Brooke Johns' Missouri Girls

My maternal grandfather's sister Florence Kathleen Boe was born 107 years ago today, on 22 November 1909. Florence was a dancer. She is pictured below (bottom right) as part of a group that danced in vaudeville performer Brooke Johns' stage shows.

St. Louis Star, 2 March 1928, page 11

Society Saturday: Children of America Loyalty League

The Children of America Loyalty League was organized in St. Louis, Missouri on 29 June 1917. Its purpose was to teach children to love their country and to provide aid to soldiers and sailors, the Red Cross, and other children. It was founded by Mrs. Nat Brown.

Dues were 20 cents per year for children. For adults, honorary membership cost $1 per year, and active membership cost $5 per year. The organization's national song was "The Rainbow of the Free" by John L. Herman (music) and Will DeFord (lyrics).

 In 1917, the organization donated socks to soldiers in France, and donated glasses of jelly to war hospitals in France.

The Children of America Loyalty League's events included performances, parties, and fashion shows. On 14 September 1917, the league held a celebration at the St. Louis Coliseum in honor of the 103rd anniversary of the writing of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

 The league held a masque and pageant, "The Song of Truth and the Court of Youth," on October 3, 4, and 5, 1918 at the Odeon Theatre in St. Louis.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 29 September 1918, page 18B

The league gave lawn parties which featured entertainment. On 9 July 1920, a lawn party was held at the home of my great-grandmother Kathleen (Graham) Boe. The entertainers included my grandfather John Boe and his siblings Florence, James, Theodora Catherine, and Geraldine.

St. Louis Star, 1 July 1920, page 19

On 30 April 1921, the league held a children's fashion exhibition.

St. Louis Star, 29 April 1921, page 17

On 29 July 1921, another lawn party was held at Kathleen (Graham) Boe's home. The entertainment included a fortune-teller, a snake charmer, a museum, and a fish pond.

St. Louis Star, 21 July 1921, page 17

 On 10 December 1921, the league held a Christmas party.

St. Louis Star, 9 December 1921, page 19

In 1921, when the Old Glory chapter of the Children of America Loyalty League was reorganized, Kathleen (Graham) Boe became secretary-treasurer.

St. Louis Star, 20 September 1921, page 15

References
"Children of America Loyalty League." Musical Monitor, vol. 8 (1918), p. 223. Available from Google Books.
"Children's Aid to Red Cross to Be Nation-Wide in Scope." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 8 July 1917, p. 17.
"Children's Lawn Party." St. Louis Star,  21 July 1921, p. 17.
"Children's League to Send Socks to Soldiers Abroad." St. Louis Star, 6 September 1917, p. 2.
"Children's Loyalty League Lawn Parties." St. Louis Star, 1 July 1920, p. 19.
Children of America Loyalty League Christmas party advertisement. St. Louis Star, 9 December 1921, p. 19.
Herman, John, and DeFord, Will. The Rainbow of the Free: National Song of the Children of America Loyalty League. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1921. Available from Internet Archive.
"League Chapter Reorganized." St. Louis Star, 20 September 1921, p. 5.
 Masque and pageant adverstisement. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 29 September 1918, p. 18B.
"Summer 1921 Children's Fashion Exhibition." St. Louis Star, 29 April 1921, p. 17.
"Writing of National Anthem Celebrated." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 15 September 1917, p. 3.

Mother-in-Law Day

Since today is Mother-in-Law Day, I am posting a picture of my mother and her mother-in-law, my paternal grandmother Helen Martha Marie (Anderson) Gatlin.

Wednesday's Child: Walter Boe

Walter Boe was born in 1899. He was the son of my great-grandfather John Boe and his first wife Signe Olson.

According to the 1900 United States census, he was born in June 1899; his age was given as 11/12.

1900 United States census, Benson, Swift County, Minnesota, population schedule, enumeration district no. 270, sheet no. 11A, family 190. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

Walter died on 26 September 1900 in Danvers, Swift County, Minnesota. His age at death was given as 1 year, 8 months, and 14 days, which suggests that he was born on 12 January 1899. The cause of death was cholera infantum.

Swift County, Minnesota. Death card, Walter Boe, 1900. Iron Range Research Center, Chisolm, Minnesota.

John and Signe's next son, born in 1901, was also given the name Walter.

Wordless Wednesday: My Mother and Aunt, Detroit, Michigan

Wordless Wednesday: My Cousin and Me in Grandma and Grandpa Boe's Backyard, Ridgewood, New Jersey

Those Places Thursday: West Bank, Swift County, Minnesota

My 2nd-great-grandparents Jorgen Jorgensen Boe and Aaste Halvorsdatter Otterholt lived in West Bank, Swift County, Minnesota.

On 19 July 1878,  C. J. Norby and twenty-seven others formulated a petition to request that a new town be organized. The town was to be called Springdale, but when the petition was granted, the name was changed to West Bank. The name comes from its location west of the Chippewa River.

West Bank's total area is 36.2 square miles.

The town's first election took place on 11 March 1879.

The citizens of the town helped to create a good system of roads, ditches, and bridges. Jorgen, his brother-in-law Erick Halvorson, and L. S. Saterlie were the men on the committee to view the bridge across the Chippewa River, between the towns of West Bank and Swenoda.

General Laws of the State of Minnesota Passed During the Thirtieth Session of the State Legislature, Commencing January Fifth, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-Seven. Page 179. Delano: Eagle Printing, 1897. Available from Google Books.
 

General Laws of the State of Minnesota Passed During the Thirtieth Session of the State Legislature, Commencing January Fifth, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-Seven. Page 180. Delano: Eagle Printing, 1897. Available from Google Books.

The town's only church, the West Bank Lutheran Church, was organized in 1892. The building was completed in 1897. It burned down in 1907, but it was rebuilt, and the new building was dedicated in 1913.

There are three cemeteries in West Bank: the West Bank Lutheran Church burial ground, the Golden-Olson Cemetery on the Golden Brothers farm, and a cemetery on the John Tvedt farm.

At the time of the 2000 United States Census, the population of West Bank was 200. There were 74 households and 54 families. The population size was about the same as it was in 1880.

Saint Paul Daily Globe, 30 July 1880, page 2

References
General Laws of the State of Minnesota Passed During the Thirtieth Session of the State Legislature, Commencing January Fifth, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-Seven. Delano: Eagle Printing, 1897. Available from Google Books.
Minnesota's Population. Saint Paul Daily Globe, 30 July 1880, page 2.
Swift County Historical Society. Swift County Minnesota: A Collection of Historical Sketches and Family Histories. Dallas, TX: Taylor Publishing, 1979.
West Bank Township, Swift County, Minnesota

Church Record Sunday: Confirmation of Kari Boe

Immanuel Lutheran Parish (Synod), 5 m. N.E. of Watson, Minnesota. Ministerial Records, 1869-1908. Confirmations, 28 October 1888. Ancestry.com. U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875-1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

On 28 October 1888. my great-grandfather's sister Kari Boe was confirmed at Immanuel Lutheran Parish, 5 miles northeast of Watson, Chippewa County, Minnesota.

In addition to the date of confirmation, the record gives the names of her parents (Jorgen Boe and Aaste Halvorsdatter), her place of birth (Rock Dell [Olmsted, Minnesota]), her date of birth (5 April 1874), and her date of baptism (5 August 1874).

Census Sunday: One Year Before Emigration

In 1865, my 3rd-great-grandparents Jorgen Pedersen Boe and Ingeborg Torsdatter Vatner lived on the Nistaas farm in Bø, Telemark, Norway. They had previously lived on the Bø farm, but Jorgen sold it to his brother Gregar. Jorgen's occupation was Husmand med Jord (tenant farmer with farm).

Telemark fylke, Bø prestegjeld, Statlig folketelling [Telemark County, Bø parish, Government census] 178 (RA/S-2231/E), 1865-1865, oppb: Riksarkivet. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/ft20090728610426

Side 1 of the household's census enumeration, up close:

Side 2 of the household's census enumeration, up close:

The following year, the family left Norway and went to the United States.

Tuesday's Tip: Look for Your Ancestors in Trade Publications

Trade publications may contain information about ancestors and their work lives. Many of these publications are on Google Books. These are some of my finds from trade publications.

 My great-grandfather John Boe was the president of the St. Louis Motor Car Company. In 1919, he attended the National Automobile Dealer's Association meeting in St. Louis, Missouri (where he lived). The August 1919 issue of American Garage and Auto Dealer contains a photograph from the meeting, and my great-grandfather is in it. 

American Garage & Auto Dealer, vol. 10 no. 5 (August 1919), p. 12. Available from Google Books.

I found another photograph of him in from the same year in Motor World for Jobbers, Dealers and Garagemen. Prior to finding these pictures, I had only seen one photograph of my great-grandfather John Boe.

 Motor World for Jobbers, Dealers and Garagemen, vol. 61 (October 1919). Available from Google Books.

Prior to working in the automobile business, John Boe had a farm machinery company. The February 25, 1914 issue of Farm Implements reported that his company moved to Lewiston, Montana. This information was news to me. By 1915, John Boe and his family were in St. Louis, Missouri. At the time that the news item was published, one of my grandfather's sisters was a newborn baby. Perhaps the family briefly lived in Lewiston, Montana, or maybe L. O. Yonker, of Lewiston who purchased stock in the company, handled the day-to-day operations and John traveled. Perhaps John eventually sold the company to L. O. Yonker.

 Farm Implements, vol. 28 no. 2 (25 February 1914), page 62. Available from Google Books.

In 1915, John advertised for three salesmen with experience selling automobiles and threshing machinery.

Farm Implements, vol. 29 no 4 (30 April 1915), page 57. Available from Google Books. 

John's brother Theodore had previously worked with him in the farm machinery company; it had been called Boe Brothers before the name was changed to the John Boe Machinery Company. The July 31, 1913 issue of Farm Implements reported that Thoedore was working in the implement business in Arnegard, North Dakota.

Farm Implements, vol. 27 no. 6 (31 July 1913), page 54. Available from Google Books.

My great-grandfather Henry Brown Gatlin worked as a printer. In 1904, Typographical Journal included his name on a list of pending applications for membership in the Typographical Union. This notice told me how long he had worked as  a printer and where he had previously worked. I learned that he had gone to Chicago earlier than I had thought.

Typographical Journal, vol. 25 no. 5 (November 1904), page 518. Available from Google Books.

My 2nd-great-grandmother's brother Mathias Joseph Nagel was a gardener. The November 1887 issue of Gardeners Monthly included a letter he wrote about transplanting trees.

Gardeners Monthly, vol. 29 no. 347 (November 1887), page 326. Available from Google Books.

Father's Day

Top left: my paternal grandfather Henry Cornelius Gatlin
Top right: my father (with my cat Flash)
Bottom left: my maternal grandfather John Boe
Bottom right: Joker, the father of my cat Kit

Mother's Day

In honor of Mother's Day, I am posting this picture of my mother and me on the day of my graduation from Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Cat and Pyramid

My mother recently gave me this cat and pyramid. They belonged to my maternal grandmother Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe. She got them in Egypt.

Those Places Thursday: Bø Old Church

Bø Old Church. Photo: Roar Johansen. [CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en)]. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

The Old Church in  Bø, Telemark, Norway was built about 1180 in the Romanesque style. It is made of stone and has 200 seats. The church was dedicated to St. Olaf and was originally a Catholic church, but it became Lutheran after the Protestant Reformation. An iron chandelier, a carved wooden altar, and a cross in the chancel date back to the Middle Ages. After the Reformation, windows were widened to let in more light, and a door was partially walled up to create a window. Paintings in the chancel date back to the 1650s. The altar table was painted in 1685-1687; the images depict Christ on the cross, the Eye of Providence, and the tetragrammaton YHWH ("Yahweh"). Bible verses are inscribed on the pulpit and the portal.

Many of my Norwegian ancestors on the Boe side of the family attended the Bø Old Church. Family baptisms, marriages, and burials took place there.

References
Bø Old Church
The Divine Name in Norway: Bø (district of Telemark)
Norske kirkebygg: Bø gamle og nye kirke

Wordless Wednesday: Grandma Boe and My Parents

Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe and her daughter and son-in-law

Tuesday's Tip: They May Have Moved

Many families were enumerated in the same location in two or more consecutive U.S. federal censuses. However, they may not have lived in that location for the entire time between census enumerations. People sometimes moved away, and then moved back. Even if you check city directories, if you skip some years, you could miss a move.

At the time of the 1910 U.S. census enumeration, my 2nd-great-grandfather's brother Clarence Bateman Gatlin and his family lived at 4801 Alabama Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee.

1910 United States census, Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, Ward 25, population schedule, enumeration district 82, sheet no. 7A. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

By November 1910, the family had moved to New Decatur, Morgan County, Alabama. Clarence's son Clarence J. Gatlin died there on 14 November 1910.

Clarence J. Gatlin death record. Center for Health Statistics, Alabama Department of Public Health, Montgomery, Alabama. 

The 1911 Nashville City Directory mentions Clarence's move.

Nashville City Directory 1911. New York: Marshall-Bruce-Polk, 1911. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

By 1912, Clarence and his family had returned to Nashville. They lived at the same address as they had before the move, 4801 Alabama Avenue. Perhaps they rented the house while they were away, or perhaps Clarence's father William Dow Gatlin, who lived with the family in 1910, had remained there. (He died in Nashville on 4 March 1911.)

Nashville City Directory 1912. New York: Marshall-Bruce-Polk, 1912. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. 

My great-grandfather John Boe and his family went back and forth between St. Louis, Missouri and Williston, Williams County, North Dakota. On 28 April 1908, my grandfather John Boe was born in St. Louis. The 1908 St. Louis City Directory lists the Boe family.

Gould's St. Louis City Directory 1908, page 220. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

The next child, Florence Kathleen Boe, was born on 22 November 1909 in Williston. The Boe family was in St. Louis at the time of the 1910 U.S. census enumeration.

1910 United States census, St. Louis, Missouri, Ward 22, population schedule, enumeration district 340, sheet no. 2A.

John Boe was also listed in the 1910 St. Louis city directory.

Gould's St. Louis Directory for 1910, page 304. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. 

John was listed in the Williston City Directory in 1911.

Williston City Directory, 1911-1912. Williston, ND: North Dakota Directory Co., page 31. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

In 1913, he was listed in the St. Louis directory.

Gould's St. Louis Directory for 1910, page 356. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
 
On 9 February 1914, John's daughter Theodora Catherine was born in Williston. The Boe family had returned to St. Louis by 29 July 1916, when John's daughter Geraldine Edith was born. This was the last of the moves back and forth.

Surname Saturday: Boe

My mother's maiden name, Boe, comes from the name of the farm that my ancestors lived on in Bø, Telemark, Norway.

One very frustrating thing about searching for the surname Boe is that when I search the Internet, I get many results that are about the Board of Education!

My ancestors who used Boe as a surname are:

My mother

Grandfather: John Boe
born 28 April 1908, St. Louis, Missouri
married Margaret Ann Schneider 25 September 1939, Indianapolis, Marion Co., Indiana
died 24 November 1977, New York, New York

Great-grandfather: John Boe
born 15 March 1876, Swift Co. Missouri
married Signe Olson 21 March 1897, Swift Co., Minnesota
married Kathleen Graham (my great-grandmother)
married Anna Mae Gamble 22 August 1934, St. Joseph Co., Indiana
died 27 June 1940, Norwalk, Los Angeles Co., California

2nd-great-grandfather: Jorgen Jorgensen Boe
born 18 November 1850, Bø, Telemark, Norway
married Aaste Halvorsdatter Otterholt 17 December 1873, Rock Dell, Olmstead Co., Minnesota
died 17 December 1900, West Bank, Swift Co., Minnesota

3rd-great-grandfather: Jorgen Pedersen Boe
born 13 February 1820, Bø, Telemark, Norway
married Ingeborg Torsdatter Vatner 13 June 1848, Bø, Telemark, Norway
died 30 July 1902, Swenoda, Swift Co., Minnesota

Earlier ancestors used Bø as a farm name, but it was not a true surname. Names stayed with the farms, not the families. If a family moved to another farm, they would be known by that farm name.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Boe!

I am thinking of my maternal grandmother Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe on her birthday. She would have been 105 today.

Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe and her son, my uncle Dobby, Long Beach, California, 1949

Census Sunday: Kari and Her Younger Husband

My 4th-great-grandmother Kari Halvorsdatter Sønstebø's second husband was a much younger man. Ougund (or Ougun) Halvorsen was sixteen years her junior.

In 1865, eighteen years after their marriage, the couple lived on the Eiken østre farm in Bø, Telemark, Norway. Ougund was a farmer, and he owned his farm. Kari's grandson Peder Jorgensen lived with them; his occupation was Tjenestekarl (male servant). Two female servants, Mari Markusdatter and Aslaug Hansdatter, also lived with them.

Telemark fylke, Bø prestegjeld, Statlig folketelling [Telemark County, Bø parish, Government census] 178 (RA/S-2231/E), 1865-1865, oppb: Riksarkivet. http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-ft20090728610455.jpg

Side 1 of the household's census enumeration, up close:

Side 2 of the household's census enumeration, up close:

Census Sunday: Servant on Uncle's Farm in Bø, Telemark, Norway

In 1865, my 2nd-great-grandfather Jorgen Jorgensen Boe was living with the family of his father's brother Gregar Pedersen Bø on the Bø farm in Bø, Telemark, Norway. His occupation was Tjenestedreng (servant). His uncle Gregar was a farmer and owned the Bø farm.

Telemark fylke, Bø prestegjeld, Statlig folketelling [Telemark County, Bø parish, Government census] 178 (RA/S-2231/E), 1865-1865, oppb: Riksarkivet. http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-ft20090728610423.jpg

Side 1 of the household's census enumeration, up close:

Side 2 of the household's census enumeration, up close: