not sure if they knew about them.

Needed:

I do have a birth date for Ole, but it's from his wedding record, so it might not be exactly right, and I have no real death information on him, especially since he died well before the Social Security registry was in existence. I keep searching for him in the Censuses, but unfortunately his name was incredibly common, especially in that area. Not to mention that I don't know if he was going by Larsen or Larson here in the states, because it was common for all Scandinavians in the US to take the –son version of the surname, regardless of where they came from at the time. I'd love to know where he lived in Minnesota, and when he came over. I'd also love to know the names of his parents and any other siblings he might have had.

If my family or anyone out there has any more information on his family, I'd love to talk to you about him. I'd love to learn more if at all possible.

Matrilinial Monday – Oline Hansen

Name: Julie Oline Hansen

Called by Grandkids: While she never got to meet her grandkids, I have learned that my father and his siblings would have possibly called her Mormor.

Birth: 1886, Fjenneslev, Denmark

Death: 1929, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Spouse: Holger Hansen

Marriage: 1918, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Children: Margaret, Marilyn, Torben

Parents: Rasmus Hansen and Maren Sofie Olsen

Siblings: Herman, Maren Hansine, Hans Kristian, Johanne, Ole

About: Oline was born in Fjenneslev, Denmark, just about in the center of Sealand, which is the large island on the east side of the country which has Copenhagen as the most-eastern point. Her father owned a farm, Stubbegaard, which he had inherited from his father, and which was passed on to his eldest son when he came of age. 

At the age of 8, her father died, and so she and her two elder siblings helped out on the farm. She did not particularly like working on the farm, so eventually she went to those in their town who could afford to pay for help, and began to work as a maid, cook, and seamstress. She ended up with a job with the agriculture minister at the time, and moved with the family to Fredericksburg, just outside of Copenhagen, and lived there for a few years.

Soon after, her younger brother Hans decided to travel to America and find his way there. After a short time, Oline followed him, eventually settling in Chicago doing much the same work she had done in Denmark.

On a trip back to Denmark in 1916, she met another young Dane traveling back to visit with his family. The two spent much time on board together, and when a blockade prevented their return to the US for a time, he sought her out in Fjenneslev, and courted her there. Upon their return to America, he moved to Cleveland, and she soon followed. They were married shortly before the end of the war. My grandmother was born about a year later.

Oline had two more children, and made their home comfortable and happy while Holger built houses. He built the home they lived in, and Oline cooked, washed, and made clothes. Often their family came to visit or even to stay for a time. Her brother Hans was fond of stopping by for supper. Unfortunately, like her father before her, she caught a respiratory ailment, and in early 1929, it became pneumonia, and she died.

Holger sent his children to live with his younger brother, and moved them to a new home. He couldn't stand the thought of staying in the home where she had died.

Oline, Maggie and Holger, ca 1920